cpsia, common sense and my two cents

Today is the CPSIA blog-in and now that I'm one of the cool kids with a blog I feel obliged to participate. Check out the link above as well as the "save handmade" link on the sidebar of my blog for more information--I'm no expert and I'm not into the mass hysteria that has spread a lot of mis-information about this. I'm definitely not among the throngs of alarmists who are closing up shop, I would say I'm cautiously continuing with business as usual. I will vouch for the safety of my products but cannot afford to test (if it was even feasible--all of my books are one of a kind and would be destroyed during testing) or close up shop. I trust in the common sense of lawmakers and my understanding that this act is not intended for my ilk.

My heart goes out to retailers who really do have a lot on the line and am saddened to hear that our local handmade store, The Paper Sparrow, will no longer be carrying items for kids. I do understand that. I sell exclusively through Etsy and at craft shows but crafters who do a lot of wholesale to stores could also be in trouble. I'm a little annoyed that Etsy hasn't posted a policy regarding the sale of children's items without test certification, even in an "if/then" scenario. I'm not scared of some hastily thrown-together and unfair law that wasn't intended for my goods but I do follow Etsy's guidelines and will be kind of screwed if they decide to outlaw untested products for kids...which would be all of them. Logic says that won't happen, but sometimes logic doesn't prevail.

Here's what you can do to help logic along:

From the Handmade Toy Alliance

How You can Help: Please write to your United States Congress Person and Senator to request changes in the CPSIA to save handmade toys and children's products. Use our sample letter or write your own. You can find your Congress person here and Senator here.

I do have a fun alternative if the poo does hit the fan--xxx libris! This has been an idea of mine from the very beginning, subversive and x-rated versions of my kids' products, mainly books and quilts. This would certainly not be for the same clientelle and may turn some people off, and it would definitely be sold through a different shop. I also have lots of ideas for art quilts large and small, including cloth representations of these: