ring sling with overlapping pleat shoulder

Today's message: The kids are out of school for the summer, so while I'm doing my best to keep up with orders, there may be days where I get a little behind so that I can take the kids to the pool or on a day trip. Please don't expect 24-hour turnaround during this time.
Please fan my Facebook page if you'd like to get live updates and the occasional coupon code!
Please read about infant safety in baby-holding devices (every parent, babywearer or not, needs to know about this) and sling safety!

N.B.: Points are suspended until further notice (i.e. business picks up more) -- no need to wait to order :D

Sewing appointments

Because there's only one of me, and in order to be able to spend time with my family, I have limits on the number of orders I will accept each day. People have been confused by this in the past, so I hope this explaination helps.

Think of it like this: when you need a service performed, whether it's an oil change, doctor's visit, or haircut, you generally make an appointment, because the person doing the service has only a limited amount of time in the day. It's the same way for me when I'm sewing; if I am making a sling up from scratch (which includes measuring, cutting, hemming, pleating, sewing in the rings, packaging the sling, and then getting it mailed out), that represents a pretty significant chunk of time. Therefore, in order to make sure I'm taking only as many orders in a day as I can fill and still have time for my children, I use this appointment system.

I also have room for a certain number of "walk-ins" -- slings that are already cut or hemmed, which represents a good time savings for me, but like a walk-in at a hair salon, I may not be able to take care of that order right away. So slings that are not covered by the appointments (and those are listed at right) may not get sewn right away if I don't have time on the day the order (or paper payment, fabric, sling, or wrap) arrives, but they will be first in line the next day.

How does this work?

I have a limited amount of time I can spend sewing each day -- about enough time to sew 2-5 items (slings, pockets, and other accessories). So each day, I will put up a number that represents the number of items I'll have time to sew that week. If you look at the top of each page, you'll see the sewing appointmentscurrently available, and the date and approximate time I'll be adding more.

The appointments are deducted from my shopping cart system via the following pulldown menu within each applicable product:

The options are as follows:

1. When you use Instant Payments (PayPal, Credit Card, or RME), you create an appointment for your order (and subtract one from the available total). This is the one to use if you are paying by PayPal, credit card, or Revolution Money Exchange and are ordering an in-stock fabric sling (i.e. everything but custom slings, sling/wrap redos, and slings with accents sent in by the customer).
2. Checking Check/cCheck/Money Order bypasses the points system (since check or money orders will be sewn when payment arrives, not when the order is put through).
• If you are NOT paying by check or money order, please don't use this option. It's like coming into the hair salon and demanding that you be seen next, even though there are people who've been waiting longer than you.
• If you are using a PayPal eCheck or if your PayPal funds come from your bank account (not from a credit card or from money within the PayPal account itself), use this option, since those take about four days (longer for international orders) to clear.
3. The third option, Instant payment, but sending fabric/sling/wrap, is for people who are paying right away, but are sending fabric for a custom sling, and whose order won't take up space in my sewing queue that day. Use this also for accessories on wrap redos, sling shoulder redos, and for custom slings.

Customers who order after all the appointments have been taken (and you can always see how many are left, in the parentheses after the option) will receive an error message from the cart -- something along the lines of "I'm sorry, that particular option is currently out of stock." That means I've gotten all the orders I have time for sewing that day; in that case, I'd recommend coming back at around the time I've posted above, for renewing the appointments; or, if this is truly your only chance to order or you've tried for several days without success, send me an email and I will accommodate you. (And please do email -- I don't want people to go for weeks without being able to order just because the timing is bad!)

The number of appointments remaining is shown at the top of the screen, so you'll be able to check before going through the cart. (Appointments are flexible -- if I find I have too many orders due to custom fabrics or wrap/sling redos coming in the mail in a given week, I will remove some from the available total!)

If you want to pay by an instant payment method for an in-stock item and there are no points available, but you order using the "check/money order" option without emailing me anyway, I will delay sewing and sending your order for five business days (as though you were really sending a check).

I understand that it's difficult to have to wait, but I will not do special favors for those who try to push their orders through when I do not have the time to sew them. Please respect my boundaries in this matter. If you email me with your situation, I will be happy to try to accomodate you. I am *not* happy when I get an order that is clearly paid by an instant payment when I have no points (i.e. time) left, particularly when I have explained my situation.

Customers who order by check or money order will have their slings sewn and sent when payment is received. Slings paid by eCheck will be sewn and sent when the eCheck clears.