summer helpers

Having a family business means a lot to me. I enjoy the flexibility to participate in my sons' events. I like working in my home office. I don't think twice about evening and weekend work. Everything weaves nicely into our family schedule somehow, although not without lots of planning.

During a mini (unprofessional) photoshoot a few days ago, I had an unexpected helper, age 5, who was eager to play the part of the photographer. Once I completed the images a buyer needed for her boutique, my oldest son and I had a great time playing photographer.

I can't wait to show him his photos on the blog later. Enjoy.

Hooray! CPSIA testing relief. Happy Valentine's Day!

Long live etsy! Long live small businesses! Well, at least for the one year 'stay'. No longer will GCC forms be required with shipment as of February 10, 2009. For children everywhere, I am happy that the CPSC is upholding their stringent lead and phthalates requirements, without burdening small businesses with the huge testing requirements, yet.

Although this news arrives AFTER I have invested significant time and some money, I am happy to see a move by the CPSC that will save the many unique handmade offerings for children in the USA!

Here are the articles:

CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products

CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws Taking Effect in February
Guidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and Consignment Stores

To celebrate, how about a little Valentine's Day sale?! I'll be adding sweaters, slippers and boots throughout the weekend - most will be red or pink! Happy Valentine's Day.

a beautifully busy first season

Where did November go? Many times, I thought about doing a blog entry, but here we are in December. The lovely blog posts by Amanda Soule and Amy Karol in late October spread the word to many wonderful people seeking slippers. So a busy business schedule last month, combined with 11 days of house guests (very gracious house guests!), Thanksgiving, my 40th birthday and, of course, 2 small boys who had a lot of non-preschool days, made for a completely full schedule. December shall bring more busy fun:

December Sample Sale fundraiser events:
- Brightwater Waldorf School Sugar Plum Faire, 11am-3pm, Saturday December 6
- Whidbey Island Waldorf School Faire, Saturday December 6 (No, I won't be in two places. At this faire, the parent-volunteers run 'the store'
- Seattle Waldorf School Winter Faire, 10am-3pm, Sunday December 7
- Hutch Winter Craft Sale, Friday December 5 (employees only, I think)

Satch & Sol short-list of BIG projects:
- Grown-up size slippers are enroute from Mongolia. Please sign up for the newsletter to receive notice when they arrive.
- New testing requirements for all child products sold in the USA. I have a plan in place and will have this new mandatory testing done for all products made after November 12, 2008, as required. As a mom, I am happy to see this new law take effect, eventhough it is so burdensome on small businesses. I would love to connect with other small businesses to see if we could streamline our efforts in this rollercoaster process. Thankfully, the testing timing will coincide with Satch & Sol's new styles to be online in late January.
- Grown-up boots. Styles and sizes to test will arrive soon. My boot wardrobe is about to greatly expand and I'll need some test help for sizes 9, 10 and 11 womens.
- Pajamas! I am looking for fair trade artisans worldwide who make PJs from natural fibers. I would love to have several styles from multiple locations.

This photo of my two favorite superheros was taken in late September along Green Lake. It has nothing to do with this rambling blog post, but I love it!