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We now have shipping options for customers outside the US!  Since we first launched in 2013, customers have been requesting international shipping options.  As a small family business, we have only been able to keep up with the demand here in the United States.  But, we have been looking for the right opportunity to allow us to expand into other countries, and we believe we have finally found it!

Canada -  www.fermentingforlife.com

This new company is the exclusive supplier of our products in Canada.  They are working hard to launch very soon, so be sure to sign up on their website to be notified as soon as they do! 

I have been working with Jamie at Fermenting for Life for the last 6 weeks to get them launched. It was important to us to find a company that would match our business model of honest, straight forward and customer centered practices and I think we finally did!  You can also email info@fermentingforlife.com with any questions!

Europe/Australia -email emily@stonecreektrading.com

We are now accepting custom orders to ship direct from Poland to customers in Europe and Australia.  Shipping fees will be custom calculated for each order.  Please email emily@stonecreektrading.com with what you wish to purchase and your shipping address to begin the process.

We have been trying to launch a sister company in Europe for almost a year now.  There were many different regulations and restrictions that needed to be sorted through, but it looks like we are finally ready to start taking orders.  We hope to have a separate website specifically for customers in the EU launching in early 2017.  My father-in-law who handles our operations in Poland will be running our European sister company.  He already sources, packs and ships all our products to us here in the United States.  So now he will be keeping some stock for himself in Poland to ship direct to our European customers!

Both of these opportunities will open up our products to more customers, which is something we hear a lot of requests for!  Hopefully you are as excited about it as we are!

It's hard to believe, but there is only a few weeks left to get your orders in if you want to receive them in time for Christmas!  When it comes to online shopping one of the most important factors is how long items will take to ship.  As always, we strive for fast efficient shipping.  We only offer products on our website which are in stock and ready to ship. 

So when do you need to order by to make sure you have it before Christmas?  This year's magic cutoff date is 12pm CST on December 18, 2016.  All orders place before that time will arrive by December 24, 2016.

As always, orders ship within 1-2 business days after your order is placed.  Orders placed after 5pm on Thursday through 5pm Sunday typically ship on Monday.  Shipping times vary based on your location.  We are located in the Chicago suburbs.  Small items are typically shipped USPS Priority Mail while larger items & orders are shipped via UPS Ground.  UPS does not deliver or accept packages on Saturday or Sunday. 

See below for typical shipping schedules.

Location           Processing Time      Shipping Time     Total Shipping/Processing

Midwest              1-2 days                     1-2 days               1-4 days

East Coast          1-2 days                     2-3 days               2-5 days

West Coast          1-2 days                    3-5 days                3-7 days

If you miss the cut off for holiday shipping or need your order sooner, email emily@stonecreektrading.com to discuss expedited shipping options including overnight and 2-day shipping.  Please be aware that expedited shipping on crocks is quite expensive ($70+) due to the weight of the crocks. 

And as always, you can email Emily with any questions or custom order requests.  As a small family business, we are happy to work with you when special circumstances arise!

Happy Holidays!

As many of you know, we price our products with very little overhead.  This allows us to stay competitive with larger corporations and provide all of our customers with our best pricing all year round.  However, it means that we aren't able to offer many discounts or sales if we want to stay in business. 

We know that this business model isn't typical in today's highly competitive retail market where everyone expects to get a deal, but we feel it best reflects our values of honesty and equality.  However, we still want to say thank you to our customers for choosing to support us with your holiday shopping.

To show our appreciation, every order placed on our website on Black Friday (Nov. 25) or Small Business Saturday (Nov. 26) will receive a free Natural Heartwood Mushroom Nutcracker  ($10 retail value).

I often struggle with how to tell our company's story properly. Which is why I was so honored when Holly at makesauerkraut.com included a description of who we are and the type of business we run with her review of one of our crocks.

If you are like me, reading a first hand review of a product is incredibly helpful in making an educated decision.  Holly's review gives lots of important information about our  popular Olive Green 5L Fermenting Crock. 

Make Sauerkraut is a wonderful resource for the fermenting community.  If you have any questions about fermenting, there is tons of information on the blog!

Check out her detailed and thorough blog post, and stay tuned for a giveaway we will be sponsoring with her soon!

www.makesauerkraut.com/fermenting-crock-stone-creek-trading

I'm sure all of our customers are just as anxious as I am to know when we will be back in stock!  The good news is that our container is on it's way to us right now.  You can see below the photos from Poland of the container being packed on October 20. 

After it was packed it traveled to Germany, where it was loaded onto a cargo ship. That cargo ship is currently somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on it's way to Norfolk, Virginia where our container will be unloaded. 

It will then need to clear customs before it can be loaded onto a train to make it's way to the Chicago Railyard.  After that, it will be picked up by a semi truck to deliver it to our facility in Frankfort, IL! 

Right now we are being told it will arrive in mid November, but with many opportunities for delays along the way, it could be later.  Everyone keep their fingers crossed for smooth sailing (literally)!

In the meantime, we've got lots of new products for you to check out.  And if you are anxiously awaiting for a specific product to restock, be sure to head to that product's page to sign up to be notified when it is back in stock.  Those emails go out before we share anywhere else!

Just in time for the Holiday entertaining season, our wood butter molds are now available on the website! I had so much fun testing these out to perfect my technique, and can't wait to use them for Thanksgiving.  If you follow us on Instagram, you've already seen some sneak peaks of these beautiful wood butter molds as I did some trail and error to make sure we know how to use them ourselves before we start selling them!

Butter molds are a popular tradition in Poland that is still in practice today.  Our Polish wood butter molds are made the same way the always have been - handcarved in the mountain town of Zakopane.

We have three styles available of the wood butter molds, and each one is gorgeous! 

The flower butter mold has two options - the Circle and Oblong.  Each shape has a traditional handcarved flower design which is popular in Polish Folk Art.

If you are from the Chicago area, you will recognize our sheep butter mold's shape!  Every year at Easter, the grocery stores here offer molded butter shaped like sheep.  It's a fun traditional as a large portion of the population in the Chicago area has Polish ancestry.  But why limit the cute lamb butter to just one holiday?  With our butter molds you can make a butter sheep anytime you want!

But I think my favorite design might be the Folk Art Butter Molds.  This 3 part mold makes a beautiful cube shaped butter design.  Each side features a hand carved traditional Polish folk art design.  I love how this simple product is so complex with the way it folds apart to reveal your butter creation!

So which design do you think you will make?

One of our most popular items is getting even better!  Our Wood Mushroom Nutcracker is now available in a total of three color ways!  The traditional dark brown cap was featured in a November 2014 issue of the New York Times.  The red toadstool cap is a fun, whimsical option for any woodland themed event! 

And we are proud to introduce the latest edition - the Natural Heartwood cap.  This cap is made from the heartwood of the beech tree, resulting in a unique natural marbling design which varies with each nutcracker!  These Wood Mushroom Nutcrackers are always a popular item in the fall and winter, so be sure to order one soon!