I mentioned in yesterday's post about opening up my shop on Etsy finally. It is a work in progress and I hope that within the next few weeks I'll be adding some more fun stuff. I'm very excited about being able to call myself an Etsy seller and not just an Etsy buyer. I've been meaning to sell some of my creations for awhile now and I don't know what has been holding me back. I cannot praise Etsy enough, I think so highly of the site and the artists selling on it. Etsy is creating a revolution and I couldn't be happier with how this one site is transforming how and what we buy. So much of what we purchase comes from big brand, chain stores who have trained us to mindlessly buy all the things that we want. Although I love Target dearly, most of the items inside Target, and similar stores, feel very impersonal. By impersonal I mean that there is no connection with what you're buying because you have no idea where it came from, how it was made, and who the artist is. And yes, most of the things we buy were "designed" by someone at some point, something we frequently overlook. When you have no connection with an item you don't appreciate it as much and the item becomes something that you just throw away two years later because it is clogging up your closet. I am not pointing fingers because I do this too and I'm also not saying that people should boycott Target. I just think that there is a happy balance where you can buy from Target sometimes but also support local and independent artists, crafters, cooks, farmers, and business people.
Two personal things that I cherish dearly are a print I got in Florence, Italy and a ring I bought in Berkeley, California. Both items were sold to me by the artists. While in Florence I was searching for a print of the city skyline. It wasn't hard to find prints but I ended up buying one from an artist at the San Lorenzo market. My Mom and I were strolling through the streets and this particular artist's work caught my eye. We stopped to get a closer look and ended up staying and chatting with him for awhile. He had immigrated to Italy and he openly told us his story about coming to Florence to paint. As we talked he sketched, working on his latest project. I was happy to buy that print and still think fondly of it today because I made a connection with that artist, however small. What his name was or how he looked have faded from my mind but his kindness, his beautiful artwork, and the image of him sitting and sketching in the Florence streets will remain in my mind forever. That print reminds me of that great memory. The ring I bought in Berkeley has a similar story. I was visiting a friend who went to Cal and we were stopping at each of the street vendors on Telegraph Ave. to look at the jewelry. We came across this older gentleman who took antique spoons and repurposed them into rings and bracelets. This type of jewelry is not unique, I know, but what made this man different was that he knew the history behind each of the pieces of silverware he sold. I picked out a ring and he quickly informed me of the style and pattern name and that it was produced in 1910. He wrote it all down for me so that I would not forget. I still have the information on that ring and I always enjoy wearing it. Like the print, I know the story behind the ring and that is what makes me cherish it.
Etsy is mimicking this type of experience except it is all online and you do not have to travel to Florence or Berkeley to get unique pieces. Of course it is not the same but hopefully you can create some kind of connection with the Etsy artists and feel good about buying unique handmade and vintage pieces. I love receiving Etsy packages in the mail because they usually include things like handwritten notes, fun and funky packaging, and sometimes little surprises left by the sellers. This type of personal connection is what is missing from chain stores. There are no handwritten thank-yous on a painting you bought at Pier 1. And I think people are starting to come around and realize that they miss purchasing things with meaning, that they want to know where their things come from and how they are made. Hence the popularity of places like Etsy. I, for one, am so excited with this direction. It makes me want to go buy something on Etsy now.
I heart handmade!
Black frame image credit: here
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 8:50AM 
