The Long Walk to School

“Well kids, I walked 12 miles to school in the snow, rain,up mountains…barefoot…with 12 books on my back…carrying water on my head.”

OK. Slight exaggeration, however we all can remember hearing similar stories from our grandparents and parents about how much of a struggle it was to get to school.

In fact, my grandfather was one of 10 kids and grew up on a farm in Nebraska. Each child did chores BEFORE school--waking up on their own at the crack of dawn to run down to the chicken coop to get the eggs, milk cows, etc. In the evenings, homework was done with no extra encouragement from mom or dad. I would love for my kids to wake up on their own, do a load of laundry prior to making me breakfast!

I practically dress, spoon feed, coax and coddle my children to school. Each of my boys is immaculately dressed in new jeans with their own personalized backpack, pencil case and lunch sak. I am sure you'd agree that our life seems so easy in comparison!

Retelling the stories of the past help keep the ease of modern day life in perspective. And help remind us that we are very lucky.

Hooray for Halloween

Every Halloween, my mom would make my brother and me costumes. Eliot and I would spend weeks deliberating over the various design elements. My favorite was Pippi Longstocking.

Mom engineered my pigtails using bright red yarn and a coat hanger. She sewed a patchwork pinafore and dress to go with my mismatched socks. Ta Da! I was successfully transformed to another time and place.

Walking down the street, no one recognized me as the girl next door. And I beamed underneath my newly painted freckles. I was so proud of my mom’s creativity and loved my one-of-a-kind costume.

Today, Halloween continues to be an important holiday in our household. My boys look forward to dressing up and I try to live up to the tradition of home made costumes. We host an annual party for neighborhood friends—bobbing for apples and pitching pennies in a pumpkin.

Everyone at the Warm Biscuit Bedding Co. is thrilled with our Halloween finds this year and hopes our vintage Halloween Treat Totes take you back to your childhood.

Do Parents Want Cheap, High Quality Made In China Toys?

The toy industry is in an upheaval to say the least with the recent discovery of some Chinese manufactured toys using lead paint. And in hindsight it is not surprising that our "well-policed" industry (the kid's category) discovered the negligence first.

When I started the Warm Biscuit Bedding Co. I only sold classic toys and products made in the US. However, parents want (and buy more of) less expensive toys. In fact,some of our best selling toys are made overseas in very responsible factories (including Fisher Price).

In fact, our made in the US, Klicker Klacker classic push toy at $42 does not do as well as the made in China Fisher Price Chatter Phone at $15. So what does this mean? It means that China does make high quality toys MUCH cheaper than we can and even upscale parents do not want to spend a lot of money on a toy.

I was at a birthday party, sitting by a beautiful pool with a handful of mothers who all were saying that fewer quality (made in the US) toys was better than a roomful of cheap made in China toys. So, I challenged them..."Really? You regularly buy these toys for your kids?"

"Hmm. Err. Well, we try, too. I mean, it's just hard to say no when the toys are so cheap and your kid really wants one. Who can say no to a $20 toy?"

So in the end, price is the point. In the 50's toys were more expensive, and our parents bought fewer of them. Kids took care of them because they were special. Now they are cheap and disposable. We toss them. They fall apart and we don't care, because they are cheap. If you knew that the toys were hand made by Tom or Sue up the street and you paid 3 or 4 times the price, would buy less often but take better care of them? I'd like to think yes.

By the way, I do know the people who make our Klicker Klacker. They are retired and make toys for FUN...in their home studio. Just like I know Vicky Vinson and her husband Jim who head up our Custom Corner furniture studio, Linda who sews our bedding in California, Jamie Lenztner who paints our name tiles, London Edwards who paints our ceramic plates, Polly Wilson who makes our tepees, and many more. I prefer to work with local talent, it costs more, however, it costs more.

The question is...are we willing to pay for it?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this so please feel free to comment.