On Tariffs

On Metaphysical Supply Chains

We often value an object less for its substance than its history. We revel in the little bits of wonder a stine picks up on its travels: a bead of sweat dropped by a Brazilian miner, the loving touch of an Indian craftswoman as her fingers apply a final polish, or the reflected gaze of a customs agent in some distant port of call.

Some rocks, though, we just love because they’re shiny.

Behold the recent bounty of a crate cracked open yesterday at dawn’s first light, and washed in the evening storms.

Their delivery marked the last of several orders placed in the before time, and make us glad that our supply lines are less prone to disruption than many small businesses.

How do you apply an import tax to skittering nightmares and incipient prayers, or to suppliers who write their invoices in dead languages?

We’re lucky, but we still have to keep the silver dishes filled with rocks, so we are spending most of this week investigating logistics and rearranging our supply lines.

The current state of the world is what it is, but we’re going to do our best to keep almost everything in stock and to keep prices where they are.