Jen Lynn Designs
Hi, I'm Jen
I’m a work-at-home-mom of 2 with my own hair accessory business, www.JenLynnDeisgns.com that has been closed since 2/10/09 due to the implementation of regulations included in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 4040). I’ll explain that here, as it greatly affects the content on this site and consumes a good portion of my time these days:
The CPSIA requires expensive product testing and certification to verify compliance with limits on the level of lead and other potentially harmful substances in all products that are intended to be used by kids age 12 and under, as well as specific labeling and tracking requirements. These provisions, while reasonable in the abstract, and doable for the largest corporations, are simply not possible for small businesses – not to mention home-based, one-person shops like mine – to implement. Sadly, if the law is not amended to include a way for small operations to comply, all but the largest businesses serving the 12 and under market will be forced to close when all the provisions of the law are implemented – which is soon. Ironically, consumers will lose the option of buying items handcrafted in the US, and will be left with only mass-produced items (many manufactured in China – great for their economy, not so much for ours) which introduced the lead-in-toys scare that prompted this law in the first place. Because the law affects all product types, and is retroactive, resale, consignment and thrift shops, books, libraries and schools are all negatively impacted as well. Tell your representatives in Congress that the CPSIA needs a common-sense amendment before more US small businesses offering quality products for our kids are lost forever. Not sure what to say? Feel free to copy and paste the message below and/or change it as you see fit:
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is not as good for kids and consumers as it should be!
I want access to safe, organic, and handmade goods for kids produced right here in the US. But the small businesses I purchase from are closing or have closed! They can’t afford the cost of lead testing and labeling required by the CPSIA.
Please work to amend the CPSIA – keep the limits on harmful substances – but give small domestic companies room to comply without going bankrupt. I look forward to hearing your plans to address these problems.
Thank you.
I started my business so that I could stay home with my kids while contributing to our family income, and enjoy and learn from the entrepreneurial challenge. Along the way, I have met so many fascinating, creative moms that I’m inspired to share my own experiences in hopes of helping others design accessories professionally or for personal use. It’s a great creative outlet.
I’ve been “making something” for as long as I can remember… stealing scraps of fabric, yarn, tin foil, cardboard etc. from my parents as a kid, and spending hours creating treasures out of their junk. I graduated from the School of Visual Arts in NYC with a sculpture major, and worked at a marketing firm in Manhattan until I had kids and “moved out to the country”(!). We now live in snowy suburb of Rochester, NY that is fabulously family-friendly, though a good bit colder than I’d like. Feel free to post comments in response to my blog entries or email me specific questions. I so appreciate the international community of crafters, artisans and designers, and love to see your work!