toys and safty...

There has been a lot of talk about toy safety of late- and as someone who's been working on making a line of children's toys for the last few years I've thought about this issue more than I can say. I know I know, I don't talk about it often here but I've had big plans and I've made some serious progress which unfortunately keeps being derailed - One of the major issues is the overarching CPSIA (Consumer Product safety Improvement Act) which is still being debated- and has been for the last 2+ years. Happily, I'm back at it these days with renewed focus and excitement- I decided I'm moving ahead and we'll see what happens.
All that said I'm also the mother of a now crawling and cruising baby, I know all about choking hazards. It's a big world out there- but frankly safely attached buttons are pretty low on my list of worries. I think as a parent it's my job oversee what my child is getting into and to check out all of his toys occasionally. We can't expect to make clunky overarching laws to protect us against everything... in the process we loose so much more than we gain.

The Hand Made Toy Alliance is an incredible resource for more info. They provide all the up to date news about how the new legislation will effect handmade goods in the marketplace (Feb 2, 2011 is when the stay is lifted and new laws go into effect- if an amendment isn't reached this could be devastating to anyone making handmade items for children) and offer lots of easy ways to get involved.


So here's what's been going on in my studio today: these little German Glass eyes won't work for kids toys, but I love how dainty and sweet they look on this bear. I'm currently working on a whole new group of pieces for a summer Website Update. I'll be sure to post all the details as soon as I set a date!