the US government wants to shut down our business

[@taylorraburn5607]

Hello, I work in international imports/exports for the largest freight/logistics company in the U.S. The easy answer is to use a reputable manufacturer. For instance, you said they were made in Germany, but you need to know where EXACTLY where the sable fur is being obtained. The place making your brushes is probably not registered with USFWS. Second, to make this easier for CBP, a BFAR would expedite things. For instance, the BFAR would reduce FWS holds being placed on the shipments. What more than likely happened is that your first couple exports flagged, so they placed an "always pull for exam" note for your product. There are several solutions, but it can be a headache. Finally, try not to ship to NYC/EWR as they're strict, SAV and CHS don't have FW inspectors so those ports are a no go. This is universal for air and ocean freight.

[@KT-pv3kl]

If it's made In Germany the hair is almost guaranteed to come from shady eastern European sources. Manufacturing is insanely expensive in Germany and so is transport , energy and taxes. If they want to make any profit with labor intensive small items like brushes they absolutely can't afford high price raw materials that are checked , double checked and triple verified by 3rd parties.

[@taylorraburn5607]

@KT-pv3kl correct. Sourcing of the hair(in the video says the sable is in CN or RU. All government agencies require the "country of harvest. RU is straight up banned. And CN has precautionary measures (for obvious reasons).

[@austin4170]

What about all the drugs that are let into the country we know exactly where those are made? Can't get paint brushes but we van get deadly drugs, GO USA

[@quirinaled2752]

@KT-pv3kl So you're asserting that Germany habitually breaks EU law on controlled animal products and has absolutely no QA or regulation in this field. Nothing in your confident statement reflects Germany's approach to manufacturing.

[@taylorraburn5607]

@quirinaled2752 No. I'm saying the vendor of the sable hair in CN or RU isn't declaring that it's from those countries on the inspection certificates in order to open themselves up to broader markets. It's very very common. For instance the U.S. flags shipments that have country of harvest of the wood fibers in furniture as denied if it comes from RU. The reality is that no new vendor, manufacturer, and seller knows import regulations or laws when they first start importing/exporting goods. It's a common mistake an honest seller would miss but a dishonest supplier of the sable hair wouldn't tell because they couldn't sell their products. I'm curious as to why you accused me of doubting the German customs. Things get through all the time. For instance last June, German CBP missed 2.8 billion euros of cocaine that was stashed on banana crates. Lastly, I put most of the focus on the strictness of US CBP being the issue not Germany. Idk why you'd come to this conclusion. I hope you reply so we can figure out how you came to that.

[@kingtone3734]

New idea: We make Lucas grow his hair out for the remainder of the year, we cut his hair, and then make the finest Lucas-olious hair brushes the world has ever seen. I'll set up the kickstarter.

[@RyanEvans1228]

I'm in

[@Ultr4l0f]

The Joy of licking our paintbrushes will increase 200%!

[@tc-hr1ud]

See now we’re thinkin

[@jimmy248]

lets do this

[@EatTheMarxists]

@@Ultr4l0fsee, you just made it weird.

[@abbazabba58]

This is why I just stick to finger painting my minis

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

nothing beats fingering plastic

[@DeadEd725]

@@SquidmarMiniatures Wait...

[@machkick2]

I have sausage fingers. Perfect for vehicle base coating.

[@DarkDramon]

That is an awesome idea for a video

[@natehart1988]

April fools video idea?

[@TristinFletcherRides]

As a US fan of yours I really appreciate how open and honest you guys are about your products and issues you have getting them shipped out. It's one of the big reasons why I trust y'all as content creators.

[@amalshah4657]

+1, we love you!!

[@ScooterinAB]

I appreciate that they've been investigating this and looking for a solution instead of just saying "tough," and that they have those higher standards so as not to abuse their position to their customers. That they are working on this and testing products to make sure that the stand behind what they are selling is admirable when so many companies (and creators) just don't.

[@Daedricsoulslayer]

Same!

[@Badgero12345]

Dang I was just wanting these…dang oh well. Maybe you could partner with Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, others? Get them to file for a huge order import them and sell them here that way. Look forward to your synthetic brush ideas

[@Celestial_Reach]

It's really refreshing, I'm not even a client, but I respect this alot

[@CallmeKplz]

Hey Squidmar, as a freight forwarder myself, I suggest you find a US distributor that handles deliveries for you. Imagine sending one big shipment with Cites and all via airfreight to said distributor. This way you pay all customs fees only once. Then your brushes are already in the US and your distributor only handle deliveries within the US. Sure maybe US customers would pay slightly higher delivery fees to offset the extra work - but maybe they would buy your product anyway?

[@XeroShifter]

Honestly if the brushes are quality enough, there are people who would pay more. Arguably if this was able to be done, you might even be able to turn it into a marketing thing that you're one of the only k-sable brush options in the US.

[@MrMontanaNights]

Seems like just doing a shop on Amazon and selling them FBA would be a good way to go for the US.

[@AshleyBlackwater]

Tbh the shipping fee going down a bit because they are already in the US might even get more customers, if the USA to Europe shipping prices are anything to go by anyway.

[@Dragoon91786]

Wouldn't surprise me. We ALREADY had to pay out the ass BEFORE the Ukraine situation for Sable Brushes. Like, in 2013, I paid over $10/brush in some cases. I'm now realizing that my several inch all sable wash brush is probably a fucking heirloom now 🤣.

[@NikoMoraKamu]

@@AshleyBlackwater the shipping fee will be lees but you will have to add the chain of suplly costs of having a separate distrubution

[@TrepidDestiny]

Holy crap. This explains why absolutely NO art store has any kolinsky brushes. Thankfully I've built a collection of them over the years. I think maybe I'll baby and cherish the brushes I have.

[@ge2719]

thats the good thing about products like these, if you take care of them they last way way longer than synthetic alternative. I recently realised all my shoes fall apart after a few years because they're made of fake leather, made from plastic. At first i just assumed the leather was bad or i got them too wet or something. because the company i usually buy from used to use leather. But it seems at a certain point the majority of shoe makers switched to vegan leather, and now their shoes just fall apart after a few years... which i'm sure they dont mind either. But now i wont buy anything with fake leather. Its worth it to buy real leather, and it will likely outlive me if taken care of. maybe one day we will get lab grown sable hairs, best of both worlds :P

[@TheMugwump1]

Just find a mom&pop hobby store or art store. They'll still have them. Blick will also sell them.

[@filipmazur4763]

@@TheMugwump1 yeah i found some mom and pop store in Ohio randomly they had them lol bought 6 just in case

[@EatTheMarxists]

I don’t think that I have more than one, perhaps two, brushes. The rest of mine are just cheap-o ones from Amazon. They’re probably not good enough for professional painting, but for someone as crappy at painting as I am they work okay.

[@coreymorse1347]

What are you talking about? Blick has pretty much all the major brands in stock. Rosemary & Co are in stock at the places that sell them. Maybe it wasn't clear in the video, but the issue is someone from outside the US shipping to individual customers has a high paperwork/fee burden, bulk shipping to a distributor isn't nearly as big of a deal.

[@corrupt__ninja2440]

Fellow USA residents, I was able to obtain Kolinsky Brushes from Jackson's Art Supplies. Shipping took 2-3 weeks but no issues with customs.

[@Syaharcher]

Sadly looks like they’re all out of stock and unavailable to ship.

[@corrupt__ninja2440]

@ I am able to see them in stock for the Raphael 8408 (Emil use to use, and the Da Vinci Series 10 and sizes 0-2 even more sizes too. What is not showing for you. Are you on the American website?

[@CwayNJ609]

Amazon has them I just ordered some, no idea what he's talking about

[@JabsJibo]

​@@CwayNJ609 what brand? Lots of brushes labeled sable aren't really sable.

[@thomgizziz]

@@JabsJibo Winsor & Newton... is that good enough for you? Stop it with the BS.

[@ApolloAssassin]

A US fan of Squidmar myself. Thank you for keeping us in the loop. And explains why I am unable to find any Kolinksy in the stores. Even when I asked the stores, everyone had no idea. Now I have the answer thanks to you. Keep up the great work! Love the vids. Thank you!

[@mattdsoares]

Kolinsky brushes are available in the USA, but not as readily as some other countries. Mostly you'll find them at art supply stores. The way they deal with CITES is by using a distributor. For example, DaVinci doesn't need to get a CITES permit for every brush sold to an American. They just need a CITES permit to import to their distributor. Once the brushes are in the US legally, the distributor can sell to art stores without any other red tape.

[@ralex3697]

No problem getting Kolinsky Sable in Canada

[@spectralcanvasimages]

Honestly I'm really sorry you guys are going through this, but hey! I'm more than hyped for the possibility of synthetic Squidmar brushes!

[@Derekt0r]

No wonder it is so hard for me to get these brushes here. This is infuriating. Thank you for sharing this information.

[@mafiahalo93]

just ship it to a friend or family member outside the US and then have them re-label/repackage it in another brand box and have them ship it off to you in the US. it really not hard to get around custom and get what you want

[@casdragon_5939]

you can get kolinsky brushes in the US easily

[@CwayNJ609]

Literally got some off Amazon couple days ago. No idea why he's making it seem like the KS apocalypse

[@stevenborman9110]

Import weasels and get Lukas to breed them, then shave the tails

[@bungle8111]

Get Lucas to breed them, or breed with them? 😮

[@iExploder]

@@bungle8111 Yes.

[@stevenborman9110]

@@bungle8111 yes

[@lewkbauer]

Y’all need Jesus.

[@stevenborman9110]

@@lewkbauer does he shave the tails?

[@deviantlegion]

Hasn't the ban on Kolinsky brushes been in force for some time now? I'm pretty sure it's been discussed in painting groups for the past couple of years at least.

[@shadergod]

Literally since 2013

[@deviantlegion]

@shadergod I wasn't entirely sure on the dates, thanks for the clarification. 😊 It makes this video even more click baity than I originally thought.

[@masterwilliam8704]

My wife works for a company that orders all their product from China. She is responsible for dealing with customs all the time. She has dealt with one person who would flag all their products coming in from a certain port. She has gone around and round with stupid reasons why it got stopped to not being able to be told why it got stopped or how to fix the issue. Sometimes it's the port it comes in, just rerouting to a different port solved the issue.

[@georgewhanford4421]

It can often come down to the people working at a particular port of entry

[@ge2719]

seems like a major change that happened recently was a change to the person running the agency. biden appointed her in 2022. So she may well have made a personal case about this for some reason and thats why the brushes are now getting stopped. When it comes to the government and agencies like this, its hard to know why anything actually happens the way it does. Could just be one person at one port, as you say, being a stickler for the rules, when no one else cares because its a blatant waste of time and money.

[@Spark_Chaser]

Some petty tyrant middle manager with delusions of power using what little power they have to be a dick.

[@rzbonilla]

Time for Squidmar hire your wife.

[@ezekielgml]

I recently got back into 40k and started painting miniatures again. Wife asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said a set of kolinsky brushes. I now know why we cannot find any.

[@DojuOG]

They where banned in 2013 lol. Many moons ago.

[@corrupt__ninja2440]

I got some in from jackson art supplies, they carry Raphael and i think a couple others

[@rustydowd879]

You can find them, you just have to buy from a general art supplier, not GW or Squidmar.

[@mattdsoares]

Any large art supplier will have them as they get them from a central distributor/importer that imports them at scale making the CITES process much easier and more scalable. I get mine from Hyatt's All Things Creative. They carry DaVinci and maybe Raphael.

[@thomgizziz]

Literally on amazon right now and I can still have them delivered by Christmas. So you either are lying or you didn't even put "kolinsky brushes" into google... so you are just lying to fit the narrative you heard from the video. How are you this unintelligent?

[@TheRonHockman]

Wind River Arts in the US did the paperwork to sell Rosemary and Company's Kolinsky brushes. Might want to chat with them.

[@VaultBoy13]

We can get Rosemary and Co back in the US? Did not know that. I've been wondering what I'm going to do to replace my brushes.

[@TheRonHockman]

@@VaultBoy13 Yep. It's a bit old-fashioned. They have a website but they don't take orders through it. You literally call them on the phone and tell them your order. I've ordered from them twice so far and it was easy.

[@iamnotgonnatellyou]

@@VaultBoy13 I can also vouch for Wind River Arts. It feels a little silly having to call the office, it feels very old fashioned compared to most modern websites. But you just call, list off what brushes you'd like from their site, and they take your payment and shipping info over the phone, very straightforward. I bought a handful of Rosemary 301 synthetics which do the lion's share of my painting these days, and a few sable brushes for fancy stuff. I've been planning on placing a second order from them sometime soon-ish.

[@jared6232]

I can vouch as well.

[@JeffSwinton]

I got mine there too.

[@crystalm4324]

Canadian here - I’ve use Sable brushes for doing nails for decades. I was just showing the brushes to my daughter as the best for paint when we were in the art store as they have a broad selection. Sooo definitely don’t stop selling to Canada 🇨🇦

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

yeah its not a canada problem for sure :)

[@natehart1988]

Great. Now I need to start picking up paint brushes too when I travel to Canada to buy medicine...

[@DodgeHowell]

Since I'm in Michigan in the United States, maybe it's time to find a hobby store in Canada that's close to the border and plan a day trip. ;)

[@Sdub976]

​@DodgeHowell its a weird dynamic. as a canadian, i always feel shafted when it comes to anything consumer good related, and go to the states. hobby/arts stores here often dont have what your looking for

[@noelsayar3113]

Several shipping companies have discounted rates to ship to the US here in Canada. They fill trucks here in Toronto, cross the border to Buffalo and ship them from US soil. Just say ..

[@xombified9]

The Kolinsky sable ban may have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, but the actual ban originally went into place in 2013. I remember reading about it years ago when I saw that Rosemary & Co wouldn't ship directly to US addresses.

[@Hudson316]

Which at least lines up with the Euromaidan stuff and the US and Russia getting all tense over Russia’s interference in Ukraine prior to the 2014 invasion

[@MrSJPowell]

@@Hudson316 There was also ethical concerns due to over hunting

[@timogul]

@@Hudson316 Nope, nobody was banning brush fur based on that.

[@AgoristDryad]

2013 is when Euromaidan went down and DC helped the anti-Russian candy king (Zelensky's immediate predecessor) get elected. Before 2013 Ukraine was a Russian satellite state and close ally. (And incredibly corrupt.) The war in Ukraine started in 2014. Ukraine is still incredibly corrupt, but now it's also war-torn and divided and flooded with dollars and weapons.

[@Dragoon91786]

@@Hudson316 It's more like both ways. The US helped the damn Nazis make a coup in 2014, so they are both causing problems. Still, it's causing everyone else to suffer from mass grain shortages to sable brush shortages to mass inflation. All cuz the CIA wants to back Nazis because they oppose Russia and then the other related crap. 😑😒 Would be lovely if the Nazis could f-off, the Russian gov f-off, NATO f-off, and the CIA. Then maybe we can have some peace for a change… 😑😒

[@HacksawsHobbyBunker]

The closed captioning told me that some of the information was possibly "hairsay". Well played, CC. Cheers!

[@evilbass159]

This is why brushes are so expensive... I was wondering as this year Ive wanted to pick up some sable brushes and found them all prohibitively expensive compared to what videos had been telling me they were. Good to know that a few bad apples can bring an industry to its knees (at least here in the US). Hope this nonsense gets ironed out! Thanks for the heads up Squidmar...

[@Deletirium]

We really excel as a country at getting our priorities sorted. Give it 5 years, and they'll have a 150 billion a year department, employing thousands, to conduct armed raids and sniff out ilicit paint brushes. Peanut the Squirrel agrees with me.

[@ge2719]

well i think they are more expensive because theyre a limited supply material. not because of this import paperwork issue. Having to hunt, or even farm something will always be more expensive than having a machine spin plastic to make synthetic brushes. that process can be refined to get cheaper and cheaper. but natural hair brushes will likely always be expensive, even if they started farming the sable

[@evilbass159]

@@ge2719 While thats true and i expect them to cost more, i would see videos years old saying they should be $15-$20 for the brushes being recommended and when i searched for them by name they were costing $25 to $30 per brush. So theres something else going on and i feel like this can explain a bit of it.

[@iExploder]

@@ge2719 Why not both?

[@scorinth]

Honestly, "a few bad apples" can do a lot of real damage. I grew up hearing about Exxon-Valdez, for example.

[@TylerRAndrews]

Hey! I think I was the first to get mine snatched by the government. It sucked. Glad you guys are working on a solution. Fingers crossed!

[@hybridzero]

Thats a bummer but I hope y’all the best. I know for me personally when I backed the Kickstarter I got two bad brushes and never heard back to see if there was a solution. Good thing is that it was a turning point for me in learning to just buy brushes without any one specific painters brand on it. They’re cheaper and if an issue comes up, which is very rare, it gets resolved fast.

[@tacobruisedays]

Sorry about the issues you're having. So many issues with monetizing content, and this is just another. Keep going though! We appreciate your willingness to teach.

[@tomaswanerstrand1517]

Not cheap, but there are plenty of natural sable brushes (W&N, Da Vinci, Raphael etc.) available on Amazon in the U.S as I type.

[@cameronhoffman2009]

I'm on a us base in korea, and I got my squidmar brushes delivered right to my door. This was last month. It's a shame, I love these brushes.

[@Ontoshkyo]

I am an old fan of this channel, and enjoy the videos here, but specifically in my case - squidmar paintbrushes were a dissapointment for me, currently I use only tine one, other sizes are impossible to use, since no matter how many paint or moisture I use - the tip dissapears, brush absorbs too much water and thats it...

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

So would say your main problems are weasilly traced to the materials, or is is a stoatally different issue?

[@IcecalGamer]

No matter what the other comments say, I'm proud of you 👍 o7

[@martylund8411]

I got this reference!

[@jamesrobertson5025]

😂

[@KahlAlphOrkius]

An otterly accurate statement. Keep up the good work.

[@timparks9833]

Well done

[@chase8728]

As a US watcher who owns the MK 1 brushes, I love that yall are so open about what is going on. Hoping the MK 2 is everything you hope it will be because I definitely want a new product from yall!

[@talkingcrow6385]

Just got my paint order. It was held by US costume for over a week. After I called ups they told me I need to submit a form. If I wouldn’t have called they would have held it indefinitely or send it back. With no notice.

[@Donnovan82]

So glad you posted this. I am experiencing the same but through FedEx and just received an email asking for information after inquiring about the Clearance Delay in their app.

[@talkingcrow6385]

No prob. My issue was with fedex as well. (The original post was a typo). Call them directly with your tracking number. They will email you a pdf of the form. On the bright side, they released my shipment the same day I emailed back the form. Hope it all works out! Happy painting :)

[@Donnovan82]

@ yep, got the form and sent it back. Hopefully all goes well. I imagine it’s more of a “liability box” that needs to be checked by the domestic shipper, to protect themselves in the event something nefarious happens when they aren’t exactly sure what is in the package outside of the fact that there are chemicals in it.

[@Donnovan82]

@@talkingcrow6385 update, already got the release notification. Very simple form to fill out and return via email. Hopefully others that find themselves in the same boat see this and have an idea of what to do now because the notifications that they send initially don’t really tell you that you need to do anything.

[@sandrasparks6972]

This happened to my brush set! I was really sad because they were supposed to be a birthday present from my husband, but I sincerely appreciated that your company was responsive to my emails and issued me a refund after investigating the issue. I was sincerely wondering if you guys were going to do a video on this and it's nice to have more information on what happened! I hope that testing on new synthetic brushes goes well so that I can purchase brushes from you in the future! Love your content and the products you release! My paint set and airbrush are amazing!

[@guangdali1762]

As an owner of ferrets. I can say that weasels are generally mistreated and often misunderstood. They are carnivores and eat a lot of small pesky nuisances (mice/rats). They also eat eggs which might make some farmers dislike them. But ehhhhr. I guess for that i'm not too enticed in buying sable brushes indeed.

[@rustedbeetle]

Rosemary and Co. Lost their CITES certificate to import their brushes into the US. Currently they sell to Michigan Toy Soldier company who can sell the brushes to US buyers.

[@worldforger9225]

good to know, thanks!

[@sammmmDC]

US Customs stopped my second order of your paint sets too. I had to return to Harden Steinbeck for a full refund. TSCA forms are important and need too be filled out ahead of time.

[@RichardFleming]

To anyone else with this problem, email Harden Steinbeck for help. I sent them a polite email asking for help with the documentation and they got back to me in a day with the needed paperwork. One call to fedex to setup an email dropoff and my documentation was submited. Package was released soon after.

[@TheLaMa57]

This was such a massive headache, first time buying paints after getting into warhamner and figured I would splurge on these sets. Little did I know the nightmare import fees, customs, shipping holds, TSCA forms, it all stressed me out but many weeks later I finally got them. NEVER buying paints out of the US again 😂

[@K3ns4i]

I'm a bit lost here. What does H&S have to do with the paints and the brushes? H&S only produces airbrushes. The brushes sold by them come from DaVinci.

[@K3ns4i]

@@TheLaMa57 Same here in the EU. We avoid buying anything from the other side of the pond due to customs and couriers imposed abusive import fees (DHL, FedEx, UPS) if you don't want to wait weeks for your purchase 🤣

[@CrimsonLord224]

Dang that’s a bummer. I was hoping to get a set of these brushes. Still, look forward to the future and will continue to support with the paint sets and such.

[@RichardFleming]

When my paint order/airbrush got held up I emailed Harder Steinback and they and Velejo (sp) were excellent in helping me get the documentation sorted out. A polite email asking for help goes a long ways :)

[@RamyamHobbies]

It often does! Unfortunatly right now, no paperwork really works for Kolinsky haired brushes, they are just straight out banned to import to the USA. The ones getting in are either missed or seen by someone who just don't know. Rather silly tbh.

[@davicus9683]

In US - just bought 3 W&N Series 7 from Amazon 5 mins ago (mine were going on a year old) - no issues...

[@CwayNJ609]

I just got a set couple days ago, I feel like this is a way to push his synthetic brushes or somethin...

[@ninjatango]

@@CwayNJ609 Pay attention. There is in FACT a trade ban on sable from Russia and it has in fact cause supply issues and some retailers refusing to risk liability by shipping to the US.

[@LeborHalActual]

Literally dozens of sets from W&N, DaVinci. Escado, and Kingart available on amazon. This is just another example of US government regulations being overtly complicated so small business can't navigate the red tape while large producers can..

[@shanerowe8604]

My Airbrush/wetpallet/paint sets got held up for about a week with us customs, but harder and Steenbeck did email me the forms needed and after a few round with FedEx, it has been cleared and should be here tomorrow!

[@rustydowd879]

A week isn't too bad. You got off easy!

[@Beaver_Queen]

A bulk shipment would definitely be the way to go with a distributor for whatever stock you have if you want the US market. The question becomes what do you project the demand will be? How often do you restock? I'm use to this kind of thing working with US Customs (private company), they love to make sure they can get money out of businesses.

[@FangorzJeseniku]

Czechia here ❤ guys finger crossed, looking forward to your brushes I want them so much but every time I look on you website they are Sold out 🙂

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

We're moving locations, hope to be back Dec 1

[@SkateSoup]

Did not know this is why sable brushes have been so hard to find here, so TIL. Also happy about the sponsor as I'm 6'4" and have had the issue with all but a few places' t-shirts in my size turning into belly shirts which really isn't my thing. Ordered a few to check out, hopefully you get a decent kick back from them.

[@seanclarke8015]

Good to hear some quality control measures have been implemented. My brushes sucked and it took so long to get a refund, I wish I was confident in supporting your products again.

[@KingUsyk]

Same, terrible brushes and impossible to get a refund

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Hey man sorry you received a bad batch. There's been a lot of learning as we said in the video. Especially in the beginning we were just slammed with work due to the rediculous demand. But we made it our mission to replace any bad brushes and refund anyone that wanted that even if it took time, especially in the beginning. 2,5 years ago we took over the ALL customer service and QC process for the brushes - and we've had next to no people reach out to us with issues since - and those that have - has gotten swift assistance.

[@KingUsyk]

@@SquidmarMiniatures why have you hidden all the comments agreeing with the original poster? it's a bit shady :(

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

@@KingUsyk Hey man, it was a person with two accounts, spamming under multiple comments the same lies about us not using the brushes in videos, we didnt remove the comments - we blocked the user as he's spreading lies - as these are the only brushes we've been using for 5 years exclusively. Every piece we paint has been made with these brushes. I don't mind critique - but lies and trolling/spam to spread misinformation we don't approve :)

[@michaelwelch8068]

Thank you for being open about the issues. I also see why I can not find Kolinsky brushes either. I believe in you all and I look forward to see what alternative solution you come up with. Whatever it is I am sure it will be great just like all of you other products. Keep up the great work.

[@_ccann]

Excited for some innovations in synthetic brushes! I'd much rather buy these.

[@rustydowd879]

The newer synthetic GW wash brushes were working fine for me. For speed paints I liked them better than the natural brushes.

[@CrimsonLord224]

Can confirm even the paint sets are being flagged by the US EPA now, mine is currently stuck in customs clearance

[@adrianb568]

when will the brushes be available again in Europe? trying to get a set for Christmas, love the paint sets :D

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Hope dec 1

[@greenienator8421]

Daaaaaaang I was literally looking to buy brushes for Christmas gifts... what timing! Ugh. Good luck for the future!

[@sigismundlee389]

I'm down for Squidmar contraband.

[@crapparc]

Squidmartraband? Not to be confused with the Trabant, a German car.

[@benmiles00]

The price of my Raphael brushes have gone up dramatically in recent years. The last one I bought wasn't quite right either. It was a definite drop in quality. I'm reluctant to buy another one but it's the only God-tier brush I've ever used so stick with what you know right? But AU$50 for one brush is painful.

[@phaylnx]

I do hope you double checked, either by phone call or certified mail, with the US Fish and Wildlife Department. Our government here in the US doesn't normally contact people by email or text message. They want to make sure that you know it's not a scammer. I also hope you didn't click that link in the email. It could be a Phishing scam. I hope you get it all squared away. Good luck gentlemen.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Hey man, yes we also got a package sent back from the US customs with a business card included that had the same info on it! :)

[@grapetonenatches186]

"Trust me. Sincerely, Charles Q" Seems 0% legit.

[@ScooterinAB]

Given that this is a known issue, the authenticity of that message is irrelevant. They know their shipments have been blocked because of import regulations. The message is also not asking for anything and is very politely pointing them towards permits, so it being a scam is unlikely. It's not a C&D or some shady company IP-trolling.

[@phaylnx]

@@ScooterinAB not so. The Email message he shows on screen had a hyperlink in it. If the Email wasn't legit, and instead was a Phishing Scam, clicking the Hyperlink would infect whatever device used to click said link. Most Phishing scams don't ask for anything nowadays, but try to get you to click a link by using a message that conveys a sense of urgency. Once infected, the scammer then has access to the device, and can either lock it down and demand something in return for removing said virus that is locking it down or gaining access to things like bank account information.

[@thavinator]

Email contact isn't at all unusual for basic government business like this. We deal with multiple federal agencies at my job, and most of it is by email, including official paperwork. If you get an email (supposedly) from the IRS, or anything asking for money, sure, you should wait for the official letter or call the official published phone number to confirm, but it's not like someone is going to impersonate a FWS employee just to lie to squidmar about import restrictions.

[@marshallhunter4193]

Thank you for the thorough explanation. I am practicing with a pair of sheers and my children's hair. Between the lot of them I should be able to make my own brushes, and even share them with the kids! I know... I am always very generous

[@MrZauberelefant]

Hi Emil, I have had to deal with that sort of nonsense in my dayjob (exporting energy and steel products to the UK), looks like you need to get a preferential statement of origin. Basically, your supplier let you down here.

[@DarkAbyssMiniatures]

Da Vinci haven't done anything wrong, the fact is Kolinsky brushes are basically banned in the USA now. Hence why Windsor and Newton, Rosemary & co and several other big brush makers are bringing out loads of new synthetic lines or exploring different types of hair.

[@MrZauberelefant]

​@@DarkAbyssMiniaturesdoubt it. In international trade, it's proof of origin that counts.

[@DarkAbyssMiniatures]

@@MrZauberelefant you can doubt it all you want, I know 100% for certain that Rosemary and co have recently developed new synthetics purely based on the fact they kept getting brushes stopped at customs and have spent thousands of pounds trying to rectify the issue and acquire the correct licences. Even with a main supplier in the USA, they lose money on all kolinsky sable brushes as well as things like their hog bristle brushes when shipping to places like Australia. This is a huge problem for family run brush companies that make all their brushes by hand. I'm not an advocate for da Vinci, their brushes aren't that great compared to others I've used, but to blame them for this is just uneducated and false.

[@mcgill504]

i got a set of brushes in the US last year. my bank gave me an issue with the order at first. other then that there weren't any issues getting my brushes. they actually came sooner. the brushes are great by the way

[@AdamRobertshaw]

This is basic supply chain management Squidmar... you must prove the location, manufacture, and origin of your products in order to sell in many countries. This involves factory visits, and obtaining statements from all companies involved to ensure it complies. Examples include products from china ensuring no slave labour, and origin of materials - the best example of this for instance is the use of Solar panels in Europe that have a Chinese origin - these are generally not accepted due to slave labour and materials coming from mines with inadequate conditions. Time to step up your game when you are selling so many products. Internet based companies are slack as hell on this, most of which do not comply and considering the number of sales you do you are now on the radar for customs and the like.

[@Tiewaz]

Today I learned I wished I'd discovered you guys sooner so I could have had the opportunity to buy the sable brushes. Dang it. If nothing else, just for those teeny tiny detail brushes. I literally used to use my worn brushes that had a single hair left to do the tiniest detail work on my teeny tiny figures. Been trying to get back into the hobby after some few decades.

[@Speakhardly]

I took part in your original Kickstarter Emil. While I’m very happy that that helped you push this channel forward, I gotta say, your quality control for the brushes wasn’t good. Most of the brushes you sent me were defective. Still kinda sour about that.

[@arcane3877]

I get what this is like to deal with, I used to work in a vintage guitar store and a lot of the higher end pieces we possessed had Brazillian Rosewood in their construction. When we got word that CITES would be required for particular variants of Rosewood that tanked the business for a few months before we were able to streamline the process for each and every guitar that had rosewood in it. Didn't matter if it was part of an inlay on the headstock or if the entire neck of the guitar was made from it. Every guitar that had Rosewood anywhere needed CITES certificate. Needless to say the people in charge of mandating that didn't think the process out clearly.

[@Cogency]

You should rename the brushes to GUN&BULLET

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

lol

[@Deletirium]

Lmao.

[@utahgeoff]

Doesn't work. I've been trying to get Russian gun parts for a couple years and they are vaporware too. MERICAaaaaaaaaa!

[@judgmenthammer5254]

@@utahgeoff Yup, I've seen an increase of AK platforms that are shown in 5.56 instead of 7.62.

[@CodPlayMakers]

Russian firearms are illegal to import to the US

[@kellymcmahon706]

man, this is frustrating. hopefully things are figured out soon! i'd love to get a brush set from y'all

[@stankshop]

Dude, I've been subscribbed for MONTHS! (Says Steve)

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Has to be that other steve

[@stankshop]

@SquidmarMiniatures damn him! He keeps dragging our bad name in the mud

[@Katskraftkorner]

This sucks because I've been really wanting these brushes for years. I just haven't been able to afford them yet. Store bought brushes are terrible and pieces of the brush fall off in the paint so I've had a hard time finding a good quality brush that doesn't shed every time I use it.

[@fransesco42]

I for one am excited about the prospect of squidmar synthetic brushes. I'd buy a set for sure

[@rikstewart7544]

With you on this. Don't use animal hair brushes and so far have not found the perfect synthetic brush. Some get close but eventually they join the huge pile of 'use for anything but proper painting' brushes :D

[@Scion_40k]

The kolinsky sable import has been an issue for years now. I used to get my sable brishes from rosemary & co., and they still cant ship them to the US. Not really aware of anyone that's going through all that effort to bring in sable brushes here. You could likely opt into the bulk shipment you mentioned and still sell out of those brushes with the mark up

[@stephanieknudtson4449]

We were flagged for our paint set it was in customs for a minute! I got my set & it rules! Can't wait to support you guys in the future everything I've ordered has been top tier quality. Sorry the US is f*ing dumb. I would 100% buy an alternative brush set from y'all.

[@sangera]

I am not a minifig painter, but I do work with ink. I've only used cheap brushes I've gotten from local chains. When I went to upgrade, I wanted to try out Kolinsky brushes. I was shocked and annoyed to find out I couldn't purchase them because of CITES.

[@FormerGovernmentHuman]

Well I’m very glad I take good care of my brushes.

[@bluejay9781]

This explains why last night when I looked on the cite for Christmas none are available. I hope some a solution is found. We love your work!!

[@Waddywoos360]

Run a kickstarter for them for US based consumers. Then you'll have a huge volume to ship, cash ahead of time to produce them all, and can simply send them to a distributor in a container with 1 permission required. Sorted :)

[@sbrevoltuion5]

And if they don’t give that permission you’re screwed?

[@giantnanomachine]

major risk: that one shipment gets held and some small error in paperwork or even just a mistake by customs/fish & wildlife/... means no one gets their brushes. all eggs (or 55% of eggs) in one basket is not an advisable business strategy. I hope the alternatives pan out and testing doesn't detect any significant issues

[@joel6376]

@@giantnanomachine The only bad choice in the idea is running it as a KS. Getting brushes made, getting CITE completed and shipping to a distribution centre to sell at a premium (acceptable due to the apparent lack of brushes) is a better solution. In fact the whole situation is interesting as a potential way to make money - if every kolinsky brush on amazon is truly unavailable..

[@tychoMX]

Still have some of those KS brushes! About half of them are now entering their retiring stage, but some still functional. This is from Canada, limited issues with sourcing these. As for the shenanigans with customs and how the US selectively applies tariffs and duties, it's best said in the language of my childhood: pinches gringos punieteros. Best of luck with this, and makes me more inclined to get more of Squidmar's brushes as they become available.

[@RichardJRussell]

11:08 Looking at those Section 5 fees; they are charging the customer extra if THEY make THEIR STAFF work overtime outside of normal work hours....🤯 WTF does that have to do with the customer?

[@conradharris8167]

I think since they're a government agency they don't really see you as customers

[@iExploder]

@@conradharris8167 Also many government agencies charge on a cost recovery basis rather than profit-based pricing.

[@RichardJRussell]

@@conradharris8167 My point still stands though. Imagine picking up your car from a garage and the mechanic says "I came in early this morning to work on it, so that's going to cost you extra"

[@dickjohnson1461]

Welcome to weird US regulation.

[@kyles8707]

@@RichardJRusselllmao mechanics charge by the hour for labor. If they have to do more work on your car OF COURSE it’s gonna cost more. What a terrible example

[@jessewieman6955]

This was really informative. I have been trying to get some kolinsky brushes since you recommended them years ago and could never understand why all the stores were out

[@Smelly13]

You hired Lukas?! Only paid in cookies I hope 🤞 tops let him sleep in the doghouse

[@Dadsidehobbies]

Emil is wrong. Lukas is the squidmar. He keeps Emil around.

[@alcolyte666]

i appreciate your transparency.

[@viewfromthetabletop]

Guys, I'd be so stoked if there was a range of Squidmar-approved synthetic brushes. I only recently got back into the painting hobby after a couple of decades away and have refused to buy an Kolinsky Sable brushes on ethical grounds. Have tried a few different synthetic brushes but would love to give some Squidmar brushes a go!

[@plasticarcade]

That’s a bummer, I was thinking about your brushes, I hope it all works out for you guys.

[@DodgeHowell]

Thank you for doing the research and explaining the situation in its entirety. I was under the impression that the Kolinsky Sable was endangered, but in now knowing that it may be due to a misunderstanding, mislabeling, or even political makes things a lot clearer. Thank you again.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Honestly, we don't know for sure. This is the information available on the internet, and some of it is contradicting. We're working a little bit in the blind right now, but working to figure out more asap.

[@centaur900]

@@SquidmarMiniatures About endangered species. I am from Russia and according our main list of endangered species called "the Red Book" Kolinsky weasel (or Siberian weasel, Сибирский колонок) are not endangered at all. They are not under any kind of protection or special treatment

[@ninjatango]

Not remotely. Ironically at least one of the species used in these brushes is INVASIVE.

[@gunman292929]

That explains why it was so dang hard to find more Da Vinci series 35 brushes....I guess I'll just baby my sable brushes and be thankful i managed to find 2 more that are still unused...

[@RyanHipp]

I wrote Miniac about three years ago and he actually chatted with me about the ethics of Kolinsky hair. He humored my point of view on this. I have to say watching Squidmar talk about ways to getting around this instead of considering just getting with a modern ethical solutions is disappointing, but was happy to hear at the end that you are looking at ethical sustainable options, even if its not because of the values but because of a workaround. I use Mimik synthetic brushes. They work really well. There is no need to make brushes from an animal that was farmed and killed 100% for its brush fibers. Surprised so many people in the comments don’t seem to care. Ive seen Kolinsky farms. They are NOT nice. Guys, trust me - we all have heard “Kolinsky is the best”, But if someone told you that to get the very best brushes your cat or dog would live its short life in a cage the size of its body then killed (inhumanely) and its pelt used to make brushes. That’s it. Its life was taken just so nerds could paint miniatures “better”. Let’s look at better options.

[@MrBretonian]

100% with you on this. It's quite disappointing to read these comments (we are painting little plastic men, animals don't need to die for this). Seeing Emil try to make out thats it's a rat like creature to somehow justify this is quite appalling. Sorry Emil, but do better.

[@circuitmua5525]

As a US citizen myself, i think our government is fuckin stupidly overdeveloped. I hate it.

[@Swingmesideways]

Dont want to be a ahole but why should some companies just boycott Russia and your company should just pass ? Yes its not like Russia will fall apart if squigmare boycott Russia but its more a statment.

[@Darkshadow64540]

The law blocking the import is from 9 years before the war...

[@Mark-sd4hv]

I have pet ferrets. I clip the tip of their tail hair once every few months and make my own brushes. They don't even notice

[@Solaaris1]

As an ecologist and a mini painter, I'm kind of happy more control is being taken with the use of kolinsky hair. Everything is common until it's not when it comes to nature.

[@roccoraspanti5742]

Agreed. Also, if I can avoid harming another creature used to make a tool for my hobby I feel better - of course every action of ours have some impact, that's nearly unavoidable, but I think we can take some steps. I do still have some natural brushes that I got in the past and I try to make them last as long as I can

[@happyguy333]

Good luck with the synthetics, I've always found them to be less durable than natural hair brushes. Something you might want to look at is different animal hairs. I have some (admittedly very old) British squirrel hair brushes that I think are better than Kolinsky sable, but I don't know if these are even manufactured still.

[@flatulatingfunnugget]

Thanks government bureaucracy! These agencies do more harm than good.

[@breakupgoogle4584]

In their current form, yes they do. The term is "Regulatory capture". Most of our regulatory agencies are run by people from the industries they are supposed to be regulating.

[@rustydowd879]

Elon waits.

[@mattdsoares]

In this case, it's an international treaty and the way the US is enforcing it.

[@miguelengelhardt4687]

As someone who works with material from CITES species, it's super annoying, but also important to remember, that it is an important thing to have.

[@edwardcross5667]

Dude....US customs can just suck it. I ordered your new airbrush when you dropped the reveal video for it, and even with the electrical issue delay with the plant, THEY hung it up for close to 3 weeks. It did manage to finally make to it me, but the mailer was shredded. Luckily the H+S case is pretty tough and it managed to keep it protected. x

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Duude, i'm so sorry :(

[@RichardFleming]

To anyone else with this issue, email Harder and Steenback (I think I've spelled their name 3 different ways so far before finally looking it up) and ask for the documentation. They responded to me in a day and I then called FedEx to get the email info for submitting the documents. My package was released a day later. Total delay of 4 days I think. A polite email asking for help is a magical thing.

[@hotwill100]

One recommendation that i recommend is having a US based primary shipper. Similar to how the Novorich Airsoft company handles their products. Its one main shipment to the distribution center then the others are shipped from there. We will accept higher shipping for that even a higher price tag would not hurt us

[@adamsmith8765]

Should just do Squidmar hair brushes 🤣

[@xionlord00]

I recently picked up the chronicle wolf hair brushes. Still gotta try em. I will say, i would love some alternative tools from yall. If GW can produce an overpriced servitor paint palette, yall could probably make a fun squidmar one for a reasonable price. Maybe the tentacles are paint basins?

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

We just don't use dry palettes, so it would kind of go against our own in house rules lol

[@xionlord00]

@@SquidmarMiniatures Fair, i keep them for washes and contrast style pants, as well as oils/enamels

[@murch35]

Don't forget the upcoming administration in the US has talked about additional fees of up to 200% on every import, it's likely going to get worse.

[@mikemcquarrie4113]

This is a general falsehood. The incoming administration would be applying targeted tariffs versus specific imports, not everything.

[@quirinaled2752]

@mikemcquarrie4113 It is not a falsehood. Trump has proposed a universal tariff of 20% on everything the US imports, with even higher punitive tariffs on companies and countries he believes are 'harmful' to US interests. It's protectionism of the most backward sort but at least the US is showing its true colours instead of trying to pretend it's all about free trade etc

[@mikemcquarrie4113]

@quirinaled2752 we have already seen how he's going to apply tariffs based on his first term. Those were targeted tariffs on goods and services. Main done in retaliation for tariffs applied to American goods or practices used to undercut American companies. Again you exaggerated with the 200% bs, l the problem is we have seen and had a record to go by on how he has applied tariffs previously.

[@ninjatango]

@@quirinaled2752 It IS a falsehood. And fuck free trade. U.S. first.

[@asuranshadow9491]

Wild stuff, hopefully some of the distribution recommendations help

[@necromancer0616]

@Squidmar Miniatures, SMASHED the like button like 100 times man! Of course, I could tell you some ways around that stupid embargo, but I'm not sure costumes would be happy.

[@eloiseatkins6603]

I wish you luck in all that you do. Keep up your awesome.

[@silentwyvern]

My tummy hurts and I hate the government

[@Snake369]

This ws a very helpful video. The last time I bought brushes was i think 2021. I went to buy more a month or two ago and found it almost impossible. Da Vinci, Winsor Newton, no one is selling or making them any more. I'm even in Canada and was trying to buy from UK or NA and no luck. 12USD a brush in 2021, 25-30USD IF you can find one now.

0:15 sec, sable brushes and i was right

[@cursinsquirl]

Would one optional solution be to get someone in the US to sell the brushes for you? they apply for the CITES permit, you sell them the brushes, then they sell the brushes in the US at a slight markup. The brushes would still be more expensive that they were, but by having one entity getting the permit you need to import it should cut the overall problem significantly right?

[@mattylamb658]

I think you have a good solution. I am sure some miniature painters would like to have a non-animal based product to chose from anyway, so it is probably good to offer both alternatives.

[@SquidmarMiniatures]

Yeah, still a lot of work to be don for use there! Hopefully eventually we get there and can do it well! :)

[@prunierlaurent3325]

And it is now impossible to order from anywhere as they are switching warehouse apprently. My birthday was the perfect occasion to order some brushes but I will have to be patient !

[@salmanhamid9911]

As someone who only uses synthetic brushes, I'm super excited about this.

[@mekko1413]

1) Open a US company / Distributor 2) Get CITES for that US Company 3) Sell brush's from EU company to US company 4) US customers buy from your US company. This is how most global companies operate with regards to these types of situations. Even internally in the US large corporations are made up of many smaller companies that sell services and products between them.