Etsy

If you like to buy items made in the US, Etsy is a great resource.
I have purchased several items from Esty including two purses, a wallet, a dog collar, a shirt and a wooden spoon, all made by artists and craftsmen from the United States.
The sellers are not limited to the United States. I also bought a fun iPod case made by a lady in the Netherlands.
You can find tons more things on Etsy as well, including jewelry and furniture.
Want to buy things locally? Etsy is great for this. You can narrow your search to items near where you live by using the Shop Local link, and you may even be able to pick your items up rather than paying for shipping.
Concerned about wastefulness? You can even find vintage and upcycled items on Etsy.

Those pesky unmentionables

The year we celebrated Christmas with only gifts made in the US, I ordered my husband some Wickers brand underwear, which we had not been familiar with before. They were a huge hit!
Wickers uses a silky moisture-wicking fabric and they make underwear, t-shirts, thermal underwear and more for men, women and children.
I've bought them from both Sierra Trading Post and Wickers web site, t-shirts and underwear both, and we've never been disappointed. If you sign up with Wickers email list, you can receive notices about sales.

A new sweater

I recently became aware that Urban Outfitters carries several items made in USA. I've ordered a few things from them off the web, and when I am near a store, I try to stop by and check it out.

On our last visit, I found this sheer black and brown roll cuff sweater by Sparkle & Fade. It looks great over a flesh-toned tank top.
The sweater also comes in cream, orange and black.
If you are searching their site for made in USA items, type "made in usa" in quotes into the search box. Once you receive your results, you can narrow down by category if you prefer.

May, 2011 - Urban Outfitters made in USA web search has stopped working.

New duds

Yesterday I had two made in USA clothing orders arrive.
First I ordered the Perfect Companion Pants in navy from Monterey Bay for $69.99. They are a nice, stretchy cotton/spandex blend (the fabric is imported) and I've got them ready to go in the wash to decide if I want to have them hemmed a bit.

My other purchase was a pair of pajamas. I used to have some old soft cotton striped pj pants that I would wear all the time. They had kind of a beachy feel to them, and they were great, but eventually I had to let them go, and haven't had any true pajama pants since. They were probably made in the US due solely to their age.
I did some research last week on made in USA pajamas and came up with BedHead and The Cat's Pajamas. Both of these brands of PJs have been featured on several TV shows.
I ordered a pair on sale for $45 from The Cat's Pajamas. They are made in San Francisco of poplin, which is imported.
The packaging of the pajamas was great, and now I have some fun, coordinated lounge wear.

Here comes Peter Cottontail

I don't have cravings very often, so when I do, I try to indulge them.

Recently I've had jelly beans on my mind. And what better time to dream of jelly beans, but on the cusp of spring, when Easter is just around the corner?
My cravings are rather specific, though. What I have a hankering for is some Jelly Belly assorted jelly beans, AND some plain old Brach's jelly beans like I used to get in my Easter basket every year. My dad and I were one of the only few who would even eat the black ones.
Jelly beans are not something I would have thought one should inspect for country of origin, but apparently this is now the case. While trying to determine if the Brach's jelly beans (which were labeled "Classic" and "Jelly Bird Eggs") I saw at CVS this weekend were the variety I remembered from childhood, my husband noticed a made in Mexico tagline on the bag.
Inspecting a few other brands, some of them were not clearly labeled. We did find some Russell Stover jelly beans that looked very similar to the Brach's I remember, and they were labeled made in USA.
I'm going to give the Russell Stover brand a try.

The toaster

Let me preface this first post by saying that my husband and I have made great efforts to support made in USA merchandise since about 2003.
One Christmas all the gifts we bought each other (and yes, we came up with several) were made in the US.

We've had our toaster for a few years. It was a hurried replacement for one that broke, and we did check the labels in the store and there were none made in USA, so we bought this cheap white toaster.
Recently the toaster has started acting flaky, which led me to search for a toaster made in the USA. Barring that, perhaps one made in Italy or something like that.
So far I have struck out, but I did run across an interesting thread on a forum where someone mentioned a guy who restores vintage toasters.
"Why not buy a vintage toaster," I thought? I could have a made in USA toaster with great style, would be reusing an existing item and wouldn't be creating any demand for another made in China toaster that would last a couple of years.
When I brought it up to my husband, he mentioned his grandma's Toastmaster toaster that lowered the toast automatically, and got excited about the prospect of owning one.
So, the quest is on. I did bid on one on eBay and got outbid, but I am on the hunt now, and know we will soon have one of these beauties on our kitchen counter.