Here at Spoonflower we love a good handmade fair and Kirstie Allsopp’s The Handmade Fair was one for the books. Together with over 15,000 makers we filled the Green at Hampton Court Palace just south of London with bunting, fabric and handmade goodness galore! Here’s a look into our weekend of making from Berlin team member Allie.
Berlin
Spoonflower’s British Blog Hop
Can you believe it’s already been a year and a half since we opened our second factory in Berlin, Germany? For our European friends, we hope you’ve enjoyed the benefits of a closer factory such as faster turn-around times, placing your order in your country’s currency, and paying VAT upfront!
In celebration of this exciting year and a half, we’ve partnered with some of our favorite bloggers for our first ever Spoonflower British Blog Hop! Starting May 27, join us for a virtual trip to the UK to see what projects our friends across the pond are sewing up with their Spoonflower fabric (printed in our Berlin factory, of course). Be sure to check back each day as we update the blog tour schedule with links to the finished projects! [Read more…] about Spoonflower’s British Blog Hop
What’s happening at the Berlin factory
As we get closer and closer to the end of the year we’re excited to think about all the progress we’ve made in our Berlin office. It’s hard to believe it’s already been over a year since we started the process of opening a factory in Germany. Today, Spoonflower DE team member Allie stops by the blog as we look back at a few of our most exciting happenings and look forward to what’s to come!
Sprout x Berlin: A Translation of Multi-Media Art to Modern Garments
Traditionally, art has belonged on walls––in museums and galleries. On September 7th, Sprout Patterns and Spoonflower broke down that barrier, making art accessible by way of ready-to-wear garments. We collaborated with an international cast of artists residing in the creative city of Berlin, by translating their drawings, paintings, tattoos and photos into a language easily understood: fashion. Caroline Okun, Creative Director for Sprout Patterns, just returned from a three week trip to Germany, to oversee the very first Sprout X Berlin runway show at our European headquarters in Germany.
The Spoonflower Berlin team and models getting ready before the runway show begins
Allie and Sam of the Spoonflower Berlin team
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International Friends: Spoonflower is Now Shipping From Berlin!
Get excited–Spoonflower is officially shipping from Berlin!! If you’re based in Europe, Africa, Asia or the Middle East and have placed an order over the past few days on our website, you may have noticed a few changes to your cart. This is the first step in internationalizing the Spoonflower website to make it more user friendly for our global community. Over the next few months we’ll continue to release more features, like the option to use the site in multiple languages and currencies.
To access the new cart and have your orders processed through our German factory, you don’t do anything differently.
Simply add fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap to your cart. Select your country from the drop down menu in the bottom right of the cart in the “Delivery Options, Promo Codes and Credits” section.
Then click “Continue to Checkout.” At the moment, this service is only available to those checking out with a credit card and PayPal. We plan to rollout more payment options in the future.
If you’re accessing the site from Europe, you’ll be redirected to a new cart. You’ll notice the price is still in US dollars, but VAT, or tax from your country, is now included. Paying VAT upfront allows your order to skip customs and saves you from a long trip out to the customs office. Here, just enter your shipping address and payment information and you’re all set! The rest will take place on our end. We’ll process your order through our Berlin factory and you’ll receive your order a lot faster without the chance of customs charges!
With this change comes a restructuring of shipping costs. Customers in various European countries will now receive lower shipping fees. Find a full list of countries and the shipping cost group that applies here.
Community members based in the US, Canada and Australia will see no changes to shipping costs.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our customer service team by emailing help@spoonflower.com.
Berlin Update: Seeing Progress in the new Office
Time for a Spoonflower status update: Berlin edition! If you've been curious about how things are going at the new Berlin office and want to stay in the know, read on as Spoonflower crew member Allie shares an update on the new space. Meet some new German team members, and behold the early stages of what will soon be a bustling factory cranking out custom-printed fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap for our European friends.
The Spoonflower mark created by the Berlin ops team using string
[Read more…] about Berlin Update: Seeing Progress in the new Office
What’s New: Berlin Edition
Have you heard? Spoonflower will soon be shipping from Berlin! Today's post comes from marketing team member Allie as she reflects on her time spent in Berlin!
Spoonflower DE's temporary office space
After 15 hours of traveling, Sam (from our printing department) and I arrived in Berlin to be greeted by Spoonflower's director Stephanie inside Tegel airport in Berlin. With new cell phones and transit cards exchanged, we were off to find our way in the city. This was my first trip to Germany, a place I'm now thrilled to call home.
The lovely little cafe Vabrique next door
The past few weeks have flown by as I've continued the search for crafty folks, planned a Meetup with local Berliners and talked through ideas for getting our shipping facility up and running!
Spoonflower's first Berlin team dinner
We even had the chance to catch up with all the new hires at the time for a traditional German meal (in a castle!). It was an international affair celebrating the start of a team with folks from the UK, Australia, Denmark and, of course, the US!
Berlin Meetup
Just before heading stateside for the holidays, I invited folks from the area in for a night of crafting and community. I took a few minutes to talk about Spoonflower and our plans for Germany, and then there was time for people to ask questions and share conversations about all things creative and fabric related. We had a small hand embroidery project for folks to work on throughout the night. It was really lovely to spend time crafting with local makers while chatting about all the crafty happenings around Berlin.
Spending four weeks exploring Berlin has been incredibly exciting, and I'm so excited for what's to come. Here's to a new adventure for the Spoonflower crew!