New Year Resolutions

The monsters are debating about whether 2010 is Twenty-ten or Two-thousand Ten. I can hardly get any work done with all the arguing and ensuing tussles. But this too shall pass.

My Monster Related Resolutions

• Transition from selling monsters every weekend to only doing a couple of large shows a year.
• Get the monsters in more stores.
• Make some larger monster art pieces (paintings, softies, etc).
• Keep writing! (My mom noticed that I haven't updated since November. Maybe it's time I get back on this.)
• Do more holiday themed items (new Monster Valentines have been made and will be up in my etsy shop soon).
• Set up a well lit photography space, with semi-permanent back drops and props.
• Make some craft connections in the Bay Area.

I'd love to hear some of your resolutions (maybe craft related) for the new year.

Oh and Happy New Year everyone!

CPSIA Blog-In Day and Thank You

Today is CPSIA blog-in day.

For those of you that missed my previous post about the Consumer Product Saftey Improvement Act, it's right here.

The actual law in it's legalese finery is here.

I've been thinking a lot about it. I guess that's kind of my job. The one thing that has stood out taller than everything else in my mind is the community of handmade. I feel like the community that develops between crafters, local buyers, purveyors of handmade, and local movements in general is really important. Not only does it create beautiful, creative cooperation and generate inspiration, but it also makes people accountable. I meet almost every child that will get my toys. If I don't meet them, I meet their parent, grandparent, friend, etc. I make a personal connection with them. They then recommend me to their friends and family. In this way I am more accountable for my products than any big name brand that only knows their consumers as the anonymous members of the target audience.

I value my communities. And I hope to offer something back to my communities. It's my strength and my commitment. It is my biggest hope that everyone has such a community and that with these communities we can grow our values and our children. Connectedness is at the very heart of my faith and my values. Seeing the handmade communities come together like this and make progress against the CPSIA gives me hope and fills me with pride.

So thank you to everyone that has been involved, has questioned this law, and has given their support.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)

Image by Hasenpfeffer Incorporated


There's been a lot of buzz recently about the CPSIA. Maybe you've heard? I think that the intent was in the right place. After so many recalled toys in the last few years due to lead, the government needed to do something. Toys need to be safe for our kids. Unfortunately the wording of this law effects anything and everything that a child under 12 years could come in contact with, even things not intended for children. It's putting pressure on not just the toy industry, but a wide range of associated industries in various ways.

And as for the Handmade Community, well we were so small as to be invisible. There has luckily been such an outpouring for support from crafters and small businesses from across the country that I actually feel like I have a voice.

You can read an open letter from Etsy here that I think explains why I don't support this law, while still supporting safety, much better than I could put into my own words.

People keep asking me what I'm going to do. And I'm not entirely sure yet. Some of it depends on what changes are made to the law. All of my toys are one-of-a-kind pieces. So there's no way, even if I had the money, I could give a sample to test of every material combination. And on top of that, my profit (and my capital) is no where near the cost of testing. For the large toy makers, it might increase they're overall costs by a dollar per toy. While the law does mention that small businesses are not exempt, they consider a small business any operating with less than 500 people. That's a whole class different than me, a sole proprietor, sole employee, and jane of all trades.

However one option has risen from the ashes. Just this week, one amendment has surfaced. There are certain natural materials which are exempt from testing, including cotton and wool. It's unclear whether dyed materials would still have to be tested. But I could (with a little extra cost) switch to working with only natural materials, which I may do anyway, as I appreciate the value in all-natural toys.

So you've read this and now you're wondering, what should I do? Well for starters, please vote on the change.org site to keep this article at the top. And if you're still fired up, write to the CPSC and your congress representative. The more they hear from us everyday folk that this law is negatively effecting us, the more likely they are to make changes. Many people have complained that they get canned letters from their rep back. Do not fear, that's the way of things. What counts is the numbers. When so many of their constituents write in saying the same thing, they have to take notice. Here's some info to get you started.

Monster Costume Tutorial

I just posted a tutorial on the {NewNew} blog for monster wings!


Of course if you aren't going to be a monster for Halloween, like me, then you could adapt these for excellent angel, fairy, butterfly, etc wings.

Let me know what you think!

Sharing a Proud Crafting Moment

To solve the small problem of the cat crawling amongst the dishes on this shelf, I devised a curtain that you need opposable thumbs to open. I'm really happy with the way that it came out. My mom calls this fabric "Groovy". And I guess it is.




Also, I've been enjoying looking at the contest on Etsy right now, for kids items. Yes I'll be entering it. I just can't decide. You can only enter one item per category, and I think the one toy I wish to enter hasn't been photographed yet.