say good bye to our birthday rings :(

[counterGOPI]

it's allready begun.
grimm's speil and holz is no longer sending things to the USA b/c of the new law. We tried ordering the figure i wanted for my baby's 1st birthday and they can not/will not send it :

[cat2116]

I've been reading about the situation in the US.....so sorry.
I don't know what else to say.....

[LenasMommy]

oh nooooo!

[counterGOPI]

thanks catherine
its pretty darn crappy. maybe we need ot move to europe fo a bit. my dh is in the military so we could.....

[kghaffar]

I just ordered one on January 2nd. It shows it's being delivered tomorrow....

Sigh... This thing is so screwed up.

So do I order a bunch of extra pieces on the hopes they fit with DD in the years to come?? Or burder our European relatives every year? Or order just plain numbers (which aren't my favorite) or just trust that they will get this straightened out?

The Wooden Wagon had lots of pieces in stock... Perhaps they have the one you were looking for...

http://thewoodenwagon.com/c-birthday-ring.html

[counterGOPI]

yeah i went there. we should be ok with usa stores that have them in stock at least.
but unfortunately the one i wanted,they do not carry.
its a mama swan with her baby swan on her back

i was ordering directly through grimms.

[kghaffar]

Originally Posted by counterGOPI

maybe we need ot move to europe fo a bit.

This was our plan if the election wen the other way (real, serious discussions)... I wonder what DH would say if I opened the discussion again over toys???

lol

(please don't think me over dramatic over the election--It helps that my DH is Danish and we lived in Belgium for a long time)

[kghaffar]

Originally Posted by counterGOPI

yeah i went there. we should be ok with usa stores that have them in stock at least.
but unfortunately the one i wanted,they do not carry.
its a mama swan with her baby swan on her back

i was ordering directly through grimms.

Nicole-

I have ordered from Myriad Natural Toys out of the UK before ... IIRC the minimum on shipping was about $12 but my order was only $14. Perhaps they have the piece you want-I know they carry rings (and the doll figures for them that Magic Cabin carries).

HTH

[Hannahsmummy]

Oh no!

Sorry to hear it's being a problem already. I am a toy maker living in the UK so I am waiting to see how all of this pans out.

There must be people in the US who make ornaments for rings? I rarely find anything here that I'd like to get and often have to look to the US for stuff. Myriad is lovely but waaaaay over priced I find.

[RollerCoasterMama]

Oh poop! I was waiting for the natural advent spirals to get back in stock. I want one we can use for both. Better go check. I was afraid of this. Oh well. DH didn't get me a birthday present yesterday so I get to pick out what I want. Sounds like a good time to order a ring before they go extinct!

ETA: Wooden Wagon has my spiral.

[notwonamesalike]

So I imagine this applies to all S&P toys, correct? If we want them we probably need to order them from the stores that still have them in stock because they won't be getting new shipments?

*sigh*

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by notwonamesalike

So I imagine this applies to all S&P toys, correct? If we want them we probably need to order them from the stores that still have them in stock because they won't be getting new shipments?

*sigh*

I'm still sure that this is a temporary stupid thing that will get sorted out yet this year. However, I ordered my advent/birthday ring and a couple of little ornaments. I figure I can always find the ornaments later, but I really want the ring. It's my birthday present! I got spring-y ones so I can just use a couple of sections for an Easter display. Looks like the ornaments are something to aquire gradually. They add up $$$! Worst case, I can figure out how to make some myself, but I really wanted THAT spiral.

[PabloHoneySF]

I was wondering if these items wou d be considered decorations rather than toys and be allowed to be sold w/o the third party testing. I could see Grimm's pulling everything out of the market (I mean would they stay in for these type of items?), but the classification of items could be interesting. DH think Ostheimer could come in under collectibles or decorations as well for those 12+...

what do you think?

[RollerCoasterMama]

Originally Posted by PabloHoneySF

I was wondering if these items wou d be considered decorations rather than toys and be allowed to be sold w/o the third party testing. I could see Grimm's pulling everything out of the market (I mean would they stay in for these type of items?), but the classification of items could be interesting. DH think Ostheimer could come in under collectibles or decorations as well for those 12+...

what do you think?

It all depends how you market them. But that's how I'm planning to keep making my stuff if the law doesn't get fixed. Have a "for display purposes only" or "not intended for children under 12" disclaimer. It will scare off some people, but people that know what's going on will understand (I think). It's going to be an interesting few months while they figure things out!

[fruitfulmomma]

"DH think Ostheimer could come in under collectibles or decorations as well for those 12+.."

Unfortunately this will not work. The law, not the manufacturer, gets to define whether or not it is intended for children 12 and under or not. See bullet 3 here http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/children.html If it is already commonly recognized as being a children's item, then it covered under this law.

OTOH, it does seem that we are perhaps making some headway here. The L.A. Times is reporting that they have tentatively removed some natural materials from it but the final approval won't be made until after the 10th.

[Hannahsmummy]

Originally Posted by PabloHoneySF

I was wondering if these items wou d be considered decorations rather than toys and be allowed to be sold w/o the third party testing. I could see Grimm's pulling everything out of the market (I mean would they stay in for these type of items?), but the classification of items could be interesting. DH think Ostheimer could come in under collectibles or decorations as well for those 12+...

what do you think?

Originally Posted by fruitfulmomma

"DH think Ostheimer could come in under collectibles or decorations as well for those 12+.."

Unfortunately this will not work. The law, not the manufacturer, gets to define whether or not it is intended for children 12 and under or not. See bullet 3 here http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/children.html If it is already commonly recognized as being a children's item, then it covered under this law.

OTOH, it does seem that we are perhaps making some headway here. The L.A. Times is reporting that they have tentatively removed some natural materials from it but the final approval won't be made until after the 10th.

Yup, it's all children's items not just toys.

[pinkpeone]

Should I be stocking up just in case? I am in Canada, but I am wondering if I should be stocking up. I can not believe that this is happening. I too wanted to get a birthday ring, and posted a while back asking where to find one (specifically in Canada). Unfortunately, no one is Canada seems to stock them, so I emailed a few American stores before Christmas and I have received emails from some pf the stores stating that the stock they have is limited and is reserved only for domestic sales due to the current legislation.

I sense some political economic theory behind this current law. I am not trying to start a political discussion, I am just very sad that things have come to this.

[hug-o-war]

Originally Posted by notwonamesalike

So I imagine this applies to all S&P toys, correct? If we want them we probably need to order them from the stores that still have them in stock because they won't be getting new shipments?

*sigh*

This applies to all toys, and cloth diapers, slings, clothes, sigh...
I try to imagine what my daughter's Waldorf charter school without continued access to natural fiber toys? The companies that can afford these tests are the likes of Fisher Price and Mattel...etc... They don't offer handmade beeswax finished toys that I've seen...
It's just so sad. But let's rally together! Let's continue to get the word out!
We own Milagros Boutique in Portland, Oregon and have already had WAHM's closing up their crafting doors

We've sent oodles of e-mail messages out and continue to. Not sure if it is mentioned here already, but the change.org voting is in it's second round. Time for us to vote again! And send the following to anyone who can read:

Here are some ideas on what you can do to help in order of relevance in our opinion:

* Contact your congressional delegation. A form letter as well as contact information may be found here: http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/how-you-can-help
* Raise the visibility of this issue with the Obama adminstration. Vote and comment on the issue here:http://www.change.org/ideas/view/sav...from_the_cpsia
* Notify your friends, family, and neighbors about this issue.
* Send a letter to the editor about this to your local press. If you live in Portland, here is contact info for the larger local newspapers:http://saveouropenspace.com/contact-the-press/
* Sign the on-line petition concerning this issue:http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/handmadetoys/

More in depth info that we've been sharing is on our site:
http://milagrosboutique.com/2009/01/...s-and-local-jo
bs/

Hang in there everyone! This simply must improve! Visualize!

[operamommy]

All hope is not lost!

http://www.kval.com/news/37241774.html

[EviesMom]

This is wonderful! Really, it is! Thank you for posting that! It says that natural materials like wood are exempted (but it won't apply to paints, so we might see more unpainted stuff actually) and it sounds to me like the resale stuff will be okay since he said it you would only be liable if you knew it was contaminated and sold it anyway.

I wonder if that will also apply to current inventory. If so, that would be great for me! You can't "hoard" current inventory, but I have a storage locker of stuff from the toy store I closed earlier this year and I can't resell it to another store unless they're going to be able to sell it after Feb. 10!