Big Changes for Fennec

This a tough post for me to write but I think it’s important that I be transparent with all of you. There are some major changes coming to Fennec this season, and I want to take a moment to talk about it with all of you so that you know what is coming and why.

Justin and I have been creating work together full time for the past dozen or so years, and through that time we’ve had our fair share of both struggles and successes. We have poured everything we have into this thing we love and we are immensely proud of what we have built together: an art studio centered on quality handprinted work at an affordable price. This continues to be what we want to give to the world and what we are prioritizing with our choices.

At the same time, the world has rapidly changed around us and what worked well in the past is growing increasingly difficult for us to sustain. As many of you know this past year has seen very large and often volatile tariffs on imports to the US. As a printshop that primarily works with brands that produce in the US and a handful of countries that are not heavily tariffed, it would be easy to assume that we are not impacted but this has not proven to be the case. We have found that blank garment suppliers and distributers have responded to these increased costs in two ways. First by spreading the impact of these tariffs across all of their products to avoid extreme price increases on what were often their cheapest tier of offerings. And second by paring down the types and styles of products being offered in order to produce in greater bulk to cut costs. The impact of these changes on our little printshop has been swift and immense.

We are finding ourselves faced with much higher material costs at the same time that the average person is experiencing a major reduction in purchasing power. Thus far we have chosen to absorb that additional cost without raising our prices, which means we have been working serious overtime to make up the difference. At the same time we are watching as supplies for some of our most popular items are discontinued without warning; sometimes selling out overnight. The immense stress and overwork from this has resulted in the hardest year we’ve faced as a studio: mentally, emotionally, and physically. Paired with my recent health issues and what it entails (physical pain, surgeries, medical bills, appointments etc.), we are both at a point of what I can only describe as profound burnout.

I’ve avoided speaking about this until now because for a long time our plan was simply to hope that these changes weren’t permanent and to temporarily weather the storm. I’m a pretty optimistic person, and I wanted to believe that our hard work and ability to stay flexible would be enough. But as we sat a few weeks ago on the verge of tears after we were unable to order the supplies we’d just finished designing for due to a sudden discontinuation, it became clear. We cannot continue as we have been. In that moment we were confronted with the reality that even our surviving not thriving way of dealing with this is not working.

For many years we’ve prided ourselves on having a very large collection of products for a studio with two full time employees; at times over 400 separate pieces that we design and print in house. This collection was a stable one and we have introduced new designs regularly without rapid changes in what we offered. The average piece we created would stay in the collection for years before we let it go. If we are going to make it, this part of our business model is what we need to change.

Going forward we will be pairing down our permanent collection significantly. You may have noticed that we added a new section to our site we've named LAST CALL, where we've been adding discontinued and low stock items. What will remain after multiple rounds of discontinuations will be items that have proven themselves to be strong sellers and true favorites. This will be paired with an introduction of rotating seasonal offerings and small batch drops throughout the year. Some items will be printed in a single batch that will sell out over time. Others may rotate in and out. We will be leaner and more experimental in our offerings.

It is a big risk to so drastically change how we operate; but at this point we can either take the leap or face closing due to the high personal toll on our wellbeing. I truly believe that there is still a place for a studio like Fennec in the world of increasing AI and corporate dominance. So cards fully on the table. We are betting on ourselves in a way we never have before. I am scared. I am resolute. I am ready to risk it all for a chance to continue doing what I love. 

Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by the increasing barrage of new hurdles we are facing I like to remind myself that being an artist has endless forms it can take, and they are all powerful. If Fennec eventually closes and I am no longer able to make my living creating, I will still be an artist. If my disability progresses to the point where I lose use of my hands, there are other paths and I will find them. At the end of the day I know that we are here to love and to create and the rest is just window dressing. The change must come but the center holds. 

heres to new paths and better days, 

Joelle