So much craziness on the work scene lately. Here's the very short version, as short as I can make it.

I've been selling Ergo Baby Carriers in my store since the very beginning. It was one of my original 3-4 products.

Last year I started dyeing a few carriers, because Ergo's colors are pretty boring. I made Spring Green and Brazil Nut and Pomegranate and Rose Petal, all kinds of pretty colors. They were a big hit.

All of a sudden I got a threatening phone call from Ergo telling me to take the dyed carriers off my website or else my wholesale account would be terminated. Wha? They could give no sensible reason for it, other than "that's just not the business direction we want to go in".

Geez, you'd think they would be happy about the increased sales, right? Nope. So I did take the carriers off my website, though I grumbled mightily about it.

Well, time went on and people kept emailing me asking what happened to the dyed carriers. I was tempted into making them again, but very privately. Just a few here and there. I know, bad girl...but I'm not good at following rules that don't make any sense to me. Besides, I *was* following the rule about not having them *on my website*.

All went well until I donated a Pomegranate dyed Ergo to a charity auction. Someone at Ergo saw it and they immediately terminated my wholesale account. Fuckers. Never mind that I've sold a zillion Ergos for them, or that I've had by FAR the best website of any of their retailers, or that I've given free personal instruction to my customers, or any of that. No sireee, a few dyed carriers are a big threat. WhatEVER.

So fuck Ergo. Lucky for me, there are two other good options out there in Baby Carrier Land. The Beco, which is prettier and more comfortable and made in California (instead of China) and the Patapum, which is a great toddler carrier....they are based in northern Italy near Torino.

The Patapum also comes in an eminently dyeable khaki color, so I emailed them and asked how they would feel about a dyed version. They gave me the big thumbs up and were very excited about it. What a difference in attitude from those fools over at Ergo, who desperately need this book .

I'm quite glad this happened, as now I can sell two fabulous carriers. One beautiful high-end carrier, and one more utilitarian carrier that is super-comfy yet affordable. I can continue dyeing carriers with the full approval and *support* of the manufacturer. And hey, I might even take a trip to Italy someday, visit the Patapum headquarters and write part of it off. Sweet, no?

In the meantime, my other products are flying off the shelves. I've had a very busy summer, very exciting. A little crazy trying to keep it together with two little kids, but totally worth it.

When Ergo terminated my account, they wanted me to ship back my remaining carriers in stock (several hundred!) at MY expense, PLUS pay a restocking fee. Thanks for the memories guys...been great working with you too. ASSEATERS.

Instead, I had a big sale and sold them all off. I sold something like 150 carriers in three days. I was out in the garage packing up orders every spare moment, with Adrian on my back in his Beco. As soon as the kids were in bed I was back out there with tape gun in hand.

Things have finally calmed down now and I'm taking a little breather. Just in time, as Adrian started officially crawling yesterday. He was moving around a little before, but now he can actually go forward to get an object. He's not up on hands and knees yet, he's doing a belly crawl, but it still counts. He is SO excited about this...he'll scoot forward and then turn around to give me a huge grin..."Check THIS out, Mama!"