Speak Out Against CPSIA

As of yesterday, millions of perfectly safe toys, books, and articles of clothing were removed from store shelves and sent to the landfill. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a piece of landmark legislation that was crafted after last year's influx of tainted toys from China.

So, whose interests does this law REALLY protect? I would expect to see that consumer advocate groups were on the forefront of lobbying for this bill. Well, they are not. It turns out that this bill was written in part by big toymakers. Mattel, whose tainted toys kicked off this issue, helped to write this bill and increased their lobbying budget by 442% in order to push this bill through. Hasbro, who had never even hired a lobbyist before, spent over $500,000 lobbying on behalf of this bill. http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/columns/TimothyCarney/Washington-toy-story-shows-why-regulation-helps-the-big-guys38690727.html

So why would these big toymakers take an interest in requiring costly testing of their own products? Simply, because they can afford to test their products while smaller companies and artisan toymakers cannot.

So, who is this law hurting? Your kids. My kids. Libraries. The environment. And the list goes on.

In spite of the fact that no child has ever been injured by licking the pages of a book, this law is declaring that all books printed before 1985 are considered unsafe. If you cannot afford to put vintage books through testing, it is legally safer to throw them away then test them. Even libraries are not exempt. Libraries could be forced to destroy a huge part of their collections as of February 10, 2009. Yes, as of yesterday. http://angiemedia.com/?p=925

Thrift and consignment shops have also been put in a compromising position. Initially, they were believed to be exempt, but this law is so broad, that they have now been swept into the fray. Any articles of clothing that have zippers, snaps, or plastic buttons are suspect. Also suspect are board games that contain ANY metal or plastic components. Add jigsaw puzzles printed before 1985 to the list. Of course, this law prohibits the reselling of bikes, trikes, backpacks, strollers, car seats, and anything else containing any metal or plastic that have not been individually tested.

The penalties for selling untested items are as high as $100,000 fine and jail time even if an item has not been deemed unsafe! The same toys that were perfectly safe and legal last week and now contraband.

http://overlawyered.com/2009/02/cpsia-what-will-be-enforced/

While the CPSA has declared it will not require testing for one year, other government agencies could step in and enforce this law. Please, call your representatives and let them know that this law hurts children more than it protects them. Soon we will have no choice in who to buy our children's clothing and toys from. The only ones who will be able to stay in business will be the biggest corporations. No wonder they lobbying so hard for this law. They were only interested in protecting themselves.

Super Soft

These burp cloths are the best I've ever seen! Even the cotton backing fabrics are silky soft! A super sweet baby shower gift from Heart Stitches. And she'll customize them to suit you!

How It Goes

As the school year comes to a close, so does our business of creating teacher's gifts with school kids. I believe we have completed our last teacher's gift of the season and I thought I would share a little about how the pieces come to be.

Step One: Sketch out a design comprised mostly of small ovals.
Step Two: Dip each child's finger into underglaze then press into an oval.

Step Three: Use black underglaze to outline, add details, and letter.

Step Four: Dip into glaze.
Step Five: Fire to Cone 06.

Voila!

Pretty Pot

This flower pot was painted by a class of school kids for their teacher. I draw out a design for the kids to follow, which is basically a series of ovals. The children put their thumbprints in each oval. When they are done, I outline, add details, and letter the piece before glazing and firing. I do tons of these each year, but this one seems especially cute!

Staying Busy

Having a ceramics shop at this time of year means staying busy. Mother's Day shoppers are enough to keep the kiln going everyday, but when you add in the end of the school year and all of the teaher's gifts it becomes a real whirlwind!

Here is a bowl I painted on commission for a teacher's gift. All of the kids' names are painted on the inside of the bowl with the teacher's name in the middle. On the outside, I painted polka dots and circles. Since I was originally asked to paint polka dots, I really made it harder than it needed to be. I like how it turned out and apparently someone else did, too. I had another order placed for one just like it today.

Nursery Art

About a year ago I started painting with children in mind. This painting is for a friend of mine who is expecting her third child. She has a boy who just turned four, a daughter in heaven, and soon we will be joined by the younger boy. I wanted to welcome little Jerryd and celebrate his birth, but I also wanted to remember Grace. Grace had such an impact on me and my family and she still does. Alex and I held her the day she was born and felt her spirit still heavy in the room. I cannot begin to explain all that Grace taught me in those moments and all that her mother taught me in the months that followed. I think of her often and I am grateful for her presence in our lives and her footprint on our hearts.