What do you mean you're closing?

Hello, we are closing this chapter of our business at the end of our lease, roughly 8 months from this being posted.

If you have questions around why, please read our closing letter. 

 

Answers to general questions are below, we'll add any more relevant info to this page around our closing as it develops. 

 

IS EVERYTHING OKAY? ARE YOU GUYS OKAY? 

Omg, thank you so much for asking. It's quite rare that our health is considered when making books by hand, so thank you—sincerely. Yes, we're okay. We are very tired, and sad especially witnessing so many peers experiencing the same, and even more who have closed already, but we are okay.

Thank you so much for asking, wow 🥲🫂. 

 

WAIT, BUT WHAT ABOUT MY ORDER? 

If you have placed an order with us, you will receive it. This is why we are making the decision to close now so that all orders can be fulfilled while we are still here. If you do not wish to wait any longer, you can request a refund and it will be fulfilled promptly. 

For those who have ordered This Means Everything to Me by EJ Hill, your order is coming in the next few months and will come with a thank-you-for-your-patience custom notebook from the papers that EJ's book is made of. 

Full disclosure: we tried to outsource the printing and binding to speed up the process of fulfillment for this big project but that business is now closing too, so they canceled our order with them. 

With that said, thank you so much for your patience! This is the largest book and edition we have ever made. We are very proud of it and feel that it is one of the most special things we've ever made, it also takes a lot of time and careful labor. 

For those who have ordered anything else, all other orders are near completion and fulfillment and will be shipped out accordingly. 

 

WAIT, BUT WHAT ABOUT MY PROJECT? 

If you are making a project with us, you will receive it. This is why we are making the decision to close now, so that all projects can be fulfilled while we are still here. If you do not want to wait any longer, you can request a refund and it will be fulfilled promptly.

 

WHAT ABOUT NEW PROJECTS BETWEEN NOW AND MAY 2026?
CAN I STILL PAY YOU TO MAKE A PROJECT?

Yes, please e-mail lukas@forthebirdstrappedinairports.com about your project and expectations and we will do our best to meet it.

We are operating at a pretty slow level because of cashflow issues and tariffs / material cost / rent increases, as well as the US economy rapidly collapsing 🫡🇺🇸, so we will need to be more strict than usual as to what projects we accept during this time. 

Thank you for your understanding. 

 

HOW DID YOU MESS THIS UP? CAN'T YOU RUN A BUSINESS? WHERE ARE YOUR BOOTSTRAPS???

While we can be abundantly self-critical people, the situation we find ourselves in is not because of our business acumen or lack-there-of.

Print / bindery / art-related businesses are closing en masse right now because the rising costs to exist as a business (rent, materials increasing because of tariffs, like paper, foil, bookcloth, metal for foil dies, etc.) are incompatible with what customers are able to afford to make a project.

Fewer customers are able to pay in general as the majority of people are struggling financially right now. As we lower pricing to meet those needs, the overhead costs are not met. When raising our pricing to meet overhead costs, the customer naturally goes with what is affordable: in most cases, larger businesses that are absorbing / have absorbed the smaller ones. 

Edition One closed their digital division on June 15, our dear friends at The Bindery in Milwaukee closed last month. We are in touch with many peers of ours about nearly closing their doors each month. 

All small businesses in the US are facing similar struggles to exist right now, please give your money to them instead of Amazon. 

 

WILL YOU KEEP DOING BOOKS AFTER THIS? 

Absolutely—somehow, at least. It may be out of a bedroom next time, we may have less equipment or resources, but we'll keep doing it in some way.

The way we serve our community next will look different than it has for the past 3 years, but the ethos will remain the same. This is not the first time we've needed to close and reset due to changing conditions.

The change we need to find for ourselves is a way out of the high rent, high pressure, high stress way of existing. We are optimistic in this search, the shape will eventually present itself. 

To stay posted on those details, you can sign up for our newsletter.