Canada Post has issued a 72-hour notice to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW-Urban and CUPW-RSMC), which represent our delivery agents and plant employees.

We are working triple time to get everything to UPS. The uncertainty and costs associated with this potential work stoppage have really put a wrench into our works though, and we beg a little more patience as we move to fulfill our commitment of getting everything to UPS by tomorrow. Worst case scenario, some packages will go to UPS by Friday, but rest assured everything will move this week.

We, along with many small businesses, have been very frustrated by this process, it is costly and time consuming to be searching for alternative carriers, and many supplies that we need are not being shipped to us in turn because many carriers, including UPS and FEDEX are not accepting packages to Canada that require Canada Post fulfillment at the other end.

At the same time, though I confess I haven’t read too much about what the actual demands are, we do believe in a fair and equitable work arrangement for all. We can only hope that everyone comes to the table with something palatable soon so that business can carry on as usual.

In the meantime, we ask for a little more patience. We’re on it ;)

Anyone who has followed this blog for a few years knows that it’s tradition for Tito and I to load up the car with camera gear and go road tripping for Canada Day Weekend. This year, we are driving to Ottawa to watch the fireworks off Parliament Hill and then driving into Old Quebec City for a little overdue R&R.

Every year I try to show off a selection of my favourite photography from this gorgeous country that I am so blessed to live in. This year, I have chosen to show off the shots that I used for our early colourways – because it was off these photos that The Blue Brick was built and inspired. Enjoy!

Edit: In view of what a kerfuffle (isn’t that a great word?) this possible work stoppage has caused, I’m pushing the start date of our KAL forward to August 15th, to make sure everyone has their goodies in time!

Here is the latest from the Canada Post website:

Talks have been ongoing since late 2015 and, following a 60-day conciliation period, the parties are now in a 21-day “cooling-off” period. Based on that timeline, there can be no legal work disruption until July 2, 2016.

While there is still time to reach new agreements, customers should take precautions as a labour disruption remains a possibility.

In the event of a full labour disruption, Canada Post will not operate. Mail and parcels will not be delivered, and no new items will be accepted. Any mail and parcels within the postal system during a work disruption will be secured and delivered as quickly as possible once operations resume.

My understanding is that, as of yesterday, 90% voted in favour of strike action, so we had had to put some contingency plans into place.

Tito and I have decided that we will ship out *all* current orders by next Wednesday latest, using UPS to ensure that packages arrive and do not get stuck in postal limbo should a strike occur before they are delivered. This incurs higher costs than we charge at checkout, but we have decided to pay that difference to make sure everyone gets their goodies without interruption.

If the work stoppage continues, we will have to switch to UPS entirely in the short-term, which may change our shipping prices when we reopen our store in August, but for now we’re leaving the prices the way they are and hoping for the best.

We have received a lot of emails from concerned customers – and I assure you we are doing our very best to make sure your product arrives in a timely manner, no matter what Canada Post ends up doing. In the meantime, if you have further questions, please do feel free to write me at hello@thebluebrick.ca  :)

With the possibility of an imminent lockout/strike by Canada Post many of you are wondering what this means for yarn!

Our understanding is that the work stoppage, if it occurs, will begin July 2nd. We are not sure what the extent of this work stoppage will be. There are alternatives – USPS for the states, Fedex for Europe etc. couriers for here within Canada, but the costs involved with shipping with these carriers far exceeds what we charge our customers at checkout, and for a company as small as ours, this can be devastating.

Our solution is an imperfect one, but here it is. We have already shipped all orders from the recent Etsy sale, and are working with the goal of getting all outstanding orders in the mail by this Wednesday June 29th. If the work stoppage goes through, we will cancel and refund all orders that did not ship out by Wednesday. If the work stoppage does not occur, then it’s business as usual :) We are working around the clock and doubling production to make this happen.

In the meantime, to be on the safe side, you’ll notice that we’ve shut our store down a few days ahead of schedule, just to add a little buffer. All customers who are concerned about their order are welcome to write to me at hello@thebluebrick.ca :) Hopefully the stoppage won’t occur and this will be a non-event, but we are planning around it just in case!

The Blue Brick is closing our online store for the month of July, to prepare our home for sale, and to go into major production mode for our show at Festival Twist. Of course, these two things are in complete conflict (cleaning and upping production??) but that’s how I roll.

To make some space, we’ll be holding an Etsy sale of some of the OOAK skeins that get produced along the journey, and that need to go to loving homes. Here are a few of the goodies you can expect in our Etsy shop, starting this Friday at 11am EST.