The Sewing Place
Resources => Your Favourite Suppliers => Topic started by: WildAtlanticWay on January 04, 2021, 10:28:02 AM
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Following Brexit, we now have to pay import fees on top of hefty postage fees to buy supplies from the U.K., so I’m looking to compile a list of Irish (or EU) suppliers that I can purchase from instead.
I know I can buy from the German based Amazon.de so will be swapping to them too. (You can have the page translated into English)
Please post any recommendations here as I’m sure I’m not the only person struggling to find alternative sources.
Thank you.
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I would have thought that Amazon would have worked that out for you @WildAtlanticWay so your page was in English, maybe they will give an option.
Just had a look and you can switch to English, under the German flag bit.
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So far i have been ordering off these two online shops.
Apple Tree (https://www.appletreecrafts.com/shop/)
Love fabrics (https://www.lovefabric.ie/)
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I've not used them, but Just Sew Now (https://justsewnow.com/) are located on the Irish border and use both the Royal Mail and An Post. They stock a range of quilting cottons.
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How about MyFabrics? I use the .co.uk version, but they are based in Germany, so I think have different websites for different countries.
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Thank you for your recommendations so far.
Yes, I know of a couple of sewing shops in Northern Ireland that use An Post to post stuff down here so reducing the postal fees but I think they’ll still be expected to apply customs charges.
The lady in Mibs Fabrics is unsure of the current position and is awaiting guidance. (!!!)
I suppose DH will be pleased as I’ll probably be buying much less fabric from now on. :rolleyes:
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I use My Fabrics too -the site follows the country you are ordering from it seems. Good choice of fabric and reliable(so far) shipment.
Have to find an alternative for my spice man in the UK, he won't ship here any more but fortunately I had a good stock up a short while back. As we can't get into Spain either at the moment I'm limiting the curries!
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I've not used them, but Just Sew Now (https://justsewnow.com/) are located on the Irish border and use both the Royal Mail and An Post. They stock a range of quilting cottons.
Super link - this is in Northern Ireland and my DH used to work in this area. Imagine I never heard of them!
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Mibs Fabrics (https://www.mibsfabrics.co.uk/) is in NI (Bangor). They've been closed over Christmas but online deliveries should be available. I can't see any helpful info on their delivery methods I'm afraid.
I has good printed jerseys and although the range isn't large it's always worth looking at. Their Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=mibs%20fabrics) is popular for pre-ordering then moves onto the website.
They have a very limited haberdashery but you can order matching Moon thread and may save you separate postage charges.
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Thanks for that link too @Marniesews - there's always Craftswoman Fabrics near Carrickfergus if you want beautiful but high priced fabric. Lovely place to go and browse around too...bit out of the way if you don't drive. Still have fabric bought there in my small stash. They are closed at the moment - we are in lockdown - but open on line.
https://www.craftswomanfabrics.com/
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I buy from Andrea at Beyond the Pink Door. She has beautiful fabrics and her service is excellent. It was @wrenkins who brought her to my attention initially and I've followed her on YouTube ever since.
Pink Door Fabrics (https://www.beyondthepinkdoor.com/)
I also buy from Suzie at Threadquarters but she's in N.Ireland (and is currently closed until mid-January).
Threadquarters (https://www.threadquarters.co.uk/)
Hope this helps. :)
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@WildAtlanticWay here are a few others that I've used or else friends have mentioned. You probably know some of these already. There was an extensive list on a FB group called Sewing Lovers Ireland - wish I'd paid more attention as the group has literally just vanished from FB as has the administrator!
https://dressfabrics.ie/
https://www.vibesandscribes.ie/
https://www.lovefabric.ie/ (as already stated
https://www.sewstitchy.com/
https://www.sew-irish.ie/
https://www.sewingshop.ie/
https://www.craftersbasket.com/
https://www.fabricromance.ie
A few days ago I ordered some sewing supplies from Jaycotts. Even with UK VAT (not supposed to charge it but they weren't geared up for that yet) and €9.50 postage - for a small order - they still worked out a fair bit cheaper than any Irish suppliers. Fingers crossed it shouldn't incur Irish VAT too but who knows?
Anyway, I'm glad you asked as it was useful to make a list. I'll try to add to it if I come across any more. Useful to have NI suppliers too.
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Thank you for all your recommendations.
In case anyone is interested, there’s a small friendly sewing group on Facebook called Sewing in Ireland where I’ve compiled a list of Irish suppliers for easy reference.
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Yes it's interesting how Brexit affects so many of us, isn't it? Correct me if I'm wrong but as I understand it if your purchase from the UK to Ireland (inc postage I fear) is under €22 it won't attract import duty. I realise that 22 euros doesn't go very far if it includes postage too.
I think that strictly speaking the UK supplier should subtract the UK VAT and then the Irish 'VAT' should be added in Ireland. I read that An Post is charging a handling fee of €3.50 on top of the tax owed to collect this. This is better than the equivalent £8 handling fee we are charged in the UK when we have to pay import duty. So if it works according to my understanding it shouldn't be too bad. However I do wonder how many small suppliers are already set up to do this. Big suppliers will be I'm sure. For instance I read that Selfridges are set up to send things to Ireland and they sort out the tax stuff when you do the online purchase so you don't have to sort out anything at the other end and you know exactly what you are paying up front.
I think this is the sort of thing which will get more smooth as time goes on. It'll have to. Meanwhile you lucky Irish peeps can continue to buy from European sites all in Euros and no further tax. I've been a great fan of Driessenstoffen (with my winkelwagen, remember?). They have lovely stuff at really good prices and with a flat postage fee of €9.95 to the UK (which isn't bad if you have accidentally tipped 10m of fabric into your winkelwagan :devil: ). Presumably the postage costs to Ireland are similar. I don't know how it will be for Brits buying from them now. Luckily I've already been round with my winkelwagen a good few times already while we were still in the transition period! :devil: :devil:
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Thank you for all your recommendations.
In case anyone is interested, there’s a small friendly sewing group on Facebook called Sewing in Ireland where I’ve compiled a list of Irish suppliers for easy reference.
Thanks @WildAtlanticWay joined! :)
@Tamnymore I guess it's early days re sussing out the new rules. My Jaycotts delivery arrived safely today, but goodness, the amount of detailed info they had to fill in on the packet was enough to put any small business off exporting from or to the UK. They certainly earned their £9.50! As I said, they weren't geared up yet for deducting VAT but I'm sure that will come. And where else could I buy 10 long dress zips, 2 reels of Gutermann thread and a metre of Vilene interfacing for £11?
The €22 threshold is for VAT (until July when it becomes €0 :(), and €150 before it qualifies for import duty. €3.50 admin charge would be good. I'd read €10 so hoping you're right.
Just to add that I just bought a book off Amazon, no VAT, free delivery, and have a DVD in my basket, uk VAT-less so cheaper for me than last month!
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I suspect one problem is the short notice to find out what they needed to do and to get set up.
Bound to hit small businesses badly and very often they are the ones that keep going thanks to on-line sales. Apparently some EU firms are checking how much they sell in GB and if it's worth jumping through the hoops.
Plus I suspect we haven't bothered to check where stuff is coming from in the past. Could be in for a shock now.
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Well I'm just waiting to see how this will work the other way for those of us in the UK getting stuff from the EU. In a moment of weakness (I have a lot of these ;) ) I ordered some of the new viscose/linen from Driessenstoffen in the Netherlands. Last year's viscose/linen was very tasty. Even with a bit of an extra charge it would still be pretty good value but I'm seeing all sorts of reports on Twitter of enormous charges on purchases from the EU so I fear the worst. The ironic thing is that I've already paid Dutch VAT at 21% on the purchase so I expect I'll be paying UK VAT at 20% on the parcel AND the postage as well and some unspecified but no doubt mega handling charge. Well more fool me! When the parcel arrives and I've cleared out my piggy bank I shall report back here - as a warning!!
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You are doing very necessary research for all of us @Tamnymore - thank you! :thumbsup:
BTW Does viscose/linen crease badly? It sounds lovely.
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Indeed she is - and I can't help wondering just how this will affect us in Northern Ireland - I understand some firms have stopped delivering to here. It remains to be seen....
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I'm also interested in the Driessenstoffen situation @Tamnymore. The viscose linen was something that appealed for the summer. Please report back!
I had read that the new circumstances mean that UK purchasers should not pay EU VAT on purchases, but instead pay tax to HMRC on import. Whether or not that is what happens in practice, we'll have to wait and see. It will take some time to settle down.
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I'm selflessly doing the research on your behalf! ;)
No I shouldn't pay the Dutch VAT and the UK VAT but let's see what happens.
Viscose linen doesn't crush unduly. It's a nice fabric....and very reasonably priced from Driessenstoffen..... if you're not paying import duty. :S
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Just to let you know I placed an order with Driessenstoffen and it has been showing as 'processing order' for the last 10 days. Today I got an email from them which said that they weren't shipping to the UK at the moment until they work out what to do about Brexit but they would contact me again. I'm hoping they will deduct the Dutch VAT and I'll pay UK VAT but we'll see.
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Interesting - did I mention that my German craft firm are not shipping to U.K. (or Northern ireland) at the moment and I hope it's only because they are not sure of what to do etc. I should e-mail them to ask.
Thanks for letting us know.
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I don't think I have ever ordered stuff from that side of the water. You could count Zooplus but they have a warehouse in the UK and are just trading as normally with a reduction of smaller items that they don't sell much
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I suspect that most of us don't look at where something is coming from just the actual product (well unless the website is obviously 'foreign'. I have learned to put 'UK' when searching, nothing as annoying as finding something perfect and realising you are looking at a USA site with all the shipping problems.
OTOH I have bought things and been surprised to find they came from a European country not GB. Usually thanks to the vagaries of our friend the South American River.
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Well there's no hiding that Driessenstoffen is Dutch - remember the fun I had filling up my winkelwagen? :laughing: Realy good prices, lovely fabric and quick posting all meant that they were great in the pre -Brexit days when it was so easy to get stuff from Europe and when we weren't juggling the tax thing.
I suspect that companies will find a solution in due course as a lot of business is currently being lost in both directions.
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I hope it gets resolved, as I liked the stuff from Driessenstoffen too. Keep us updated, @Tamnymore :)
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@WildAtlanticWay just come across this (https://www.trendytfabrics.com/about) shop in Galway, any good for your list?
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@WildAtlanticWay just come across this (https://www.trendytfabrics.com/about) shop in Galway, any good for your list?
Brill. Thank you so much. I’ll add it to the growing list. :thumbsup:
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My first thought was 'is there a big Indian community in and around Galway'?
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Just to report that I've finally given up with Driessestoffen! I placed an order on 15th January. A few weeks later they emailed to say that they were still working out what to do about Brexit (aren't we all? :S ). 6 weeks and more after placing my order I still hadn't heard so I emailed again. They said they are still working out what to do with UK orders and so it might be best if the order was cancelled and I was refunded so I've asked them to do that. Sigh! The Brexit stuff is really not their fault but their website still accepts UK orders and has UK shipping listed. They would really be better to suspend UK orders for the time being as they must surely be many UK orders piling up now. Also they should really have been better at keeping in touch.
So the wingelwagen is parked for the time being. Luckily I am not short of fabric having spent a lifetime stash building. :devil: :devil:
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....@Tamnymore - doubly difficult over here, protocol being tested big time. As you well know we do not want to be separated from the mainland (or at least the majority don't LOL) and it is a real pain.....being discussed in Stormont today - discussed is likely a polite word for what will probably turn out to be a shouting match!!
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Just an update on the import situation.
I ordered fabric from Stragier in Belgium 17th January in their sale and I received it around 28th. It only came to 22 Euros so must have been below tax charges as I didn't have to pay any extra. They had all the correct documentation which my O/H was keen to read having been involved with air cargo imports and exports both before and after we joined the EU. I think the carrier was DHL and I kept the docs for a couple of weeks in case I was asked to pay later, which happened when I ordered from the US some years ago and the shipper was Fed Ex. Must say they seem to have got it all sorted.
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I used to buy about 90% of my fabric from the U.K. because our main income is in Sterling.
However, now I’ve had to make an effort to explore what’s available elsewhere I’ve discovered lots of suppliers in Ireland that I wasn’t aware of previously and also across the EU, so I’ll pay in euros and won’t have to worry about unnecessary customs charges in the future.
It also looks like our local port in Cork is getting a boost with extra freight ships travelling direct to EU countries and bypassing the U.K. so that’s likely to be good news for future holiday options. I was disappointed when the Cork to Swansea ferry closed down but if they start adding more European destinations, then that’s got to be a good thing.
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Yes some EU suppliers will do well. I definitely recommend Driessenstoffen if you are in the EU. If you have a reasonable sized order (excuse to splurge :laughing: ) the post isn't too bad to Ireland and the fabric prices are really good for nice quality fabric which you don't see elsewhere. They have said they will refund my order. I've asked them if they could put something on their website when they ate in a position to ship to the UK again.
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@Tamnymore thank you for the info about Driessenstoffen, I will definitely have a good look there. Ordering fabric from the UK has become a no-no for me.
I believe the threshold for duties etc is 22 euros - easy to spend more than that! Shipping prices have increased as well.
Bloody brexit!
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Yes you'll be fine with Driessenstoffen @Lottie. They have lovely stuff. Meanwhile, back in the UK I have discovered Pound a Metre fabrics who have just sent me a lovely tartan linen mix fabric at £2.99 a metre (and which I saw on ebay elsewhere at £9.99 pm ) so I'll be wheeling my winkelwagen there in future. :laughing: