that kind of day...

... In the midst of resume updates and syllabus writing; tour route practicing and class prep, I can't help but wish I was small enough to curl up on someone's lap and sleep, sleep, sleep.
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shop update!

new year, new stuff!

knitimals on the move: portland, maine

this is masoo. she's chilling in maine. where are YOUR knitimals?

Happy new year!

Here's hoping your first day of the new year was happy, healthy and full of good snuggles! xo, danamarie
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happy handmade holidays!

warm wishes for this holiday season!
greenstarstudio wishes all of our friends the happiest of all handmade holidays and lots of love in the new year.

enjoy the warmth of family & friends and we'll see you again in 2009!
xoxo, danamarie, mason & the knitimals

Save the Knitimals: Save Handmade!

a very sad beecat by me & his good friend the bird party pillow, by jennyjen42

Dear Loyal Friends, Collectors of Knitimals & Lovers of all things Green...

We're in trouble, and we need your help.
If you haven't heard already, hopefully hearing it here can help put a face to a business under attack.

In August, in reaction to the complete lack of safety standards in the production of children's toys and clothing from large over-seas manufacturers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission created, and President Bush (thanks again, W) passed the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act which mandates testing for all products intended for children under 12 years old. It requires all manufacturers of children’s goods to submit their products for testing for lead and phthalates. This is theoretically good. What's not good is the cost of getting things tested. The problem is that the average testing fee runs a few thousand dollars. In the case of artists like myself, who make completely one of a kind items, we would have to submit each and every toy for testing since no two are alike.

That means for every $80 Knitimal I make, only about $20 of which is really "profit" anyway, after the cost of materials, time, production and a percentage of the actual running of the business, i would also need to find anywhere from $200 to over $2,000 PER ITEM; that means EACH knitimal, EACH t-shirt... that's well over the cost of even manufacturing the item, let alone the profit (*prices are the averages of third party testers i've been able to find so far). Naturally you can see what this version of the act would do to the handmade toy & clothing industry. I wouldn't be able to make or sell Knitimals anymore. Or, i'd have to sell them for thousands of dollars, and then no one could afford them. There'd be no more card games or painted blocks, no more onesies or hand drawn t-shirts. There'd, effectively, be no more Greenstarstudio... and well, no more "me" as we know me.

And of course, this isn't JUST about toys... it's about small business. The Small Business Administration defines "small business" as under 500 employees. Most Etsy members, for example, are either sole proprietors or maybe a family or studio of friends working together. According to Etsy:

Many craftspeople on Etsy have told us that they could be put out of business if forced to comply with the proposed legislation. This is the painful irony bound up in the CPSIA.

And of course, its not just about the tens of thousands (and probably more) jobs that will be lost and people who will suddenly be forced to go broke or break the law; it's about consumers who don't get to choose what they buy...
Not EVERYTHING can come from Target. What about the shops and retailers and galleries who make THEIR living selling the handmade... there go those shops. There's more empty store fronts and even more people looking for work. What about the kids who have long been loving their unique and one of a kind possessions? So much for living with art. See, this is serious.

Please be aware that if this act is not reformed, most handmade toys and clothing for children will be illegal beginning in February of next year. That's less than two months from now. Please take a moment to learn about this act and the disastrous effects it will have on the handmade and small business communities.

The U.S. House and Senate passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the CPSIA), and on August 14, 2008, President Bush signed the Act into law. Further information on the Act is available at the CPSC website and helpful
FAQs.

NOW.
How can YOU help?


coolmompicks.com has compiled a very helpful listing of all the pertinent info here, including links to petitions, form letter samples, links to congress & more. PLEASE take a moment and do anything you can to help spread the word, whether its forwarding this along, or signing a petition or writing a letter or two. Anything you can do will help.

Thank you for your love and support. Together we CAN save Handmade.
Yes. We. Can.

xoxo, danamarie

************
If you're looking for something to do this weekend--- don't forget the Last Minute Maul! School 33, Sunday December 21st, from 10am to 5pm. Grab those fabulous last minute goodies and get out of the mall (maul) madness!

***********

If you're interested in reading more about the CPSIA...

There are some suggestions & proposals that have been made to help re-direct a well intentioned, but ultimately misguided Act. Below is the unabridged copy from the Handmade Toy Alliance, which i think sums up the problem & the solution, pretty succinctly.

Save the USA from the CPSIA

In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China and other developing countries violated the public's trust. They were selling toys with dangerously high lead content, toys with unsafe small part, toys with improperly secured and easily swallowed small magnets, and toys made from chemicals that made kids sick. Almost every problem toy in 2007 was made in China.

The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So it passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and update their molds to include batch labels.

For small American, Canadian, and European toymakers, however, the costs of mandatroy testing will likely drive them out of business.

* A toymaker, for example, who makes wooden cars in his garage in Maine to supplement his income cannot afford the $4,000 fee per toy that testing labs are charging to assure compliance with the CPSIA.
* A work at home mom in Minnesota who makes dolls to sell at craft fairs must choose either to violate the law or cease operations.
* A small toy retailer in Vermont who imports wooden toys from Europe, which has long had stringent toy safety standards, must now pay for testing on every toy they import.
* And even the handful of larger toy makers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public's trust: Toys made in the US, Canada, and Europe. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade toys will no longer be legal in the US.

If this law had been applied to the food industry, every farmers market in the country would be forced to close while Kraft and Dole prospered.

one of a kind holiday!

how about a "design your own" gift pack of knitimal soaps this year?

know anyone who needs something sweet for a new baby this winter?

what about an organic cotton onesie?

i know! your tree needs some sprucing...

maybe a hand sewn felt knitimal ornament?

say no more-- visit the store!

the cat's out of the bag... I'm in Baltimore Mag(azine)

the december issue of Baltimore Magazine is dedicated entirely to the handmade scene in Baltimore, and offers readers insight on their favorite (and soon-to-be favorite) local designers, as well as suggestions on how & where to shop local. That, as you all know, is a wonderful thing in this icky economic time, when so many self employed, daring & risk taking independent artists are counting, more than ever, on fellow consumers to help keep them afloat. I am no stranger to this, of course, so i was EXTRA excited when they contacted ME and asked for an interview...



Jessica interviewed me over the phone and we talked for over an hour. Cory came to our house to do the photo shoot which turned the studio into a live version Jenga game, as we moved furniture and balanced lights and tripods on coffee tables and windowsills.




*look how official and "photo-shooty" the room looks!*

and the end result?
a full page interview & photo grouping AND the main image on the contents page!!!




If you live local, go out and pick up an copy--- there's SO much great work in there; Holiday shopping will be much easier this year, me thinks! And if you live not-so-locally, you can check out SOME of the interviews and info online, here: Baltimore Magazine

*******
remember, this sunday, Dec. 7th, i'll be at the Creative Alliance for Merry Mart. It's a great show with food, drink and FREE gift wrapping! So bring your reusable bags and head on over. I'll have plenty of soap, magnets, coloring books, ornaments, keychains, stickers, wood pieces, card games and more, including the very last of the 2008 Edition Knitimals, so get them while you can!

xo, danamarie

gettin' merry!

thanks to all the fabulous folks who came out to see me at Bazaart!
what a great day...

if you missed it, or if you've been thinking "i should go grab some more stuff", don't wait! Come to Merry Mart at the Creative Alliance this Sunday, Dec. 7th, from 11am to 5pm.

"No manic mall madness necessary! Do your holiday shopping at The Creative Alliance! 35 + handpicked artists sell some the best of Baltimore-made items. Gorgeous turned vessels, elegant jewelry, whimsical stuffed critters, origami lights, felt applique, hand knits, housemade soaps, wacky fly swatters, photos in jars, totally cool totes, and much more."

Artists:
Dina Alexander Art Jewelry, The Broken Plate Pendant Co., SPAGHETTI KISS, Daedalus Books & Music, Sweet Pepita, Megin Diamond Designs, this chickadee, danamarie hosler & greenstarstudio, Dandelion Blu Jewelry, Bowerbox Press, Devin Mack, MackWire, Jennyjen42, Nancy Ziegenfus-McIntosh, The Littlest Bean, Linda Moul, Rebecca Patterson Baked at 275*, PINK KISS POTTERY, Jill Popowich Designs in Metal, Tu Vida Jewelry & Design, heidiroland - daring earrings!, Elisa Shere Jewelry, Baltimore Glass Works, City Neighbors Charter School , Sugar Paperie, Mark Supik & Co., Stephney Wallace, Yummy & Company.

For more information, visit the Creative Alliance. See you there!

Happy Birthday to ME & happy savings to YOU!

yes, friends... today. i. am. thirty.

and i think that's great.
is a nice round number.
30.

and so impressive, right?
it's been such a great year, and i think, all told, a great 30 years.
SO, let's celebrate my birthday with a little economic stimulus, shall we?

all orders over $20 in my etsy shop today (through tomorrow at 4pm eastern time) will be 30% off, with the coupon code: BIRTHDAY08.
make sure to include the code in the message to seller section at checkout in order to get your discount! (i'll send you a revised invoice).

lots of love and here's to another 30...
xo, danamarie