Creating My Life One Day at A Time
Our AMAZINGLY talented mom is always up to something new, and recently, she’s perfected an artistic process that enables her to transform any photo into a canvassed painting. The results are stunning, the finished product just glows. Check out these before and afters:
You can learn more about this custom heirloom art here…what do you think?
Audrey & Kayla
The sun came out for two gloriously warm days this week, and in hopes that today wouldn’t be bitterly cold, I talked Miss M into wearing something Spring-y, and grabbed this pretty little skirt made by my good friend Esther. I wanted to share it with you for two reasons: 1-because it’s darling, of course! and 2-because I want to mention CPSIA.
Most of the hubub about this law has died down with the stay of execution of testing enforcement granted by the CPSC in February, but the law itself is in full force. It has had devastating consequences for small entrepreneurs like Esther, who chose to shut down her Prairie Roses online boutique and walk away from her dream of designing her own line of girls’ dresses rather than face the astronomical costs associated with proving her products to be safe. (An aside here: I’ve never met a designer more conscientious and precise in compliance with safety and ethical standards than Esther.)
In the eight months since the CPSIA passed, nothing has been solved or clarified in the midst of the buck-passing going on between Congress and the CPSC. An amendment sponsored by Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina (which offered common sense solutions to the problems while ensuring safety standards) failed to pass the Senate last week by 19 votes. Do you know how your senators voted? Do they know you know? Do they know how you wish to be represented when the next amendment bill (cross your fingers for a good one) comes to the floor?
Um, hi! Remember me? It’s been a while. Sorry about that…Thanksgiving came and went and my husband ended up in the hospital and was seriously sick for three weeks. Thankfully he’s doing better now. Between that and the issue I want to talk about in a minute…I’ve been pretty distracted.
As many of you know, I’ve worked in my family’s business, One Small Child, for many years. Designing, manufacturing, and marketing christening gowns and children’s special occasion wear has been a huge part of my life. I’ve been so blessed to do something that means so much to me, in some ways my heart and soul are wrapped up in that business. And now it is in jeopardy, along with every producer of children’s products…from huge corporations to individual crafters and artisans.
Over the past several weeks I’ve been following what is happening as a result of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, passed by Congress in August. In a nutshell, this law lowers the allowable limits of lead in children’s products and provides for strict testing requirements to prove safety. It sounds so good…we all want safe products–who doesn’t? But unfortunately, there are consequences that weren’t perhaps really taken into account when drafting the legislation. At least I hope this wasn’t intentional!
The unforeseen consequences? Lead testing by a certified lab is very, very expensive. So much so, that in some cases, the cost to test far exceeds the actual value of the products being tested. We produce products that inherently contain no lead. However, the law requires that ALL products be tested, including already existing inventory.
What does this mean for you the consumer? It means that as of February 11th, any product not having proper certification is automatically deemed a hazardous substance and is unlawful to sell–in fact, it’s a felony. Stores will be returning unsold merchandise to manufacturers…manufacturers will be going bankrupt…more employment losses and bankruptcies added to an already faltering economy. It will escalate in August 2009 when lower limits go into effect and more in-depth testing and labeling will be required. There will be little selection of products to choose from and significantly higher prices. This bill will effectively wipe out most Etsy and Ebay sellers.
If you care about our economy, about having a wide variety of affordable (and safe) products, about the livelihoods of thousands of people, please help–contact your Congressmen and Senators, contact the CPSC, let them know you want amendments made to this bill that will allow for less expensive testing methods (component, vendor supplied, and XRF testing) and relax the retroactive requirements.
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