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As of February 28, we will no longer use email to send news or information.  Everything is shifting to our Facebook profile and the Car Seat Poncho Blog.



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FINE PRINT:  Coupon codes valid for new purchases of in-stock merchandise, and expire at 11:59 pm EST on 3/31/11.  US delivery addresses only.  One coupon per email address and delivery address.  Cannot be combined with any other promotion or coupon code.

AUGUST Coupon Code: 25% Off (but only for first 8 customers)

It's hot as the dickens now, but make sure you're ready to keep your baby safe and warm -- without a hassle.



Be one of the FIRST 8 to enter coupon code AUGUST and save 25% off your ponchos and accessories!

DETAILS:

1. Offer valid on total purchases of any Car Seat Poncho merchandise. Limit one user per customer per mailing address. Can not be included with any other promotion or coupon. Shipping and handling charges apply. For non-US purchases, custom fees and duties may apply.

2.  For questions, please email donna@hbarryboollc.com

1,800 Job Openings in LA

American Apparel, in downtown Los Angeles, is firing about 1,800 immigrant employees -- more than a quarter of its workforce -- after a federal investigation turned up irregularities in the identity documents they had presented at hiring (i.e., Social Security and/or immigration documents) — probably because the documents were fake.



So will American Apparel be able to replace those workers?  Are American citizens interested in working for a company that "has been lauded by city officials and business leaders for paying well above the garment industry standard, offering health benefits and not long ago giving $18 million in stock to its workers"?  The company also has masseuses and massage chairs on the factory floor, dispensing 20-minute massages to sewing staff who needed them.



The pay is decent, there are benefits and bonuses, and occasional perks.  But one soon-to-be-terminated employee -- a top supervisor, said, “I think the Americans think that garment sewing is demeaning work.”



Geez, I don't!  If it weren't 3,000 miles away, I'd definitely take a job there over one at Wal-Mart, Old Navy or Starbucks. Wouldn't you?  If Americans (born here or born elsewhere but citizens now) need work, and a good company needs workers, will they apply for work in a garment factory?  What would that be like?



It might go like this:  American company offers decent, skilled labor jobs, with training, to Americans.  More Americans work, more Americans experience the satisfaction of making, more Americans respect the skills, craftsmanship and time that go into making, more Americans are willing to pay a little more for well-made goods (American, hopefully), and more American factories are created.  More American jobs.  And perhaps a new, respectful era begins for American industry.

Sewing in America (a 5-part series)

This is the first in an ongoing series of observations about the state of sewing in America. As many of you know, the Car Seat Poncho is manufactured right here in the USA, and I hope that I will always be able to say that. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that will still be possible 5, 10 or 20 years from now.




Fifty years ago, there were millions of factory jobs in this country -- skilled labor that built the middle class. And thirty years ago, middle and high school kids were learning how to make things, in wood shop or in home ec. Those classes were terrific laboratories for math, geometry, and creativity. Where are they now -- those jobs, those classes? Is it even possible to bring them back? And what will we do when/if they're gone?




PART 1: Keeping An American Brand in America




I breathed a big sigh of relief when I read that Hartmarx had received approval to sell itself to two American and British investor groups (link).




Britain's Emerisque Brands and SKNL North America have vowed to keep the company intact as a leading manufacturer of men's and women's suits. Hartmarx, the 120-year-old maker of Hickey Freeman and Hart Schaffner Marx brands, has outfitted generations of men in their "first day of work" suits, wedding tuxedos and retirement dinner jackets. Based in Illinois, they have made several suits for President Obama, including the one he wore at his inauguration.




This vow means that over 4,000 employees in Illinois, New York and Alabama get to keep their jobs, their homes, their healthcare (hopefully), their security. It also means that the art and craft of apparel manufacturing stays alive a little while longer in this country.




(Wells Fargo, HM's creditor, had wanted to liquidate its assets, dismiss its employees, and license the esteemed brand name to offshore manufacturers. Hmmm. That's not a very nice "thank you" to the American people for shelling out the $25 billion in federal aid that kept the bank afloat, is it? Quite arrogant, I'd say.)




What do you think?