[Jewelry making - Article 00841] - Re: [Orchid] FTC guidelines

[Tim Jolivet]

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    I phoned the FTC and talked to a nice lady Jean who's job it is to
    interpret for the layman - that's me - exactly what the letter of the
    law is as to FTC rules. 

    Her answer is this 

        "This law was put into place to stop fraudulent representation of
        computer manufactured jewelry that was being represented as
        Handmade or Hand-wrought or Handcrafted. Where the raw material
        is placed in the machine and out comes the finished produced.
        This law has nothing to do with artist jewelers period." 

    I asked her about the power tool and mule thing. She laughed it
    seems that they, third world, have jewelry machines that don't have
    electricity but are run by mules walking in circles or water wheel.
    You stuff the sheet in, the mule goes round and round and you have
    some-sort of end product. Oh she did mention that they get
    correspondence on beaders calling their jewelery handmade,
    handcrafted etc. She was clear that you can't call stringing beads
    handmade because the parts are finish when you buy them. 

    Her next comment was "Boy you artist why over emote - when have you
    ever heard of an artist getting busted by the FTC for calling there
    jewelery handcrafted when it had a manufactured finding, or you used
    electricity or touch or whatever, you are still handmade. She works
    on the 80% rule. If you have touched, worked, sawed, filed, sanded,
    polished, etc 80% of the finished item and you have a earring finding
    on it or a post or wire.................etc at this point she
    stopped. I get the point. 

    So if you have a small shop or any shop it don't matter that you us
    whatever. As long as you are not putting a CNC Machine in your shop
    and calling it Handmade your good to go.
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