Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Scared little man
Lets just say that Otto was scared out of his mind, and the mean parent that I am made him go on the ride! Ha
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Magical Christmas Adventure
We are off to Disney World in the morning......wish us luck! The kids are excited out of their minds. They have been playing non stop with their cousins for the past 4 days, and now they get to go and have some fun with Mickey, then back to Atlanta to ring in the new year with cousins again! We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas, we wish could see all our family and friends!!!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Trent Trent he's a lego maniac!
Remember that great old song? Well that sums up our house lately. All the kids (and Trent) have found their obsession. I guess the little lego guys are collectors items and hard to find. So, Trent and Otto have been on the hunt for the cool ones. Surprisingly enough Ruby doesn't really eat them, and there have been few fights since there is more than enough to go around. At least it is creative right?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Please help Knuckleheads!
As most of you know I own and manufacture a children's clothing business, and as of February 10, myself and thousands of others in the children's industry will be deeply affected financially or will be out of business.
Remember the outcry last holiday season over lead in imported toys? In order to combat such safety issues, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has passed legislation called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The law sets stringent guidelines for children’s products containing lead and phthalates (a chemical used in some vinyl products).
In theory, maybe. But in actuality the law is so far reaching that it may succeed in turning the economy upside down. For starters, the CPSIA requires end unit testing on every product intended for use by children under 12. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to do this testing, regardless of how small the business. That means that manufacturers (like myself ) will have to pay to get every different product they offer tested. These tests have to be done at a CSPC accredited lab, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. For example if you offer 3 different types of dresses. Each dress contains 2 different fabrics, as well as buttons, and thread, so that's potentially $600 to test one dress. But if you have 3 or more styles, that's $1800. And when you get a new bolt of fabric, you need to start all over again.
At present, there are no exemptions for small businesses and "micro" manufacturers and most handcraft artisans. There is no exception for quantities made, where the garments/products are made or anything else. Nor is there an exception for unadorned fabric components, unfinished wood components, materials which, by their nature, are free of lead and phthalates.
Also, the Act takes a "guilty until proven innocent" approach, which would treat a handmade, unfinished wooden toy that doesn't meet the certification deadline of 2/10/09 as a "banned hazardous substance" which would be illegal to distribute in this country. Each infraction carries a $100,000 felony charge. This legislation is also retroactive for any pre-existing inventory as of February 10th, 2009. This means that everything on the shelves in those big (or small) stores will also be "banned, hazardous substances" - contraband.
This also means that after that date, even selling your kids old things on eBay or Craigslist will be illegal. Charities will not be able to accept donations without a certificate of compliance either. February 10, 2009 is being dubbed “National Bankruptcy Day” by many people in the apparel and toy industry. If this legislation is not amended, it will affect everyone from port workers to parents looking for legal products. Billions of dollars worth of children's products will have to be destroyed because they can’t be legally sold, and this will cause major environmental problems.
While I am all for higher safety standards and keeping our kids safe, this law is so overreaching as to put thousands on manufacturers of children's products out of business -hurting our economy and causing even more loan defaults. Though this legislation was well-intentioned, it cannot be allowed to stand as is.
Please help us defend the American dream and our entrepreneurial spirit! This law affects every stay at home mom trying to help put food on the table and every grandmother knitting blankets for the local craft fair. It makes the thousands of us who have found a niche in the burgeoning children's market have to make a tough decision - continue to produce items illegally and possible incur a $100,000 fine, pay the enormous fees and raise costs of goods sold, or close up shop!
Contact your Congressperson using this link: http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476
It only takes 30 seconds!
If you have an extra minute send a hard copy of the letter as well!
To sign the online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Read more about it here: http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
Remember the outcry last holiday season over lead in imported toys? In order to combat such safety issues, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has passed legislation called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The law sets stringent guidelines for children’s products containing lead and phthalates (a chemical used in some vinyl products).
It is supposed to go into effect February 10th, 2009, and after that date any product intended for children ages 12 and under must meet these guidelines, and have a certificate of compliance from a CPSC-accredited laboratory. This includes not just toys, but clothing, jewelry, blankets, sheets, books, bibs, strollers, carriers, and anything else that a child under 12 might come in contact with. Sounds great, right?
In theory, maybe. But in actuality the law is so far reaching that it may succeed in turning the economy upside down. For starters, the CPSIA requires end unit testing on every product intended for use by children under 12. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to do this testing, regardless of how small the business. That means that manufacturers (like myself ) will have to pay to get every different product they offer tested. These tests have to be done at a CSPC accredited lab, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. For example if you offer 3 different types of dresses. Each dress contains 2 different fabrics, as well as buttons, and thread, so that's potentially $600 to test one dress. But if you have 3 or more styles, that's $1800. And when you get a new bolt of fabric, you need to start all over again.
At present, there are no exemptions for small businesses and "micro" manufacturers and most handcraft artisans. There is no exception for quantities made, where the garments/products are made or anything else. Nor is there an exception for unadorned fabric components, unfinished wood components, materials which, by their nature, are free of lead and phthalates.
Also, the Act takes a "guilty until proven innocent" approach, which would treat a handmade, unfinished wooden toy that doesn't meet the certification deadline of 2/10/09 as a "banned hazardous substance" which would be illegal to distribute in this country. Each infraction carries a $100,000 felony charge. This legislation is also retroactive for any pre-existing inventory as of February 10th, 2009. This means that everything on the shelves in those big (or small) stores will also be "banned, hazardous substances" - contraband.
Larger corporations that can afford testing will incur thousands, maybe millions of dollars in fees, and this expense will be handed down to the consumer, probably making the prices for children's products go through the roof.
This also means that after that date, even selling your kids old things on eBay or Craigslist will be illegal. Charities will not be able to accept donations without a certificate of compliance either. February 10, 2009 is being dubbed “National Bankruptcy Day” by many people in the apparel and toy industry. If this legislation is not amended, it will affect everyone from port workers to parents looking for legal products. Billions of dollars worth of children's products will have to be destroyed because they can’t be legally sold, and this will cause major environmental problems.
While I am all for higher safety standards and keeping our kids safe, this law is so overreaching as to put thousands on manufacturers of children's products out of business -hurting our economy and causing even more loan defaults. Though this legislation was well-intentioned, it cannot be allowed to stand as is.
Please help us defend the American dream and our entrepreneurial spirit! This law affects every stay at home mom trying to help put food on the table and every grandmother knitting blankets for the local craft fair. It makes the thousands of us who have found a niche in the burgeoning children's market have to make a tough decision - continue to produce items illegally and possible incur a $100,000 fine, pay the enormous fees and raise costs of goods sold, or close up shop!
Please help us!
Contact your Congressperson using this link: http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476
It only takes 30 seconds!
If you have an extra minute send a hard copy of the letter as well!
To sign the online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Read more about it here: http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
Please copy and paste this on your blogs, we need all the help we can get!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Ruby finally did it!
She pestered Stretch (our miniature Daschund) enough that he nipped her. She kept pulling at him, tugging his ear, sitting on him and he finally had enough. He bit her cheek near her eye. I don't know who was more shocked, Ruby or Stretch. They both stood frozen for a few seconds. He knew he did something wrong. And yes he did get in BIG trouble! Poor Ruby, she loves Stretch so much and he couldn't tolerate her any more. She cried more from hurt feelings.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Beach house...enjoy it!
Here are some pictures from our first weekend at the beach house. The kids loved it! No TV, No internet. Just our family enjoying each other.
Please come and love it with us!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Warning: you will get hooked!
I found this great site and now I am hooked. You create a complete outfit or look from thousands of clothing options, then it tells you where you can buy it. Even if you don't buy it, it is fun to dream about that perfect outfit. Or in my case inspiration for Hula Mula. Here is my dream outfit that I created.
hot boots by cadichick
melissa's wish list2 by cadichick
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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