For Stumble & Relish owner Jaime Leonardi, tariffs have affected every single line of goods in her store.
Leonardi tries her best to source from local artists, and the store sells a variety of goods. From journals to jewelry, prioritizing handmade and small artisan items is key to the store. But, she said, tariffs are impacting the materials the local artists need for their work.
The Trump administration introduced increased tariffs since taking office in January, including a 10% universal tariff along with higher tariffs on specific countries and goods. As of October 2025, the weighted average tariff rate is 20%. The administration will further increase tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners beginning Nov. 1.
Leonardi is currently absorbing the increase in cost for some of the business’s retail items and increasing prices for others.
“We’ve been trying to absorb what we can, but when it comes to jewelry, we have to make the margin on it,” she said. “We can’t absorb the raised prices on everything. So it’s kind of a balance.”
Leonardi added that shipping prices have tripled since last year, especially for holiday-related goods such as Christmas ornaments.
To account for tariffs, she is prioritizing sales of more affordable items, she said.
“When I’m ordering a jewelry line, I’ll only order one or two items that would retail for 60 or 70 dollars,” she said. “I would focus more on the things that are 30 or under.”
Benoit Angulo, one of the owners of local Latin American restaurant La Cocinita, said their prices regularly fluctuate due to external factors impacting suppliers.
Angulo said he guesses how much supply payments will be based on “announcement (that) was made that day.”
“The restaurant business and the hospitality business as a whole are already on thin margins, and this accentuates that problem because now we haven’t been able to put a price on things,” Angulo said.
La Cocinita has not yet increased prices, Angulo said. But, he added that he decided to order only half the number of menus he typically would due to likely price increases at the end of the year. The business is also seeking cheaper alternatives to certain products to keep prices low, he said.
Angulo said the prices cannot be increased by much or else they will become unreasonable for consumers.
Some cost increases are indirect, Angulo added. His auto insurance increased by 15.5% for trucks and catering vans because tariffs have increased the cost of repairs.
Creativity is Lena Kim’s strategy for her local crafts store, niceLena & Friends. Like Leonardi, Kim said the business sells goods from various vendors. But, even greeting cards, key chains and stickers have seen multiple price increases since new tariffs were introduced earlier this year.
According to Kim, sales have decreased for the first time in a few years. She suspects that lower confidence in retail, along with economic uncertainty, are the cause.
Even so, Kim said she has kept prices consistent to maintain an accessible price point for her customers.
“Because I make a lot of my own stuff too, I don’t have a lot of middlemen in some of these categories of products that I carry, so in that way I can get creative,” Kim said.
Some businesses are currently spared from tariffs, but still face uncertainties in the future.
Minasian Rug Company owner Carney Minasian said that because the shop has an inventory of antique rugs and typically sources new rugs six months to a year in advance, they haven’t felt the effects of tariffs yet.
Still, the store sources many rugs from India, where the tariff rate recently imposed was 50%.
“We’re working with our suppliers right now to figure out what to do,” Minasian said. “It’s going to affect us long term, but not right now.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Lena Kim’s last name. The Daily regrets this error.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Trump’s proposed tariffs conflict with promises to end inflation, NU economics professors say
