Have You Discovered Etsy Yet?

The first time that I ever heard of Etsy.com was about 3 years ago during a television show and could never forget that a seller revealed she was making six figures selling cloth dolls with hand-drawn faces that she made herself. I was extremely intrigued to say the least, but it would take me almost 3 years before I would become a member to sell my handmade items, as I still worked a regular job.

Etsy is a public online marketplace for artisans to sell their handmade creations and 'handmade' is one of the main rules of the site. The three things that you are allowed to sell on Etsy are hand-crafted items that you personally make, vintage items that are at least 20 years old, and craft supplies. Etsy's simple concept is now helping 'artisan entrepreneurs' worldwide, including me. I joined on January 23, 2010. It is free to join and the fees for selling on Etsy are extremely reasonable, which helps all struggling artists with the start-up of their business. I researched other sites to compare fees and I feel you just can't beat Etsy.

After listing my creations this last week, I sent out emails to family members and friends to announce my shop and get some feedback on my work. I soon discovered that my own family members and my friends were completely unaware of Etsy's existence. When a dear friend bought a necklace from me the next day, she had many questions about navigating the site for the first time and how to purchase something from me. So, I am going to give a little overview of how to buy something on Etsy and feature three shops. I am now going to feature three to five shops on a continual basis. There are some amazing and fabulous hand-crafted items that you will not find anywhere else and I plan to help as many as I can with some exposure.

When you find something to buy the first time on Etsy, you will be required to create an account, just like ebay, with a username and password. This will validate you as a buyer and give sellers the information that they need to ship to you. Just add the item to the shop cart and when you are ready to check out the first time, it will take you to the registration page and then on to completing your purchase. Each shop has their own policies, which is always a must read when you plan to buy from them. The link to 'Policies' is near the top of each site on the right hand side. Most seem to prefer to ship to a Paypal verified address, but you can still purchase without a Paypal account. If the seller does not mention any other forms of payment acceptance, do not hesitate to contact them and ask if they will accept a check or money order. You will find the 'contact the seller' link on the right hand side in the info section which third box down. I have read many sellers' shop policies and most are very glad to work with you on payment options, custom work, and to answer any questions that you may have.

Shopping at Etsy.com is a good way to help entrepreneurs survive and fuel the economy, possibly even creating some jobs. I have high hopes myself.

Heading to Etsy

When you go to www.etsy.com, you will find the search box at the top of the page which has a drop-down menu of five choices on how to search. If you choose the 'sellers' category from the menu, use just one word like crochet or silver and it will pull up a list of shops for you to check out. If you click in the 'handmade' category you can use more than one key word such as crocheted scarf. And, if you are looking for a particular seller's shop and you know the name of it, you have to string the name as one word, not two if more than one word, to find them. Shops and sellers are located by their shop 'username', which is always like email, no spaces.

You will also find a diverse list of categories on your left hand side, which will cut down on your search time if you are just randomly exploring or looking for something in a specific category. Below that they have an 'Explore' link which takes you the next page and gives you fourteen other options on how to find something you might be interested in or looking for. Using the 'Colors' link, you can try to find what you want in a specific color, and so on.

Look for my next article where I will give you a more in depth tutorial on how the shop pages work for each seller and more info on Etsy itself. My tips will make it easier and more fun to shop on Etsy. In the mean time, I am willing to help and answer any questions for you, just email me at ermamay@live.com.

Featured Sellers

Silver Signature - 'Custom Hand-Crafted Silver Jewelry & Treasures' http://www.etsy.com/shop/silversignature

Silver Signature currently has creative 'Heart' necklaces, (great for Valentines and beyond), an 'Initial' series using a vintage art deco font adorned with pearls and semi-precious beads, and a 'Name I.D. Tag' series in the style of military 'dog' tags with the addition of semi-precious gemstone and pearl beads all at reasonable prices.

Silver Signature offers completely hand-crafted fine silver jewelry that is created from an extraordinary product called PMC or 'Precious Metal Clay'. The silver is reclaimed or recycled from fine particles and bound with the special clay that will stay malleable until dried.

Here is what Wikipedia says about this product: "Metal clay is a clay-like medium used to make jewellery, beads and small sculpture. It consists of very small particles of metals (such as silver, gold or platinum) mixed with an organic binder and water. Metal clay can be shaped just like any soft clay, by hand or using moulds. After drying, it can be fired in a variety of ways including in a kiln, with a handheld gas torch, or on a gas stove. The binder burns away, leaving the pure, sintered metal. Shrinkage of between 8% and 30% occurs (depending on the product used), but this is exploited by artisans to produce very fine detail.

Silver metal clay results in objects containing 0.999 pure silver - aka fine silver, which is ideal for enameling. Although the gold metal clay is much more expensive to use, the color and richness is phenomenal. It can be used to make stunning solid gold objects or used sparingly to make beautiful accents on silver pieces. Metal clay is also available in bronze, copper, and steel."

It really is an amazing product and process that has endless creative results. (This is also my new shop and I do hope that you will stop in).

Afro Pumpkin - 'Sacha Allen Handmade Leather Applicque Accessories' http://www.etsy.com/shop/afropumpkin

This shop features handmade leather bags and purses that are so unique. I just love the three dimensional aspect of her work. This is what she says regarding her work, "I love to make leather bags, bits and bobs. Each piece is made entirely by me from scratch, and is hand cut and sewn to ensure that even identical colours and cuts are different. I only use the best quality leathers and suedes, and each bag and color combination are based on my inspirations as well as nature's bounty."

She makes large bags, bouquet bags, clutches and purses with some of them definitely resembling flowers. You will have to see them to imagine what they are about. So when you get the chance, you will be amazed at her wonderful and unique handbags.

Reclaim 2 Fame - 'Recycled Materials Come Alive' http://www.etsy.com/shop/reclaim2fame

This is the cutest little shop. They make these marvelous 'robot sculptures' from recycled tins, silverware and various other materials. You just have to check them out. They will put a smile on your face and they are so cute. I love the recycle factor of their work, as I am an avid recycler and 're-imaginer' myself.

They also make these unique robot character jewelry boxes plus some other items from recycled ties. You will be glad that you visited their shop and you will get a kick out of meeting their 'robot sculptures'.

More Etsy.com info and featured sellers on the horizon. Follow me on twitter - http://twitter.com/ermamay

Sources: Wikipedia.org