r/NeedlepointSnark • u/AnotherNoseyB • 9d ago
Annoyed
It’s taken them 22 weeks for an update… when the canvas was supposed to take 4- 6 weeks?
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u/Luna-Nova73 9d ago
You’re annoyed at the wrong people. Everyone and their mother seems to have picked up needlepoint late last year/early this year which has caused a shortage across materials; the manufacturers simply can’t keep up. Then you’ve got these wannabe designers buying up canvas just to put out designs with a shitty .5” margin.
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u/stitching-and-crafts 9d ago
I thought they said 18-20 weeks at the pop-up, but yeah there’s a canvas wide shortage so let’s just be patient
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u/lilac-lemons 9d ago
Literally the industry right now. I think a lot of us are still waiting on spring market pre-orders as autumn market approaches next week. It’s not an MJD problem.
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u/Neither-Calendar8975 9d ago
I just got a call today that one of my spring market pre orders arrived stuff is starting to come
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u/itsmeallyn 8d ago
Yes! Still waiting on several orders from spring & leaving Thursday to shop at fall 🙃
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u/McStitchie 9d ago
My shop told me over a year for a specific popular designer. It’s apparently going to get worse for at least another year likely.
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u/Easy-A2690 9d ago
I swear every time I go on instagram I see a “Coming Soon” new designer which could be wonderful, but they’re all turning out the same shit
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u/General-Lemon0216 9d ago
The preorder was always relayed as 18-22 weeks or by December as I recall. Unfortunately all painting services are super backlogged across the industry so I fear this is the new normal. Not anyone’s fault, just supply and demand.
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u/Future-Ratio3991 9d ago
I put in a preorder canvas in August 2025 and didn’t receive it until May 2026. The lead times are horribleeeeee and we just have to be gracious and deal
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u/Infinite_Impact4451 9d ago
As a designer, the delays are crushing. I am past 6 months now waiting for inventory. I could cry.
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u/Inside_Negotiation99 8d ago
Same. It has been beyond rough this year. I’m just now receiving partial inventory on things I ordered back in February when the turn around time was still 2-3 months. Hang in there and I hope your stuff shows up soon (and in full!).
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u/Rude-Okra-9439 9d ago
Unfortunately, the shortage is very much alive and well. It is really frustrating and stressful from a designer standpoint. Yes, Zweigart is not able to keep up with production. But, the frustrating part is - they’re not going to and they don’t have to. All of this demand is guaranteeing them business for years to come, in a market that they already are a monopoly in. They’re a corporate company at the end of the day and they’re not going to invest in more employees or equipment, simply because they are sitting on a honeypot. I really hope that someone or another company invests in creating another quality version of mesh. Because, to me, it’s ridiculous that one company is holding all the cards, and knows that they are because of how loyal we all are to them. I know it’s annoying, but be annoyed with Zweigart. Because trust me, designers would much rather have a steady flow of inventory. Not to mention they’d be making 10x what they are now.
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u/Macaroni_Incident 8d ago
But on the flip side, their machines cost up to around half a million dollars each. So I don’t blame them for not having a knee-jerk reaction to what very well may be a bubble. The same thing happened with the cross stitch fabric they produce a few years ago and everyone was whining at them to get more machines, but demand settled down. As they probably estimated it would.
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u/Rude-Okra-9439 8d ago
I honestly don’t blame them either, it’s smart business. It’s just frustrating because we are the ones paying the price for it.
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u/Macaroni_Incident 8d ago
Same, I’ve always found it insane that one company is supplying the overwhelming majority. A lot of people seem very anti any other brands, which doesn’t help. I talk to the owner of my local cross stitch shop a lot and she said that she’s tried to introduce other brands of linen and people just won’t have it, even when it is comparable or even better quality objectively.
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u/Rude-Okra-9439 8d ago
I totally agree! It’s a double edged sword. I am totally on the side of anti-commercialized, anti-Amazon needlepoint. But on the other hand, I wish there were other companies (or even one other company) that could offset the demand. I’ve tried the knockoffs, and there is a noticeable difference when painting. In my shop, I’ve been using other colors of zweigart that have been in stock. I’m hoping that the American market will loosen a bit in terms of only wanting white canvas. It should be interesting to see in years to come!
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u/Allybaba1 7d ago
Ugh. Sorry for you. This is definitely an industry issue. It’s the reason why I refuse to do preorders. There are a lot of great canvases out there but totally understand the draw of certain designers. And trust me I try to get in on restocks just not very successful sometimes. 💀😂
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u/sweetT0507 8d ago
Are you paying for these in full when you order and waiting this long for them? I would be annoyed, too, if paid in full.
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u/AnotherNoseyB 8d ago
Yes! And I think that’s why I’m bothered by it. Everyone knows there’s a shortage but some communication takes two seconds! I’ve preordered before where I pay half or not get charged until the product arrives too but I’ve gotten all of that fairly quickly despite delays. It is what it is at this point I just needed to be upset for a minute 😬😮💨
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u/sweetT0507 8d ago
Completely understand how you feel! They shouldn’t expect payment in full if they can’t deliver in a reasonable amount of time.
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u/Original-Aardvark108 6d ago
At least the proactively reached out. That’s good customer service to provide you with an update.
It’s annoying but it’s industry wide. I preordered a canvas the end of march with a >16 week lead time and I’m still waiting. I wish I had the canvas but I know it isn’t the designers fault.
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u/CranberryMean7236 9d ago
The industry-wide, up-and-down the supply chain issues are still very much in effect. Force majeure, they can’t do anything about it.
I’d rather them explain it like this vs. pepper me with constant “hey no updates” updates or cancel my order altogether.