2020 - A year to remember

We would like to take this opportunity to give you all a big shout out. A big, big thank you!

In 2020, the year no one will ever forget and probably many of us think of with a cold shiver down the spine, our micro sized company saw an overwhelming increase in orders and while we were definetely facing alot of challenges this year it seems to have worked out far beyond what we had hoped for. Covid-19 did not hit Iceland as hard as many other European countries and I assume it had a lot to do with us living on a small volcanic rock in the middle of the North Atlantic. And the fact that we consume a lot of Lýsi 😊

We have pretty much gotten used to our stock of hand knit Icelandic sweaters to be cleaned out in December but this time around we were left with almost empty shelves in early October. Now that was quite the challenge since our biggest sales usually happen in November-January. Our solution was to allow for pre-orders of our sweaters. While that off course meant a longer wait for delivery it also meant we could allow customers to buy a tailor made sweater with no extra cost.

But nothing is an easy fix these days. In November Covid-19 hit us in the head like a ton of bricks and Iceland‘s borders were almost nailed shut (and still are) and we took up some serious social distancing rules. That off course meant slower progress for production, shipping and handling. We even experienced shortage of materials to knit from for a while. In many cases people who ordered sweaters as pre-orders were able to get their sweaters in about two weeks but many had to wait for 3 months (and may still be waiting). For those of you who had the longer wait, sorry! Our production capability roughly stays the same every year and if we were to increase the speed of production we would need to sacrifice quality. And we simply won‘t do that.

Our business model is simple. We sell Icelandic made, authentic and high quality goods. We‘re not in a position to compete in prices with China made products or huge companies with endless budget and staff. It‘s just three of us and a bunch of knitters making sweaters. And we try to have fun while doing it. Our main goal is to supply customers with true, authentic Icelandic wool sweaters (the Icelandic Lopapeysa) and we carry a selection of accessories, blankets and knitting yarn (and on the side off course candy and soda, just for the heck of it). Our other goal is to keep alive the tradition if knitting by hand. The tradition of meeting up in groups and knit, have coffee and discuss which neighbour just bought a new car.

Our goal for 2021 is to stay true to our model, improve our service and shopper experience as best we can and most of all, we are going to stay greatful for what we have acomplished with your help.

Once again, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you for keeping our company up and running.

Warm regards from Iceland

Orri & Stella