Amber Dusick

We're Back in the Toy Business! Great CPSIA NEWS!

Good news!  The CPSIA Mandatory testing requirements are postponed for a year for them to figure it out!  Nobody has to close on February 10th!

Would you believe that I heard this news (Chris from mamaroots emailed me) just minutes after spending all day on the phone with testing labs getting quotes and feeling defeated?

Then I went to the Etsy front page and saw this:

My trees right there on the homepage and right above it the "Breaking News About the CPSIA" link!  I think this is a sign to keep on going, don't you?  So.  Relieved.  

I hope that in the next year the law is written much more clearly and excludes natural materials, one of a kind items, etc.  Anyway, they clearly need this year to figure it all out.  Phew.  

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

Ice Cream!  Ice cream is one of my favorite things in the world.  I also love pretty vintage things.  It recently dawned on me to combine the enjoyment of the two.  

The Peerless brand ice cream scoop (with original packaging!) was an eBay purchase.  I collect ice cream scoops with pretty colored handles and Peerless scoops are my favorite.  Super heavy and will last forever.  My mom has a turquoise handled one that my great grandmother used in her restaurant in the 1950s.  I keep dropping hints about it, maybe someday she'll let me borrow it.        

No more eating straight from the carton for me.  I got this pretty milk glass Lily bowl just for eating ice cream out of.  You'll see that Van Biggle tulip vase also came to my house that I mentioned in this post.   

I realize that for photography sake, a more vibrantly colored ice cream would have looked better but mint chip (by Strauss Organic - wow it is good and tastes like real mint) is all we had and I didn't want to wait to try out my new bowl.  The cookie is a mint chocolate one from Back to Nature and they taste very much like those thin mint Girl Scout Cookies I've been craving lately.  I always put them in the freezer.  (Along with Junior Mints - aren't they great in the freezer?)  Anyway, I was happy to see that they don't have any mercury laden high fructose corn syrup in them, like most everything else down the cookie aisle.  

Did you all hear about this mercury in corn syrup and food products thing?  Oy, it just boggles the mind.  I especially love the bit where it says "she told the FDA about her findings but the agency did not follow up" because this just doesn't surprise me at all but angers me all the same.

Okay, but back to happy things, like corn syrup free, mercury free, lead free ice cream and cookies!  :)  They certainly exist...and thank goodness for that, just check the ingredients.  

CPSIA Blog-in. Don't get pissed, get active! (and have a little faith)

Sigh.  I'm not even sure what to write.  I will say that I'm still hopeful that some things will change.  

Here are some "doomsday" scenario that everyone has running around in their head right now:

• all books in libraries will be removed from shelves and destroyed
• all independent toy makers, clothing makers, etc will go out of businesses 
• we'll be left with nothing but mass-produced products from China 
• millions of pounds of children's products will be sent to landfills  
• prices will skyrocket due to testing costs accrued by companies 
• and so on...  

 

People are getting upset, and I'm not just talking about people like me who would have to stop making toys, stop sewing baby dresses or stop knitting baby hats.  I'm talking about the people who will not be able to purchase used clothes for their kids at Goodwill anymore.  I'm talking about the people who will not be able to purchase an organic cotton blanket from their favorite Etsy seller.  Regular people are starting to realize how this will effect them and people are getting pissed and their voices are being heard.  

In the image above, I tried to find something that wouldn't be affected by this legislation.  There are two products from HABA here, who I assume is a big enough company that will be able to handle the testing.  Everything else?  Won't exist for sale after February 10th, at least not legally.  Nearly ALL of it is handmade by small scale artisans like myself or made by me.  I also couldn't legally sell any of this stuff after my son finishes with it.  Does this playroom look toxic to you?      

What?  You don't have a natural playroom?  Don't have kids?  Don't buy handmade?  You aren't affected?  Are you sure?  Have you ever purchased something for a child?  Planning to have children?  Have grown children who may eventually have children?  Concerned for the environment?  This hurts all of us.  It hurts the US economy during a time where we are already hurting.   

So.  I think it will get better.  I do.  

I have faith that they will fine tune this legislation, but we have to continue to get pissed and get active.  Here is the Etsy CPSIA ACTION KIT in case you want to be heard.  At the very least, tell everyone you know.    

I don't think library books will be pulled from the shelves and destroyed.  I can't imagine the sale of used clothing in thrift stores being illegal.  I also hope that some unaltered natural materials will be exempt and that one of a kind (or some smaller production level) will be exempt or at the very least, that component testing will suffice.  (Meaning I could have my wood, and paints tested just once and everything I make with those materials would be okay...as of right now, each design would need to be tested, even though it is made of the same stuff.  Somehow if you magically put a non-leaded paint next to another non-leaded paint lead can appear?)  

I'm not giving up.  Are you?  

  

UPDATE - MomsRising just posted about the issue today right here. (and those mamas can get stuff done!)  Thanks to them, you can send a letter to the CPSIA via the internet.  Easy as pie.  You've got no excuse now.  

Never too young to appreciate art

On Saturday it was grey and rainy so we walked a few blocks to LACMA to spend the day indoors.  We weren't sure how much our two year old would enjoy the museum but he loved it and had strong opinions about all of the art - much to the delight of several passersby.  And us. 

"Baby like dat one!" he said about this Rothko.  When we asked him why he said, "Nice colors in it.  Baby like red."  (Yes, he refers to himself as "baby") 

 

He didn't have much to say about this one, but seeing as it is one of my all time favorites I include it anyway.  I can't believe a Modigliani lives just blocks away from my doorstep.  Maybe I love his work because my husband has always told me I look like a Modigliani portrait.  We were so lucky to see the special Modigliani exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York in 2004.  We happened to be visiting and I remember we stood in the freezing rain for hours waiting to get in while everyone around us was smoking cigarettes.  Ahh, New York.

  

  By the time we left the museum the sun was shining brightly (gotta love LA) so we walked over to have lunch at the French Crepe Co. in the Farmer's Market.  I love the stools at the counter.

 I also love the balloon mural on the side.  

Not to mention the fresh strawberry crepes with powdered sugar.  Wow.  The savory crepes are amazing too but we ate them too fast to get a photo.  This was dessert.  

What a lovely weekend!  Hope you had a good one too.  And if you have little ones...take them to a museum and ask them their opinions, it can be highly entertaining. 

DIY Wedding Contest

I'm hosting a DIY Wedding Contest right now...so if you have an idea for a project that could work in a wedding and want to whip up a tutorial, come on over!

Even if your wedding is long past (like mine is) you could create a centerpiece for your table, take photos and submit it as a "wedding" centerpiece.  Tis no difference!  Or a wedding favor could really be a gift for someone or share a recipe for some yummy wedding favor cookies, etc.  Making a Valentine's Day craft?  Submit it for a Valentine's Day themed wedding!  Make jewelry?  Submit a jewelry tutorial for bridesmaid or bridal jewelry!  The possibilities are endless and as long as it could be part of a wedding/reception it is eligible!  

Why would you want to do this?  Because the prizes are awesome and not just for brides:  $100, $75, $50, $25 gift certificates to Amazon.com and more!

Full Details HERE!     

Happiness is looking down at a pair of shiny shoes

Or as my son calls them, "fancy dancin' shoes" which I think is adorable and makes me want to dance more.  

Everything new is loaded in the shop already!  Nothing more coming out for a while.  Could be a month.  Could be two.  Could be two weeks.  I really don't know.  I need to leave it open ended right now and focus on some other "life" things for a bit.  Taking another break, if you will.  Plus, it will give some time to see if I can find a way to get my toys tested and continue to sell them like I've been doing, which would make me very happy indeed.  

Let the Sun Shine

Yet another peek at what is to come in the shop this week.  Sunflowers!  Sunflowers are my mother's favorite and they remind me of her.  Happy and giving (sunflower seeds feed the birds - and us) and resilient. 

It makes perfect sense that they were named after the sun.  

 

It was 85 degrees here today so we headed to the beach.  The water was like ice, but that didn't stop other people from jumping right in for a swim.  We just got our feet wet.  

I couldn't resist sharing this photo too, apparently, we like Converse.  This is up on the pier, after we dried off and just before getting ice cream.     

We're looking forward to the long weekend and celebrating Martin Luther King Jr Day tomorrow.  Lots of fun stuff going on around the city, we saw so many Obama shirts and signs today, the excitement for this week is palpable.  

Unveiling a New Etsy Shop - Wood Turning!

No, it isn't my shop.  Sigh, I wish.  I still haven't taken up wood turning.  It is on my never ending "to try someday list" though.  This new shop belongs to my cousin, artist, Ken Chase.  Hmmm, maybe I can convince him to have me over and teach me how to do it.  It seems scary, would be nice to have a pro give me a lesson.  

 

Ken adds woodburnt details and carvings to his turned forms - a style that is completely unique to him.  Come to think of it, I'm sure you could draw a parallel between Ken's unique woodburning on turnings style and my woodburning on toys style.  Subconsciously I probably got the idea from him in the first place.  So if you see other woodburnt toys you know where to trace it all back to...Ken Chase!

He gave me one of his pieces and it sits above my fireplace in the built in nook in the wall and it is the first thing you see when you enter my house.  His work is delicate yet sturdy somehow.

Tulips

I've always loved tulips and I've been obsessed with them as a design motif.  I really hope to see more tulip designs this spring.  These are vintage finds from Etsy and I've been drooling over all three...

1. Vintage Tulip Brooch & Earrings from The Lonely Sock

2.  Vintage Tulip Dress from kaytenschmidt

3.  Vintage Van Biggle Pottery from Moonlight Mystiques

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I made a tulip figure for my MIL for her birthday last week as it is one of her favorite flowers...and I'll have two more of that design in the shop next week.  

I'll also have three of the open tulip design below:

Is it spring yet?

All my life, as soon as Christmas was over, I believed that spring was just around the corner.  As those of you in cold places know, it isn't exactly the case, but I think we all eagerly anticipate it coming.  

 

I remember searching in the melting snow in my grandmother's garden, waiting for the purple headed snow crocus to pop their heads through.

And inspecting tree branches for green buds.

  

And Easter Lilies!  Oh, how I adore Easter lilies.  And speaking of Easter, Cadbury Creme eggs!  Has anyone else noticed that they aren't nearly as runny and egglike on the inside like they were when we were kids?  Or did I just imagine this?

Anyway, I love spring!  Spring holds the promise of new growth and a fresh start.  We all need a chance for new growth and a fresh start.  Plus, the big change coming on January 20th also feels like new growth and a fresh start.  (Obama!)  

These will be added to the shop next week, along with some other new nature children that I'll share soon.