This holiday season this seems to be a on going question in the gallery and online… Is it made in America?
(Clarification up front: Now I saw in a discussion that the term is incorrect due to there is no “America” there is North America, South America etc. so it should state “Made in the USA”…ok got that out of the way!)
I point out that all the art online at Art Of Toys and in store has been “Made in the USA” but what the real search is for toys made in the USA. This seems to be really important to the 20ish crowd who is discovering if you don’t buy art or crafts it is hard to find and that is because there is little made here. This request is trickling up to their parents so is becoming more important!
The question is it to late? Factories have closed … consumers want Made in the USA but want made in China prices… work force is it still here? And to take one step further how about big chains that are buying handmade toys from struggling artists and taking them to China to make the handmade look?Will this all level out as the people of China become consumers and want a higher wages or should we just make China the production country and the rest of the world consumers?
Consumers are not just asking for Made in USA but made in the country or origin as well. This is getting tricky for toy buyers for many lines list “Designed in __________” and then somewhere smaller Made in China. Some lines have part still made in country of origin and some Made in China to add to the confusion.
Art Of Toys section “Art” is all made in USA at this point, a lot of the Vintage section is made in USA because older toys were made in USA. The Toy Gift section has a mixture so the goal for 2014 is to find toys that are made in the country designed.
Is Made in the ________ (country or origin) important to you?
