Extreme Blanket Fort Mode

Stilly River Yarns is located in the state of Washington, one of the initial epicenters of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States. Yesterday afternoon, Governor Jay Inslee announced a mandatory stay-at-home order for the entire state that will take effect today at 8 PM PST. 

Just like the rest of you, we’ve been trying to roll with all of the changes happening due to COVID-19. It’s not easy when information changes every few hours, the kids are two weeks in to a rather freeform version of homeschooling, and business is anything but usual. (It should take me maybe 10 minutes to create coupon codes for the website and pay for a month of Zoom. It took me 45 minutes yesterday morning between refereeing fights, making oatmeal for family breakfast, trying to drink tea in peace, and keeping the kids from interrupting a teleconference in our home office.) 

Governor Inslee’s stay-home order is going to impact all of us in different ways. And we’re all doing the best we can with a situation that is unpredictable in so many ways. There are incredibly wrenching decisions being made at all levels of life across the world. 

The best thing we can do right now: hunker down and tighten up operations. We’re going into #ExtremeBlanketFortMode starting at 8 PM tonight (March 25, 2020). What does that look like? 

1. I will continue to be at the shop from 11 AM - 4 PM, Tuesday through Saturday. I’ll be available for phone/email/text orders and video-conference shopping. I'm the only person in the shop and continue to wash my hands and sanitize and clean workspaces and shipping areas according to CDC and Snohomish Health District mandates. 
2. PLATFORM CHANGE:  I’ll be holding office hours on Facebook Live from noon-1 PM, Tuesday - Saturday.
3. We love you, but we’re asking you to #stayhome and let us ship things to you. We’re offering “pay what you can” domestic shipping from now until we can fully reopen; this will happen via the following coupon codes.
   • ​STAYHOMEFREE: Free shipping in the US, APO addresses, and territories.
     
   • STAYHOMEWAHALF: A $2 discount that equals  half-price in-state shipping.
     
   • STAYHOMENOTWAHALF: A $3 discount that equals half-price out-of-state shipping.
     
   • No code used: regular, full-price shipping.
     
4.  Corollary to 3: I’m going to ship twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This minimizes my outings and exposures. 
5. If you have a project emergency that requires fix-it help or a diagnosis, let’s look at it via photos sent in email/text - or a video conference - first. I know a lot of our emerging crafters are looking to their projects as a remedy for boredom and anxiety, and a mistake (or uncertainty about a possible one) can stop you in your tracks. We’ll handle it one stitch at a time. 
6. We have some financial assistance available for our community members who may want new projects but also have a tight budget right now. Please get in touch with us by one of the methods below and we’ll work things out with you.
7. We still have several $10 shop credits from our Yarn Fairy - orders over $50 before shipping costs qualify for these bonuses! 
8. Join us for social times! I’m broadcasting live each night on Instagram at 8:30 PM PST, and we’re doing virtual social times on Zoom on Tuesdays from 7-8 PM PST and *new!* Sundays from 2-3 PM PST.  
9. We’ve had requests for a KAL/CAL and online learning opportunities. I’m working on that and will try to launch all info by Sunday.
10. This has been an overwhelming two weeks. Your local independent businesses have been creating new business models and operations manuals from scratch... on top of adapting to life with everyone home and limiting our outings. I know I’m running behind on answering emails and getting the website better-stocked, and you have all been fantastic about patiently using alternate solutions to get the supplies you need. All I can do is continue to ask you for grace and space as we all navigate Extreme Blanket Fort Mode together.

I’m almost certain that I’ve forgotten something in this message, but if you need clarification or details on anything here, the shop contact information is below. 

We got this. We’re in this together, and we’re carrying each other as best we can. There are a lot of unknowns out there, but the Stilly River Yarns community is stepping up to handle it with its usual amount of class and heart. 

Take care, be well, and know that we miss you. We look forward to seeing you soon. 
-Lindsey

Shop contact information: 

• Regular phone number: (360) 631-5801
• Textable phone number: (515) 833-0689
• Email: Lindsey [at] stillyriveryarns [dot] com