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Maiden America is a Pro-Parent / Pro-Childhood Company.

About Us

Maiden America hand crafts Designer Limited Edition handbags and high quality, UNBEATABLE "Non-Slip" Barrettes.  Our choice to manufacture goods in America means we can exercise a greater degree of excellent quality control and customer service, while helping our local economy.  Maiden America has always worked to provide flexible job opportunities for moms, military wives and others. 

Unfortunately, due to CPSIA legislation, our staff has been greatly reduced.  Hopefully, as more parents / citizens become aware of this concern, much needed changes in the law will be addressed and we'll again be able to support job growth in America.

With three daughters and degrees in both Journalism and Fashion Design, Tristan Benz created Maiden America as a "vehicle" to inspire and empower parents. 

What's behind a name?

When my daughter asked about the ‘waists’ on her ‘princess’ lunchbox, I found myself explaining  how truly sorry I felt for those poor princesses – how they HAD to spend huge amounts of time in the mirror trying to be pretty all the time -  yanking on corsets, eating poorly, fainting all the time and spending every waking moment trying so hard for princes (because they weren’t allowed to go to school or own property or do a lot of great things we now can)!  

I found myself telling them, Maidens are “everyday princesses” with the freedom to learn, work, earn and do SO much more.  How fortunate we are to be maidens!  How sorry we feel for the princesses! :-) 

 

Thanks for your Patronage!

Thank you for buying our products and for telling your friends. Maiden America grows thanks to the support of those seeking quality, age-appropriate products for...well, not children anymore (due to CPSIA) - DOGS and humans ages 13+!   We thank each and every person who actively contributes to our success! 

If you'd like to join our growing mailing list, we welcome you to subscribe!  Members get advanced notice of sales, special offers, automatic entry in prize drawings / giveaways and more.

 

List of Concerns (mentioned to the right):

  • Marketers promoting anti-authority / anti-parent values as well as adult-themed fashions / products to our children
  • Growing Big Brother - if CPSIA is any indication, "Mother Approved" has officially been replaced by "Big Brother Approved."
  • Rise of childhood obesity (with growing poverty in childhood)
  • Increasing amounts of t.v. / video games kids are exposed to at younger and younger ages.
  • How much more time children now spend shopping than in any unstructured play.* *see Juliet Schor's book Born To Buy.
  • Safety in our schools (including the many faces of bullying - it's not just boys).
  • Rise of Ritalin and other drugs - potential long-term effects (including at school / on society).
  • A concern that we are leaving our children with more problems than were left to us - while teaching them to test (I'm not opposed to testing, but let's focus the bulk of our time on learning to think independently, problem-solve, plug in and get involved, as empowered, connected and proactive citizens / leaders (can't we use better leaders?!).

 

I started Maiden America out of my growing concern about childhood and our childrens' future.

Since February, it has only become even more clear to me - if we want to see a better world, it comes at a price. 

I never intended to become a political activist. I only ever wanted to make a positive difference - to get parents to use their pocket books to end the practice of marketers going directly for our children with adult themed fashions / products. 

But, as CPSIA legislation has ravaged my children's product portion of Maiden America, I simply could not remain silent.  I understand many retailers / manufacturers have already closed their doors.  I know many others are choosing to ignore CPSIA entirely, perhaps thinking it will get sorted out by folks like Rick Woldenberg of Learning Resources and what I like to call the "motley crew" of great Americans who are fighting the lack of representation and justice for small business that is so blatantly obvious under this legislation.  Then again, I also know there are many working to comply but, as anyone who has read any of the many confusing guidance documents issued by the CPSC, it's clearly an impossible task - there simply is no way to really understand what, exactly, that means!

Anyway...

The more I 'get out there' and take action, the more I'm convinced that our political correctness and avoidance of healthy debate top the list of concerns to tackle, on behalf of our children.  If we really believe in promoting tolerance and diversity, we owe it to our children to do away with political correctness and fight for freedom of expression - to practice civility in debate and involve ourselves, as citizens, toward the running of our marketplace, schools and country (just to name a few).

Another of my greatest concerns is something I believe is on the rise in America - the undermining of parental authority.  What features on my growing list (besides CPSIA that is - sadly, Mother Approved has officially been replaced by "Big Brother Approved" - see hearings with expert testimony here) is in the box to the left.

I believe all these issues are connected.  It may sound counter-intuitive in business, but my concerns and desire to make a difference are the passion behind Maiden America. I genuinely hope to inspire more parents to use their dollars to change what's being "sold" to us us "on behalf of our children."  After all, parents should be the final authority.

By connecting and working in solidarity; by taking daily and repeated actions toward dealing with our shared concerns, I believe we parents, grandparents and others who care about the future of childhood / the family in America are a force to be reckoned with - which is to say, we can and will make a meaningful difference, on behalf of OUR children and their future!

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Warm Regards,

Tristan Benz