I go on Etsy all the time- and if I ever get my act together, am hoping to do my own store on it too. But I always see the link to the Storque and never have time to check it out. I am usually on Etsy looking for something specific, then something catches my eye and I venture down a new path, clicking from here to there and then I am suddenly interested in a bunch of things I didn’t even know existed!
So I finally took a few minutes to check out the Storque, and its cool. Its basically Etsy news, articles and stories about what’s there, what’s new- what’s happening on the creative hipfront. Aside from creative chat there is advice in the category Indiepreneur, filled with answers to all your questions about pricing, presentation, legal info and more. For many people who have the creative bug - they make something great, people like it and want to buy it- here is Etsy not only the vehicle to make that sale but the place to find out the best ways to do it. There is a great How-To section on an array of fun things to attempt.
One of my favorite articles- Top 10 List, today it was the My Top 10 whales, everything was great and to see the diversity in which whales were appearing on items was fun.
I know you want to go to Etsy and buy some unique, handmade item but do a little reading- it is well worth it. It really lets you know just how incredibly well done and thought out this site is. Go shop, and enjoy!
I admit it, I have an Etsy addiction. As an artist I love to look at other people’s creativity, and Etsy supplies an almost never ending source. Now a stay at home mom, I am always looking for things to make for my daughter- in part to keep being creatively active and the other to save some money. In college I was a fine arts painting major and a graphic designer in my career, but I love to sew, struggle to knit and do all sorts of fun craft projects.
Lately, I have been into making barrettes for my daughter. I bought her some cute ones at a baby boutique, including a Giddy Giddy one. But at $6-9 each, and a toddler who pulls it out as soon as she remembers its in, it was turning out to be an expensive accessory to lose. So I decided to make them. I make felt ones, grosgrain ribbon ones, ones with small appliques- and now fabric covered button barrettes. It has been really fun and a much less expensive to keep up with her need for hair accessories. It has been fun to figure out how to make them and they are pretty quick projects, not to mention the ease in matching something to a specific outfit. I have found lots of good ideas as well as new techniques on Etsy. Rest assured I buy from Etsy- sometimes I just want what they did and the prices are generally way better than the boutiques. I don’t copy existing looks or their creative inventions- but I borrow the idea with my own personal spin.
If you don’t feel like doing the project, no time, no patience, no creativity- hit Etsy.
Looking for some cute barrettes for your babe?
Check out some of my favorites:
Meeting Street Designs
Details (click on the photo to get to the collection)
Chloe’s Cuties
Want to do it yourself?
Covered Button Supplies
Ribbons, clips and appliques at JCaroline
Clippies and appliques at Trimweaver
I was over my friend Nathan’s house the other day, receiving my first reiki treatment, which is not the point of the story only a side note. The Decour in his home was so simple and elegant I was really struck by it. What I loved the most were the prints he had on the wall. They looked like professional pieces of art work. When I asked him about them he told me he had simply wrapped Japanese Print Paper from the Paper-Source around a wooden canvas frame, and stapled it to the back.
It looked so elegant, and was a fantastic and cheap way to add color to his space!
A friend recently directed me to the site etsy.com. It’s a marketplace for people to sell their arts and crafts. People have everything there from beautiful butterfly wings encased in glass and strung on a necklace, to silk screened t-shirts, and something I’ve never heard of before the “apple cozy” keeping your fruit from getting bruised.
The site is really nicely laid out. It’s easy to navigate, and you can view items in a number of different ways. I think my favorite feature is the recently listed items. It automatically updates. Every time you list a new item it is on the front page it may not be for very long but it still means every one gets to be front and center at some point in time.
It inspires me to go back to making jewelry again. One of the fun things about being creative is seeing your ideas come to life, but when you run out of people to give to and the crafts just pile up in the corner, it can become disheartening, and demotivating. Having an outlet, and audience for your creativity is very valuable to an artist.
My sister has been super excited about crafts and personal creative businesses, so we’ve setup this new website for this space.
Enjoy!
