hello...

hi there. if you're visiting us for the first time, welcome! we're glad you stopped by...

we're so thrilled with the article that the democrat and chronicle published about us today. emily shearing is a tremendously sweet and talented writer who really understands the heart of what we are trying to do. a big thanks to her!

we're excited to announce that second storie will be branching out to buffalo this summer. with the help of our dear friends nicole and shelly we are certain it will be a success. we hope that all of you here in rochester will make the short trip out to see us! we'll keep you posted right here in the very near future about the when and where. want more direct updates? sign up for our mailing list!

and we are psyched to share with you this great news: the cpsia has suspended it's mandatory testing for a year. that means we have that much more time to get organized and get things changed! you can read more here.

saving handmade

as you may already know, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was signed into law in august of 2008. effective as of february 10, 2009 (that's 2 weeks!), this law redefines the legality of making and/or selling any product relating to children. the standards are high, as they should be. where we in the handmade community take issue is the nondiscrimination between mass-produced or imported goods and those made by hand on an individual basis. this law will require extensive and expensive CPSIA-compliant testing on each individual item, handmade or otherwise, rendering most small-businesses and hand-makers incapable of compliance, therefore out of business. (you can read more about the technicalities of this law here. to read more about how this law will affect all of us in the handmade community, go here.)

we think something needs to be done. the handmade community has grown out of the desire to offer an alternative to mass production. our goods are made with care, attention and mindfulness rarely found within a factory production line. our standards are innately higher than those of our competition, these are standards also shared by the patrons of handmade. by limiting our ability to make and sell, this law is limiting our ability to make conscientious purchases. the handmade community will not stay silent in our protest. many have rallied together in dissent and we've found a few places you can go to help out.

join the handmade toy alliance. they have also gathered ideas for possible solutions.

join the facebook group.

a great place to read about and discuss it is here.

get out there and make your voice heard. we'd also love to hear what you have to say so drop us a line and let us know what you're thinking...

on this historic day...

we join the world in quiet celebration.


image from ft.com

Something new: Creativity United

Hello, friends!

We are so happy to introduce to you a new community of creative folks that has sprouted up in Rochester. Creativity United is a loosely based collaborative of creative types. Here's a bit about the group, straight from the organizers:

 

Creativity United is..."like a giant group hug for our whole creative community...artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, photogs, ad creatives, designers, the whole enchilada."

Sounds great, right? It gets even better. To kick off the beginning of this great new organization, Creativity United will be hosting a free screening of Beautiful Losers at the Little Theater! If you haven't heard of the movie, click straight away to check  out this wonderful and thoughtful film about the trailblazers of the indie art community. This super fun event will happen on Thursday, February 5th at 7 p.m. We can't wait for a chance to hang out with other creative types outside or comfortable art + craft circle, and in our circle too! We hope you'll join us!

All of us at Second Storie are so honored and excited to be a part of Creativity United, and to have helped contribute to making this amazing first event possible! To get your free ticket to the event, click HERE now. Seats are going fast so don't check your email, pour a fresh cup of coffee, or take the dog out first, go now....scoot!

Type to you soon!

Shanna

2009, here we come!

it feels so good to be back here with all of you in the quiet aftermath of the holidays. having taken in a deep breath, we are looking ahead to a year full of new friends, new adventures and a few surprises to be sure. 2008 was very good to us and we have so much gratitude to those that helped us take it by storm.

the success of our last show brought us some attention both big and small. we were recently interviewed by emily shearing of the insider magazine. you can check it out here. we want to thank emily for her article - we love it! go and grab your copy now - it is only out for a few more days! there are many more photos in the magazine that you won't find online...

to start off the new year with such positive press fills us with much optimism and excitement for the year to come.

there is still a little more to share, but we will let you in on that tomorrow!
joAnn