Available Tomorrow...Classic American Clothespins(The 2015 Production Run)

Dateline: 2 October 2015

My short hiatus from blogging here has been due, in part, to my need to be at the work of finishing this year's production run of Classic American clothespins. Long-time readers will recall that I blogged about the idea of starting an American-made clothespin company back in my Blogazine Entry For April 2012. It was the positive feedback from that bog announcement that solidified my commitment to actually follow through with the idea.

But it would not happen until over a year later when (in August of 2013) I announced here that We're Making Clothespins. My oldest son, then fresh out of the Army, was gung-ho about helping with the new idea. Three months later the very first clothespins were available: Finally... Classic American Clothespins. 

My first clothespins were sold in assemble-them-yourself kits. The primary reason for offering the kits was that I was unable to get the clothespins tumble-sanded as well as I had hoped. Instead of hand-sanding every single piece, I figured that the folks who bought the kits could do that.

Last year (2014) I managed to crank out a production run of about 8,000 clothespins and I put them up for sale on December 1st. They sold out within 12 hours. It was mail-order chaos around here for the next week as I struggled to get the orders packaged and shipped out as quickly as possible. Some people were unable to get their clothespin order in before my inventory ran out (and a couple of them expressed anger at me because they were unable to get their clothespins).

This year, once again, I have around 8,000 clothespins to sell. The manufacturing process has been improved so that no assemble-them-yourself kits are being offered. Only finished and assembled clothespins will be sold this year.

The price per clothespin is the same as last year. Two dollars each (plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $6) is a high price for clothespins, but not really. The material and labor costs that go into making these clothespins is high, and the resulting product is superior to any other clothespin on the market. Which is to say, my clothespins are made to last a lifetime. Besides that, the strong, American-made,  stainless steel springs will dependably hold laundry on the line, even in a stiff breeze.

That said, here is an excerpt from note sent to me by a woman named Jacquie, who recently purchased a sample kit of my clothespins:

"It seems just shy of crazy to get so worked up over clothespins but what I have before me is nothing short of perfection—each clothespin is a mechanical work of art and unique. They are beautiful, practical pieces and I admire and value the efforts you have  made to create them."

I have received other notes with similar sentiments from other people, but Jacquie recognized, and succinctly captured the essence of what I wanted to create, and have created, in a clothespin. 

And so, I am very pleased to announce that this year's crop of Classic American clothespins will go on sale tomorrow, October 3, 2015 at 11:00 AM (eastern time). They will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Click Here to Order Clothespins.