For the love of handmade

We’ve all heard of the auction sites and other big boys where we can snag great bargains. But artisan crafts, indie art, antiques and collectibles are not about ‘the bargain’. You are dealing directly with people with a true passion for what they do, whether it is creating or hunting for collectible goodies or antique gems.

These are not goods created in factories and in most cases are created with love by hand. Nor did the wonderful collectibles and antiques find and clean themselves. There are many people out there like me who not only love this, they love knowing they are supporting it.

This is where Etsy comes in. If you swim in creative circles you have quite probably heard the word Etsy at some point. The first time I found Etsy was through an acquaintance that also makes cards and scrapbooks. Etsy was a very different site when I found it back in 2009, I was taken in by the creative beauty.
Fast forward to 2013 and Etsy is bigger, to me it seems to have two images. Its brand and its soul. The brand is what brings in people who have never considered handmade before but it is the soul that draws in most sellers and lovers of artisan crafts. The soul is what drives Etsy.

There is a thriving community on the site, well there are many really. As there are hundreds of teams. They all serve different purposes and functions, some are fan teams, promotion teams, link share teams and so on.
I’m on several team myself but my ‘home team’ is Etsy Ireland (Crafty Ireland team) - it’s a small but wonderful thriving team. We hold regular meetings, have held a mini market, share resources and information, have held team events and the occasional meet up. We are trying to boost Etsy’s profile in Ireland. I love trade teams too. However the Etsy Ireland team sums up what Etsy is (to me) all about: an artistic and creative community. 

My Etsy shop

Etsy Ireland team blog