Etsy in Craft Magazine and Relisting Cyclops Monster Book

Okay, I haven't been too good at continuing this whole blogging thing, so I'll post something with not a lot of content just to start back up again.



This month, I noticed that http://www.etsy.com/ was mentioned in an article in Real Simple, the magazine, as a good site to buy gifts and the like at inexpensive prices. I'll be happy if the article makes any new buyers discover Etsy, although it didn't really show the true range of shops on Etsy. Hopefully any new buyers will discover this for themselves once they visit.



Also, on the back cover Craft Magazine I saw a full page advertisement for http://www.artfire.com/ . I know the company has said that they would spend however many million dollars on advertising, and others have said that it's extremely unlikely that ArtFire even have that kind of money for advertising. Maybe this ad shows that they're making a step in the right direction? I don't know; for now I'm staying away from ArtFire because of all of the complaints I've heard from sellers who've tried to open up a shop on that site.



Finally, I am relisting my adorable Cyclops photo album Monster Book today. This monster is really one of my favorites, and he got a lot of views compared to some of my other books the first time I listed him. I hope that this time he gets bought instead of just admired, so he can find someone special to go home with!

Save Handmade Quilt, Fifth Sale, and Congressional Emails

I made a quilt square for the save handmade collaborative quilt organized by bmerry1 on etsy in protest of the CPSIA. I'm still not very good at sewing, but I think it's pretty cute. It's a 10x10inch square with a teddy bear behind bars, and he's saying "save handmade."

See the group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/handmadequiltproject/




I also made a tiny quilt square that can be included with a bunch of other mini squares, and it's in my more familiar monster style.

Oh, and hurray! I made my fifth sale on Etsy a day or so ago. It was a zombie planner/calendar that I put on clearance because it's already a month into the new year. Every day I though to myself: "Hm, I should take it down today. It's too late and I really want to write in it..." However, I'm glad I resisted that urge because now someone else will get to use it and be happy, even though I didn't make any money on it since it was on clearance sale. That zombie guy got a lot of views compared to some of my other monsters! I should make some more in a similar vein.

Also, I got two more response emails from congress. The first is from Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, who actually believes the law is perfect:

"Dear ******:

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform Act. I appreciate hearing your views on this important issue.

The responsibilities of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission are some of the most critical to our nation. The CPSC is charged with protecting consumers from unreasonable risks of serious injury associated with faulty consumer products. Created by Congress in 1976, the CPSC is responsible for examining more than 15,000 types of goods, and has contributed to a 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the last 30 years. However, public alarm about a series of product recalls, particularly of toys and other products used by children has focused attention on major reforms to the CPSC.

As Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families, child safety issues are of the utmost importance to me. That is why I am proud to have supported the final passage of H.R. 4040. Signed into law on August 14, 2008, this critical overhaul of the CPSC contains key reforms that will help to protect American consumers.

This legislation requires that as of February 10, 2009, products intended for use by children may not be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) of lead, even if they were manufactured prior to that date. Other products may also not be sold after this date if they contain more than 0.1 percent of specific phthalates, which have been determined to cause reproductive development issues in children. Currently, the CPSC is engaged in the rulemaking process to determine precisely how these new restrictions will be administered. For further information on the proposed rules, exempt materials, and other issues relating to the administration of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, please visit the Commission's website at http://www.cpsc.gov. Please be assured that I will continue to monitor the implementation of this law closely, and will continue to support efforts to protect the health and safety of all children.
Thank you again for contacting me. If you would like to stay in touch with me on this and other issues of importance, please visit my website at http://dodd.senate.gov and subscribe to receive my regular e-mail issue alerts. Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I can be of assistance you in any way."

The second is from a Connecticut congressman, who was slightly more sympathetic:

"Dear *******,

Thank you for contacting me about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). I appreciate your correspondence and hope that you find this response helpful.

The bipartisan CPSIA was enacted in response to the recall of 45 million toys and children's products in 2007. It takes several key steps to make all Americans, especially children, safer, including essentially eliminating lead from toys and children's products and prohibiting the use of dangerous phthalates in children's toys and child care products.

However, toy manufacturers and other companies who are made to comply with this new law must be provided guidance from the Consumer Product Safety Commission on how to most effectively comply with this sweeping reform. I believe that the treatment of these companies, many of whom are small businesses, should be equitable, and the transition to lead free products should be done so in the least painful way possible while still protecting our children from harmful materials.

To that end, you may be glad to know that on January 7, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the panel charged with carrying out provisions of the CPSIA, has granted certain exemptions to products that would be required to be tested for lead starting February 10, 2009. These exemptions include items with lead parts children can not access, and clothing, toys or other goods made of natural materials such as cotton and wood.

Thank you again for contacting me about this matter. I appreciate hearing from you and assure you that I will always do my best to represent the views of my constituents in Congress."

***************************************************************************

EDIT: I just saw this posted by Etsy admin Matt:

"Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans.Significant to makers of children’s products, the vote by the Commission provides limited relief from the testing and certification requirements which go into effect on February 10, 2009 for new total lead content limits (600 ppm), phthalates limits for certain products (1000 ppm), and mandatory toy standards, among other things. Manufacturers and importers – large and small – of children’s products will not need to test or certify to these new requirements, but will need to meet the lead and phthalates limits, mandatory toy standards and other requirements. The decision by the Commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted. The stay will remain in effect until February 10, 2010, at which time a Commission vote will be taken to terminate the stay."

It's a Blog! ...? And the CPSIA.

A lot of sellers on Etsy blog, and a lot of them swear that it is rewarding both in both personal and shop-related ways. As a result, I too will attempt to follow this trend, and give blogging a whirl. However, I'm not exactly sure what to do!

I guess I have to start on a sour note, and remind you that the new CPSIA act of 2008 (consumer product safety improvement act), which was intended to protect American children from harmful lead in products from big businesses overseas, is endangering many shops at Etsy and throughout America. This is because the law doesn't currently have exceptions for small and micro-businesses, to save them from the expensive testing requirements that the big guys have to go through. It seems to me that these regulations weren't thought over well enough, because they may have the unintended effect of forcing many small businesses to shut down or else sell products for children illegally, which will put a lot of Americans out of work in the middle of the financial crisis we're all experiencing. The act goes into effect on February 9, 2009, so act now to encourage an amendment to the law.

For a lot of really good information, check out Etsy seller jewelrydesignsbyME's post in this thread: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6002704

Also, here's a response from Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman from when I e-mailed him with my concerns about the CPSIA:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA; P.L. 110-314). I am pleased to hear from you on this issue.As you may know, CPSIA was passed by Congress in response to the recall of over 15 million toys that were imported from China from 2007-2008. In this legislation, Congress stipulated that every product intended for use by a child under the age of 12 must be tested and certified to meet the safety standards issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Given that products must be certified to have met CPSC thresholds for safety by independent, for-profit entities validated by CPSC, I understand your concern that the costs to many small, domestic manufacturers of having products tested may put them at a competitive disadvantage relative to larger competitors. This is an issue I have been following closely, and I am pleased to announce that CPSC has initiated a rulemaking procedure to exempt certain products and/or products manufactured under particular procedures from the newly mandated testing requirements. This proposed rulemaking is open for public comment until January 30, 2009. If the new testing regime will adversely affect your small business or product, you should submit your comments to CPSC to request an exemption (and the reasons why) through the public comment process. Instructions on how to submit comments to CPCS regarding this particular rulemaking can be found online at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ComponentPartsComments.pdf . I am looking forward to examining CPSC's final rule on product testing to make certain small toy and child clothing manufacturers are not unduly burdened with inefficient or duplicative regulatory requirements. Let me assure you that, as a long-time member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I will be monitoring the effect of CPSC regulation on small businesses in Connecticut; and I will keep your views in mind if legislation regarding this issue is considered by the Senate in this 111th Congress."

I promise to be less serious in my next post, and it'll probably be a little bit shorter, too!