The CPSIA

What follows is one of my fellow crafter/moms who is now being affected by the CPSIA, recently the cottage bath and body industry was threatened by the Globalization act of 2008 http://candleandsoap.about.com/b/2008/09/14/stop-the-fda-globalization-act-of-2008-small-bathbodycosmetics-makers-threatened-by-us-fda.htm, we are crafters who wanted better quality and sustainability than what the big corporations were giving us (who these regulations were begun for due to their inequities) and took the leap to create it for more than just our friends and family. Please write a letter/email/ or call many of the representatives don't even recognize how this will affect their contingency. If you are in a hurry just check out this brocure about it created buy artistcs28 and frillerup of Etsy. http://shalomscottagehome.com/Assets/Special%20Graphics/save%20handmade_book.pdf

Thank you Leila Miyamoto owner of Immature Couture for this:
http://immaturecouture.blogspot.com/
“Your outfit is absolutely adorable!” I heard a woman say behind me and my daughter replied with, “Thank you! My Mommy has a clothing business!” and I sighed. Sighing is not my usual reaction when I get a compliment for my work. The woman and her sister were very polite and had no idea that they had just brought to surface so many terrible feelings with their compliments, “You made her outfit? It's amazing! You really have talent and I've never seen anything so adorable.” They didn't have kids but talked about how they almost wished their biological clocks started ticking simply to shop for my line of clothes. I was completely flattered but almost muted because of the recent decision to close up my Immature Couture shop. When they asked where I sold my clothes I didn't have the energy to explain what was going on so I simply said “On line.” thanked them and went back to grocery shopping with the kids.

I want nothing more than to know that the toys my children play with are safe and will not cause them any harm. I understand the urgency to protect the children of this country from high levels of lead and stop the ridiculous recalls. What I do not understand is why these new regulations were passed with such carelessness that it requires testing for products that have virtually NO risk of lead contamination! Products like clothing, blankets, wooden toys and books! The CPSIA is essentially causing many small businesses that make products for children under the age of twelve to close up shop because of their haste in passing regulations that have an insane amount of loopholes. Congress decided that a problem caused by ridiculous and irresponsible mass-market toy makers should be solved with a solution that sucks in various other industries that are completely unrelated to toys!

Later on when the kids and I were checking out the two women approached me and asked for my business card because they wanted to tell their friends about my clothing line. I smiled and tried to explain to them as plainly as possible that as of February 10th I would be officially closing up shop because of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act . Shockingly they were outraged that they hadn't heard of it. That they felt their rights as consumers were being taken away. That the deadline is so close and there isn't a media outrage over it. That more small businesses are being shut down and allowing the big companies to triumph. We exchanged information, I gave them my card and they said they would be writing whoever they needed to and be in contact with me. They weren't business owners who are effected by this nor were they parents but they were as equally outraged as most of us that have to close our shops.

The apathy that I have seen from the general public and even those that own small businesses and are not effected by the new regulations have saddened me until I spoke with these two women. They were absolutely right! This does not just hurt my business. This hurts everyone no matter if they have children or not. No matter if they have a business selling products to children under twelve or selling something that, thankfully for them, does not have to be burdened with the CPSIA. Why don't more people care?

I loaded up the kids, put my groceries in the trunk and at that moment it finally hit me. Something I started as a side business for extra cash in hand and as a creative outlet was taken from me. Just when my business started to take off it was ripped from my hands, discarded and no real explanation for it. I sell clothes. Not jewelry. Not toys. Not anything that has been manufactured overseas or injected with lead. I design, cut, iron, serge, stitch and package every item of clothing myself. To comply with these regulations each product I made would have to be tested which means each individual component of the garment would have to be tested for lead. A 15$ onesie now costs 400$ to make simply because of the testing fees! I put sleepless nights into marketing plans, helping Etsy teams and writing blogs to help the handmade market. There is no reason for so many of us to be swept out of the way because some major corporations wanted to cut their overhead costs and put MY children in danger. I stood there and cried in the parking lot. There is no reason why so many handmade artists look away at the pain so many of us are going through simply because they are not in the same boat.

Do something. The children in this country need to be protected but by regulations that target only the products that can cause potential harm. If you don't do it for yourself and your business, or your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews or friend's kids then do it for the sake of what's right and stop being silent and a doormat in our society.

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_hand..._from_the_cpsia

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economi...PSIA/index.html

http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/

Slow economy, slow food, slow down..

I was reading one of my cosmetic industry magazines and they had a small article about how women are stressed about the economy and state of the union. I feel this strain as well (especially after paying bills yesterday, and accounting our spending for four months, yikes!) they found that women splurge during these tough times on bath/cosmetics. While yay for me, and is it biased (it is a cosmetic mag after all) so I tried to think back on my own impulse purchases or wants since the first Dow free fall. Yeah I have wanted more bath stuff, I was able to swap my products with other Etsy sellers for some great products. I guess the cosmetics and bath product don't make us worry about our waistlines like chocolate, or how our bust line looks in a blouse. It's one size fits all, doesn't make you look fat, shouldn't make you break out, and should always make you look and feel better. Who doesn't want that while they watch their stocks move like a roller coaster at Islands of Adventure. While looking at that financial break down I also noticed a trend in our life, eating out. I'm not talking going to nobu for sushi, more like Carl's Jr for chicken nuggets, and I don't even like fast food. So I am back to the way my mama raised me cooking at home, there is even a whole movement behind it called Slow Food. Most meals can be made in half an hour with a little prep, and some sesame street on TV. Monday I made a cauliflower soup that was reminiscent of the baked potato soup from bennigans, and then revamped it last night with some saffron powder and an ounce of goat cheese. It does require some heavy machinery (a food processor or blender) but hey most of us have that in our kitchens. So here if you want an extra kick use one of the colored cauliflowers (I used one head of yellow and a normal white):
Serves six
2 heads cauliflower roughly chopped
1/2 sweet onion chunked
3 T butter
1/2 c heavy whipping cream
cooked crumbled bacon
shredded cheddar
sliced green onion, green part only
chicken broth to boil the cauliflower and onion in, about 20 min, or until tender
Spoon a third of the cauliflower/onion mixture and enough of the boiling liquid to blend to a nice puree. Add one tablespoon butter and some of the cream, blend smooth, and empty into a serving bowl and continue with the rest of the cauliflower mix (it took me about three fill/blend/empty reps with a standard Cuisinart) stir to combined all batches and serve each bowl with some crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, and slivered green onions. Leftovers refrigerate well, reheat on the stove with an ounce of goat cheese and a pinch or more of saffron powder, mmmmmm.

Trouble shoot

Well after getting the shipping fixed another bug appeared, my credit card processing. Seems my merchant account has been canceled but I am still getting billed, and they "don't have my new address" but I am holding this months bill. Grrrr.
Well it's not the end of the world pay pal still works. I just created a pay pal account for my hubby and ordered from www.ritual-bath.com with no problems. It takes one more step than just a straight credit purchase but with the customer service I have been getting from the internet merchant provider I may stick to just pay pal in the future.
Ok, so I hope this ends the run of hiccups, and I am very sorry if this affected your holiday shopping.
Resting her head,
Head Bather

Shipping is fixed!

So I had been wondering what had been driving away all the viewers from my store www.ritual-bath.com so I called in my most thurogh editor, and sure enough she found the problem. My shipping was set to charge each item in the cart seven dollars and not the weight times the aprox cost (this is for priority mail). Well I got that fixed and for anyone who wants even faster I have added UPS service to the shopping cart. Now everyone should be able to purchase with out exorbant shipping amounts, and for anyone in the LA/Valley area email me about pick-up instead of shipping.
Sorry for any confusion and I hope this makes everyone happy again,
Streching,
Head Bather

Extream Homeade Escargot, and winter veggi

I loved growing my own turnips, greens, radishes and other things in my "yarden" in FL, but here in CA I have a nemesis to all my best intentions, the Brown snail. Now I come from a family who values the culinary treat known as escargot, so I felt guilty at first with my desire to destroy what has graced my dinner plate in the past. Not anymore, my cauliflower has been reduced to Green twigs, the loose leaf lettuces are beginning to look the same, and I have still not had one of my own eggplants. So last night I went out with a flash light and a bucket and collected the little and big buggers, but decided to throw them away instead of squishing or cleaning for a later dinner. Before you gag too much remember these are the same animals you buy in the can at the store, but to eat the garden variety you have to clean them for two weeks by feeding them things like corn meal, flower and lettuce. While I am adventurous enough to have tried this, (I mean hell I have eaten wild boar that my DH took down back in FL) I just don't have the time/space right now.
While my own gardening attempts have been fruitless the Thousand Oaks farmers market has been a great find for all sorts of edibles. The latest has been colorful cauliflower, and why not science has shown that the more colorful the more vitamins and nutrients. So while I don't know if it was a genetically engineered or some old cultivar I went ahead and bought a head of purple and yellow cauliflower. They were delish and pretty I highly recommend it.
And now I head out with flashlight and bucket to stake my claim to my winter veg...sorry Mom but I doubt they would ship well.
Determined,
Head Bather

The new mini kit!

So I realized many of us may not have time for a whole bath ritual during this busy season, though I still highly recommend it before that holiday party or family affair to get you in the mood. In my first apartment I was lucky enough to have a room with an adjoining bathroom (meant that at every party it was the communal bathroom but whatever) so before just about every party (or at least the ones I remember being especially fun) I took a ritual bath. I would soak in the tub with homemade bath salts or something bubbly with just candles lit and nice music, and then take my time getting ready for the event. But as we get older and add more things into our lives, from jobs, to significant others, to kids, time to yourself becomes a thing that you will get to after you do xyz. As that becomes your life sometimes a hot shower can be just as rejuvenating as a hot soak, so for that I have created a smaller Ritual Bath kit perfect for you. The three items you need for a quickie ritual, the face mask which you could apply before getting in the shower, a paraben free shower gel to cleanse and scent the air for a brief aromatherapy treatment, and lastly the moisturizer from a lighter body lotion to the more rich body butter. I am very excited about them I hope you are too. The perfect office gift or stocking stuffer will only be available for the holiday season, get yours today!
Love, Laughter and Light,
Head Bather

Craft show afterglow

So I have just completed a whirl wind couple of months doing my first craft shows in my new home turf, and they were outstanding. Each one had it own flavor and flair and all were successful for me. There are so many new friends and vendors to list here so stay tuned I will be featuring some of my faves in the coming weeks. The great team at Ghetto Gloss are still hosting shows each weekend so if you get a chance check them out in Silverlake. I just finished the Bust Craftacular which was fabulous tons of great stuff and people to chat with. If you want to check out who was there just go to the Bust magazine website and check out the LA craftacular vendor list list and shop till you drop, I know I did. I didn't even get to watch my SNL, and had to stop my fam on the east coast from ruining it as we chatted after the Craftacular so for those of you who missed it here is my new favorite song.
Soaking my feet in the tub,
Head Bather