Wednesday 14 June 2017

WOYWW...

What a week it's been here at Sewing by Annie's.  It was brought to my attention that to sell toys they have to be safety tested and must all carry a CE safety logo etc.  As you can imagine this threw me into a panic even though, as you can imagine, I am always vigilant when making toys with having 6 little grandchildren of my own. 

We did an on line search for information and paid £30 to download a conformity pack.  We ploughed through all the information and apparently you should even do safety tests if you knit toys and dolls to sell for charity.  It all seemed a little daunting at first but with the help and support of my wonderful family and my amazing assistant [hubby] we gathered all the necessary equipment together and pulled, dropped, bashed and burnt the materials and toys to within an inch of their lives and I can proudly say each and every one passed all the required tests.  We have had to keep photographs to prove it's all been done and keep records for each model of toy I make so today I'm sharing a little of what's been going on here....


I have had to type up method of production sheets for each toy I make and tick all the pages [there's lots!!] of tests performed and results for each toy too to keep as record.....but now it's done and I'm so chuffed.

If anyone else makes and sells toys then it's well worth checking out what has to be done to cover your backs........ although it's taken time it was nowhere near as daunting as it first appeared.  

Hope you've all had a great week.
Hugs,
Annie x

20 comments:

Twiglet said...

Great post Annie - thanks for the useful info.xx

sandra de said...

OMGoodness .... you are amazing to have gone through all the paperwork and testing to comply. I would of just given up. All the best with selling your amazing toys.
sandra de @11

sandra de said...

Oops forgot to say a big thank you for you ATC arrived yesterday with twiglet. I am a very happy woyww with such a lovely collection.
sandra de

lisa said...

Goodness, Annie. Well done you for being so thorough. I bet there's loads of people who wouldn't even think to do this. I bet it was fun to do though, not the paperwork bit, just the testing!
Have a good week
Hugs Lisax #23

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Well done Annie, better safe than sorry. At least now we have the internet it's much easier to find the stuff you need. Happy crafty woyww, Angela x16x

Lunch Lady Jan said...

Wow, that's a thought provoking read. I tend not to make toys for selling but can appreciate that all safety standards have to be attended to. The reason why I gave up craft fairs was the fact that I needed public liability insurance and my light fittings had to be PAT tested. I simply didn't make enough money to warrant doing all this. I bet you had fun doing the testing though! Good luck with it all :-D
Hugs, LLJ 3 xxx

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Annie, a lot of useful info there, and huge praise to you for researching it, and then getting it all done.Great that all your stuff had no problems with the rules-and at least now all the people who see you at fairs, but don't know you personally will know that everything is totally safe. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz #9 XxX

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Totally impressed at your resourcefulness Annie, that's a lot of work well done you,..and just scrolled down to your smiles how cute are they??
Thanks so much for your great desky share.
Happy WOYWW! Shaz in Oz.x #31

{Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}

Bubbles said...

What a lot to do! However, I thought that the conformity pack was a lot more expensive than that! I'd probably more likely buy a toy that conformed to CE safety standards - so here's hoping it's all worthwhile :)
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Bubbles #13
http://patchworkapples.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/woyww-419.html

505whimsygirl said...

Hello Annie!

Oh wow, I had no idea!! Good for you and your team to accomplish all that is required. Wow. I can just imagine how you felt having first been told about this.

Thanks for visiting me already. I love seeing the animals around my home. My property extends to where the deer is located and can move my fence but have decided to keep it as it is. The deer love to hang out back there and I wouldn't want to take that away from them (or me). It would just mean more yard to maintain!!

Happy WOYWW
Hugs, Kay (43)

buterfliecrafter said...

I wouldn't have tought about that but it is logical if you think about it,good job on you,and now you van sell them with a safe mind,happy WOYWW Vicky#18

craftyani said...

The fact that you have to pay £30 for the conformity pack is disgraceful as this puts other people off testing the toys they make. Glad all yours passed the test. Well done you. Anickoana #20

Lindart said...

Wow - how lucky was that, that everything passed! Must have been the granny in you making sure from the start that everything was safe! Thanks for sharing, Lindart #64

Helen said...

crikey, what hoops you have to jump through... well done though! Helen #1

pearshapedcrafting said...

Goodness! That seems to be some rigorous testing there Annie! Well done to you and hubby! Love the photos of your growing grandchildren in your previous post! Thanks for your visit and kind words! Hugs, Chrisx 34

mamapez5 said...

I am very impressed Annie. Well done. I have to admit I have never considered it for the toys I make, but they are few and far between, so I am not unduly worried. I am not really a toy-maker. I do comply with Spanish rules about all ingredients in my jams and pickles being printed out in Spanish, but none of the other jam makers around here do, even the ones who sell regularly in the markets. But I am sure the powers that be, would be more in vigilant in UK. So good on you for doing it right! Kate x

WinnibriggsHouse said...

Hi Annie, well done for all that hard work. A while ago I started making little fleece teddies to include with a pair of first size shoes for a baby gift. Knowing vaguely about the CE registration process I contacted my trading standards office to see if as a small maker I had to comply. I was told if I wanted to include the CE label on my goods I would have to do so, but that the regulations were intended for large manufacturers not small business concerns. I got around mine by buying all my fleece threads, ribbons etc from a company that had already tested the materials and included the certificates on their site for you to print off and keep. So apart from actually testing that any items attached ( in my case only a small hanging loop) stood up to some rigorous testing I was told I didn't need to do anything. I personally wanted to be able to show compliance so did as above, but they assured me that it wasn't compulsary!

Neet said...

Some of my friends who went to cake decorating with me went on to do C&G qualifications so they could sell their cakes although I don't think that is necessary as long as you stick to basic hygiene. Guess with your handicrafts it is very different, especially with toys for little ones. So glad you are now covered but I would never had thought of it myself.
Hugs, Neet xx 7

Katie @ Arnold's Attic said...

Those strawberries look yummy!
Have a super weekend,
Katie xx44

Lynn Holland said...

Tell you what Annie that is one helpful post you've written there. When I think off all the people that make things to sell on. It's a bit of a minefield.
Thanks dear friend I'll be passing your new found knowledge on
Lynn xxx 12