“I wish I was as thin as my patience.”
— Unknown
Isn’t this the truth! I’m carrying about ten extra pounds since the world turned upside down in 2020, bringing with it continual tests for all of us.
Especially, our patience.
Experiencing a pandemic that only happens once in a hundred years will do that, and a lot more. With the onset of the pandemic, we began to find ourselves spending more time at home. Amazing things begin to happen when we
are locked down in our homes for months. We see age, or just want things freshened up. This, coupled with some extra disposable income due to the lack of ability to enjoy vacations, entertainment, or large gathering celebrations, created a surge in home design. The demand was and still is high which I, traditionally, would celebrate!
Honestly, I truly love creating amazing interiors and exterior designs for our clients. The more the merrier. While the excitement remains, there is a new challenge of extended product delays and price increases many of my colleagues and I are agonizing daily over. Manufacturers are struggling to obtain raw materials and labor and, if that wasn’t difficult enough, shipping product to receivers offers another layer of delays. Earlier this year, with the rollout of vaccinations and life taking a return to ‘normal’, we expected a return to pre-pandemic production. However, experts are now predicting we will be well into 2022 before relief will be felt.
So how do we tackle this problem head-on? Well, famed businessman Arnold Glasgow once said that “The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing
it.” Yes, smashing the egg won’t get us anything but a runny mess and a total lack of cute little chicks.
While by no means am I an expert in global economics, I do know this; some of the production and shipping delays we are experiencing can be circumvented by simply buying American made products. Currently, entire overseas factories and shipping ports are closed again per Covid outbreaks. Over 75% of all adults in the United States have gotten one vaccine shot, while Asia is well behind. For example, it is reported that only 23% of the population in Vietnam is vaccinated.
Gat Creek Furniture, Berkeley Springs, WV
Yes, American factories are up and running. They are up against some serious backlogs, but they are consistently working. Honestly, I’d love to keep Americans working! I am committed to supplying our clients with quality American made products. When I attend High Point Market this October, I will be on a hunt to deepen our already extensive product offerings.
Watermark Plumbing Fixtures, Brooklyn, NY
Stay tuned!
The LDD Team will be working on introducing you to some of our favorite lines, along with their stories and some of our favorite key items.
Let’s work on our patience. We will get through this.