Registration for Summer 2014 is now open, so go check it out!

Originally, the company was generous with bloggers, recognizing our influence and the amount of time and energy it takes to thoroughly and thoughtfully review a product. Unfortunately, as it changed hands, the compensation for reviews became smaller. But, because I still "believed in" them, I agreed to review their holiday greeting cards last year. Our cards turned out fine, but I remember being disappointed that the designer review no longer exists (unless the customer pays a fee) and thus, the "personal touch" that made Tiny Prints so attractive was gone. 

Many years ago, a designer actually phoned me to double-check the spelling of my oldest son's name, since it is unusual. And then the designer personally emailed me the proof. That doesn't happen anymore. And so, last year my enthusiasm for Tiny Prints went markedly down.

I was sad then, but I'm even more so now.

I received an email today from one of the marketing people at Tiny Prints requesting that I remove links to their site "ASAP" because my support of them was hurting their Google ranking. They offered no compensation to do something that would benefit them, but harm me. 

I've inserted the "nofollow" attribute to my past links to save their precious ranking, but maintain my own online integrity; however, I've posted a disclaimer so that anyone looking at those past posts will note my disappointment with the company. 

The irony -of course- is that because I had been so prolific with my praise and support of them, the task of updating these posts was very time-consuming. I was punished for being enthusiastic about this company.

Alas, Tiny Prints has lost a customer. And, I know other bloggers who are taking their business elsewhere as well. Tiny Prints could have handled their request much better. It is a shame.

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Apparently, some bloggers have received a follow-up email saying to disregard the previous request. I did not receive that email or any other communication after the first email. 

To be clear, I understand that sometimes companies will request updates of bloggers who have posted about their products in the past, but this usually comes with a familiarity of the client-blogger relationship. But, in this case, the marketing person wrote "Our team may have worked with you in the past which resulted in links back to our site." 

"..may have"?

I've wrote about their company multiple times since 2008. Some posts were compensated in the form of free product, other mentions were completely out of the kindness of my own heart. So yes, I feel slapped in the face.

Some bloggers received yet another follow-up, this one offering a small sum of money to change the links. This is insulting TWO ways: 1) That only some people received an offer of monetary incentive and 2) that said incentive is so small.

Tiny Prints' treatment of this really belittles the work that bloggers do, and is turning their backs on the dedication/loyalty we had to the company.

Looking back on the activities we did this summer, they were primarily in line with "the usual." We had gymnastics, we had various educational experiences, we had time in the swimming pool, and then the fabulous "just hanging around" time. Of course, these were all fantastic things, but an unexpected highlight of the summer for my youngest was his experience at Bandworks School of Rock.

As I mentioned before, my son has an interest in musical instruments, but until this summer, no practical experience, other than the general music education received a couple times a week in school. Many "music camps" assume a level of proficiency before admission, and so I was thrilled to learn about Bandworks, where the aspiring rock musician can have absolutely no prior knowledge.

Interestingly enough, as I sat chatting with some other parents while our children jammed in the rehearsal space, I discovered that the parents of advanced musicians had the exact opposite worry I did: They reported that many "band camps" gear too young and too inexperienced. For them, they felt that many camps were fine for musicians who had a little bit of experience, but not "too much." But, they reported that Bandworks was different.

Two separate families explained that Bandworks came highly recommended by their teens' musical mentors. The certification process that Bandworks instructors go through is extensive and thorough. These families told me that Bandworks was really the only place that they trusted to continue their children's music education through the summer. The advanced options for musicians are pretty amazing, and if my son gets to that level, I'll know he's in good hands. (I heard the sound coming from the classrooms of the advanced musicians, and was very impressed!)

Indeed, I could tell that my son's instructor was top-notch. During the "end of camp performance," he was able to successfully provide vocals for these budding musicians. I know it is tough to follow along when there are unintended key modifications and an uneven tempo from inexperienced performers. But, the instructor is absolutely a pro, so was able to sing along, seamlessly putting together all the instruments into a beautiful performance. For other songs, the kids --including my son-- provided vocals, and they rotated on the various instruments so that everyone could get a chance to play a different instrument. 

Honestly, my son was petrified the first day. He was excited, because he really wanted to be in a rock band, but he was very worried that he wouldn't know enough to succeed. But, at the end of that first day, he was beaming. He was eager to go back to camp, and gushed about how wonderful a time he had learning various songs. He snuck into his brother's room to use his keyboard to show me what he had learned. He hummed the tune of the songs he'd perform at the end of the week. He told me about the other kids in his band, and which instruments were their favorites. (While we originally thought each child would learn a single instrument, it turns out that the band members rotated through various instruments and vocals to get a feel for everything!)

He awakened every day early in the morning to make sure we wouldn't be late. And he kept telling me that we had to do this again next year. He was sad every afternoon when he had to go home, but excited about the next day and the upcoming performance.

Indeed, Performance Day was magical. He played keyboard for two songs, drums for one song, and vocals for one song. He was so proud of his accomplishments, and really enjoyed how playing music made him feel. I was pleased and surprised that so much happened in just a week.

Well, it turns out that Bandworks School of Rock has eight-week workshops during the school year, as well as some special-event clinics. The first workshop begins just in a couple weeks on the week starting September 9th (with an early registration deadline -earning a $20 discount- of September 2nd) but there are sessions that begin in November, February, and April as well.

So, if you are in the Bay Area, your child can rock out anytime throughout the year - not just summer break! I know my son is already begging me to sign him up for another Bandworks experience.

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