This weekend, Jack and I were in the Netherlands with the folks behind EUify - Daran, Kathrin and their family. What started as a work trip quickly became something else: long chats, shared stories, good food, a bit of R&R, and that feeling you only get when you sit across from someone.

EUify summed it up perfectly in their reply to my recent Instagram post:

“Whilst being clients of each other, meeting in person creates the lasting bond and trust where we’re not only business partners, but also friends.”

Exactly that.

And it made me think about how Jack and I do business because honestly, business today is different. Or at least, we think it should be.

Anyone who has dealt with us knows we’re relaxed, approachable, and very much a husband-and-wife team who’ve spent six years working our butts off to get We Are Makers to where it is now.

We don’t hide behind a company name.
We don’t pretend to be a faceless organisation.
We want people to know exactly who they’re dealing with.

And we want to know the same in return.

Because when you’re running something as logistically heavy as a global print magazine, you need the right people around you. Systems matter. Compliance matters. Logistics matter. But the people behind them matter even more.

If you’re in the UK or EU, you know the chaos that followed BREXIT. For us, shipping to the EU went from simple to near impossible overnight.

Then came IOSS – a number we needed just to trade. We jumped on it immediately and ended up working with two companies who were, frankly, horrendous. We spent a fortune. For a long stretch, we were actually losing money sending magazines to EU readers.

Not because we were failing, but because the system itself had become a maze of misinformation.

And then we found EUify.

From the first call with Daran, things became clearer. He cut through the noise. He explained everything in a way that made sense. We registered for IOSS through them and finally it felt like we were on steady ground.

Then came GPSR. Another barrier, another layer of complexity. But this time, we knew exactly who to call. A few calls, some paperwork, and it was done.

(And if you want the full explanation, EUify wrote a brilliant breakdown in Edition 16 of our magazine.)

As a business owner, you’re always trying to figure out what’s true, what’s changing, and what actually matters. It’s exhausting doing that alone.

Having someone like EUify in our corner has made an big difference.

They’re one of the rare companies who:

And that matters more now than ever.

Which is why being invited over to the Netherlands meant so much. When you meet face-to-face, things shift. Trust grows. Conversations open. Plans get made. That’s how real partnerships form and how good business gets done.

Our whole mission revolves around connection.
Direct contact. Real conversations. Honest stories.

We do this with makers.
We do it with small businesses.
We do it with people like EUify who help keep the wheels turning.

Print forces us to sit down and listen. Travel forces us to show up.
Both open doors that emails never will.

And over the next two years, with big changes coming to both IOSS and GPSR, we want to make sure our community isn’t left behind.

If you’re serious about trading with the EU, please don’t wait. These shifts will affect everyone, and you’ll want to be ahead of them.

Jack and I want the craft community to flourish not stress over compliance, shipping, or confusing legislation. We want makers to succeed in their craft, sell their work, and feel supported.

We learn as we go.
We work hard.
And we build relationships with people who care as much as we do.

Because business isn’t just transactions anymore.

It’s partnerships.
It’s community.
It’s finding the people who help you grow and walking the path with them.

Here’s to more of that.

Kate x

P.S this is not an advertisement, this is just our honest feelings and thoughts, and because we use their services ourselves and would recommend them to anyone who needs it.