Messy Studio and Etsy Thoughts

Somehow it is July. And almost mid-July at that.

Seems like I just got back from Bead & Button and right around the corner is Bead Fest Philadelphia. 

Things go non-stop at times, and right now I have family visiting until next week.

So my studio will remain a mess...

 And I am going to have to get a good purging in the next couple of weeks. 

In the meantime, my brain gets a bit stressed with making sure I can keep family entertained and have some income trickling in (the bills sure don't stop).

And as far as that goes, I am constantly thinking about how to market my items, and with changes in social media, technology, and how people shop, it gets a bit overwhelming to try to keep up with.

I don't even want to get started with my frustration with Etsy and what is being sold there, and how they have dropped the artisan base. Personally, I still think that if they created "Etsy Handmade" the way they have created "Etsy Wholesale" and take it back to their origins, they could be salvaged.

And now Amazon is getting into the program with "Amazon Handmade" so I am very curious to see how that platform runs and effects Etsy.

Yesterday I got an email from Etsy saying that they have been putting a bit more effort into their Etsy Teams platform through the Sell on Etsy App.

As a captain of two teams, and members of many, this was a surprise and a bit exciting.
Although there is much room for improvement, I am pretty impressed they are doing anything for the teams.

If you have a smart phone (iPhone or Android) you can get the Sell on Etsy App.
You may need to refresh your app if you already have it on your phone to get the teams section to show up.

And as a team captain, I also received an email that gives details that one of the long requested things: for the captain to be able to address the whole team via email is now available. People can opt out of receiving the emails - especially if the captain steps over limits with this and sends out way too many emails.
Having the capability of shooting out an email to the whole team to remind them of an upcoming event, or even a monthly reminder to check the Etsy threads will hopefully allow for more activity and interaction to the Etsy Team Platform.

All of this is pretty exciting to me from the marketing end, because being able to stand together and help promote each others work is a huge part of having a successful Etsy shop.
And honestly, the only reason why I am still maintaining my shop on Etsy.com and I really hope that they will be seriously considering Etsy Handmade to leave the current Etsy as it stands in the dust.

If you have an Etsy shop where you sell your handmade, vintage or supplies to make handmade, you should consider joining the AWETeam (Art Walk Etsy Team).
We host a virtual First Friday every month, and all you have to do is add up to 4 of your shop listings and help promote the event through social media, and other creative ways.

I am curious to see if these tools will help to market artists shops more through the Etsy Teams platform.
Efforts must be made by all involved though, and on a regular basis.
If not, it all just stalls - and that is quite disappointing.

So I'm off to go update my Etsy shop with some new listings, and tags, then add some new items to my teams and then promote.

Spiral Lentil Bead Sets Marsha Neal Studio

It's the new kind of "marketing work" that I am hoping works for todays technology.

Just a Thought....by Karen McGovern

If you are at all keyed in to the online arts and crafts world, either as a creator or a collector, you know the epic, fit for the big screen story of the rise of Etsy.  Etsy, in a very short time, exploded online as the ultimate source for handmade crafts.  Artisans from around the WORLD became Etsy-ites, including myself, opening online shops to sell our handmade goods including fine art, jewelry, gourmet foods, textiles, pottery and SO MUCH MORE. For many of us who opened shops, Etsy gave us a wonderful platform to sell our stuff, and they MARKETED THE CRAP out of themselves.  Since launching in 2005, Etsy has become a household name, the go-to online source for endless shops filled with GUARANTEED HAND MADE ITEMS.  It was great—while it lasted.  Slowly but surely mass produced goods popped up in shops all over Etsy.  The hipster staff we all imagined running the ship could not, and would not police itself.  Founding shops discovered their goods, and ideas copied, sold for half price, and the site became a quagmire of garbage.  HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SHOPS. Those of us that jumped on the Etsy boat from the beginning were capsized under a wave of Chinese imports and resellers.  THAT WAS A GREAT METAPHOR!

Many, many founding artists jumped ship, myself included. There are chat rooms, blogs, forums and endless articles filled with angry artists voicing how betrayed we all feel and how DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED we are that Etsy sold out.  THEY SOLD OUT.  There are websites dedicated to the subject, like the over-the-top How Etsy Raped America. The millions and millions of dollars they make from all the shops; good, bad or indifferent, far outweigh any losses from artists who left Etsy because WE ACTUALLY HAVE ETHICS AND GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THE HANDMADE COMMUNITY. I suspended my Etsy shop well over a year ago, and have moved on to sell through Facebook and my own online website.

Notice I said I “suspended” my shop.  Did I close it?  No.  I wrote a huge, heartfelt message on my home page explaining why I thought Etsy was betraying its original artists and suspended all my listings.  Why didn’t I close my shop?  BECAUSE, THE SAD TRUTH IS I SHOP ON ETSY ALL THE TIME, and you have to be an active member to use the site. So, does that make me the biggest hypocrite of all time?  Maybe. I’ve been thinking a lot about this.

Not every great, original artist left Etsy when they went to the dark side.  If you are an artist with a big following, are well known, and have an active client base, you had no reason to leave Etsy.  The resellers and crap shops don't affect you.  The ruined small artists just starting out, artists that didn’t and don’t have a recognizable name, artists that aren’t blessed with a huge following.  There are MANY, MANY WONDERFUL artists on Etsy—some of my all-time favorite artists have successful shops there.  Some of my favorite suppliers sell on Etsy, and many sell ONLY ON ETSY.  So I shop there.  And, I’m considering re-opening my shop. WHAT? GASP? HAVE I LOST MY MIND? DO I NOT CARE ABOUT THE ETHICS ANYMORE?  Damn right I do.

Here’s what I am thinking.  Original artists who really want to make a living selling their ORIGINAL work need to take back Etsy. I will suggest a scenario here….Love My Art Jewelry is made up of a group of really talented and amazing artists. All of us struggle with the Etsy dilemma, and some have shops there and some have closed shops there. What if we all re-opened our shops, with a “Handmade Manifesto” of sorts on our homepages? What if we used the LMAJ blog and our personal blogs to support each other and other original artists that need Etsy as a selling platform?  Let’s face it, no other online retail portal has been able to get the same attention Etsy has. Whether you love or hate them, they are well known and HUGELY SUCCESSFUL. Even the recent bad press Etsy has gotten hasn’t done any real damage. Etsy, I believe, is here to stay. So, let’s USE IT and USE IT WISELY. Be vocal, say what you feel in your shop.  Call out the resellers. Name names and make a fuss. SELL YOUR WORK. Blog, post on Facebook, join forums and start your own handmade support groups online to direct traffic to Etsy shops that are run by independent artists creating and selling original handmade goods. What if other arts groups did this, over and over all over the WORLD? WHAT IF WE TAKE BACK THE SITE WE HELPED BUILD AND MAKE FAMOUS?!?

It’s just a thought, and I may change my mind….but I’d love to hear what you think.

Now, GO MAKE SOMETHING AMAZING!

I'm Homeless--Virtually By Karen McGovern

Sorry, this is going to be a bit of a serious post, but I'll throw in some photos of pretty jewelry, art and stuff to make it bearable...

 

If you follow me on Facebook or on my blog, you know that recently I made the decision to close my Etsy shop until further notice.  I've been an Etsy seller for over seven years.  I'm sure you have seen the news, it's all over the Internet, how Etsy has gone from a handmade market place to a source for mass produced goods, mixed with handmade.  Why does this drive me so crazy?  Why is it reason enough to close my shop? 

 

I'm working on a LIMITED number of new leather cuffs to offer on Facebook.
STAY TUNED....

Well, I did it for several reasons.  For one, Etsy rocketed to fame on a platform of selling truly handmade goods.  It was a welcoming community supporting artists creating everything from stunning works of museum quality artwork to crochet toaster covers (which are FREAKING AWESOME AS WELL).  It was, and still is, an affordable venue for artists to sell online.  But then, it changed.  Over the years re-sellers crept in, marketing mass produced works as handmade.  Artists have been totally ripped off by "clone" shops that lift photos of work and offer the goods under another name.  Mass produced "tchotchkes" were (and still are) making the front page of Etsy offered as handmade.  Artists struggling to get noticed and make a sale were being out-competed by these re-sellers offering imported goods for pennies, compared to original artwork offered at reasonable prices.  Small artists who don't have a huge following, like me and hundreds more, simply cannot compete with this and SHOULDN'T HAVE TO on a site built upon the sales produced by original artists creating handmade work. 

 

THIS IS POLYMER CLAY!  Breathtaking vessel by
Emily Squire Levin

When this all started coming to a head, shop owners innundated Etsy with letters of complaint and calls to shut down the fraudulant shops.  Etsy responded by hiring a new CEO who has notified all Etsy sellers that re-selling mass produced goods would now be allowed on the site, you just have to "note the origin of the work".  CRAP ON TOAST.  Pardon my French...In my opinion this is betrayal, period.

 

So, I closed my shop until further notice, and this decision has directly impacted me financially.  But, I simply can't roll over and take it.  This is just how I feel and I certainly don't fault any other Etsy seller out there.  I'm thrilled that artists I personally know and support have healthy, successful Etsy shops, and STRONGLY encourage everyone to continue to support handmade shops and independent artists wherever you find them.  This is my decision alone and it really sucks.

 

Did you know I also make weird assemblage creations?
This is my Beetle God in a burned shadowbox.

So, I am virtually homeless--or shop-less, I guess.  I have set up an independent e-commerce page on my website (with Shopify--give it a look...) that allows sales directly, and hope that this will somehow be noticed in the churning sea of the Internet.  Without a big name and storefront like Etsy, I doubt I will be able to do a fraction of the sales I had previously.  Sigh...

 

I also make these three-dimensional figures I call "Butterfly Keepers".
Real butterfly wings in laminate and stuff....

There are new storefronts supporting handmade popping up out there, and I am tracking as many as I can to see if they can compete with Etsy and support handmade like Etsy once did.  I've tried Artfire, Copious, StorEnvy, Big Cartel and most recently Goodsmiths.  I have yet to make a sale anywhere other than Facebook, which is turning out to be a great selling platform--and fun too!  It eliminates the "middle man". I can direclty interact with my friends and clients, offer "Facebook specials", and have actually sold a bit.  I hope this means I'll be able to sell some work this holiday season...cross your fingers, toes, whatever body parts you can for me!

 

For the holidays I'll also be offering custom made pendants featuring old family photos.
This pendant is mine, featuring a photo of my Grandfather holding my Dad. 
Copper, silver, optic lens, gears and more....EMAIL ME FOR DETAILS!

I mean it when I say that I support handmade art and independent artists.  It's a commitment I take very seriously, and felt I needed to reflect that in my shop as well.  I applaud all you working artists out there that continue to amaze me with your works.  I wish us all a prolific and profitable future so we can continue to do what we love.

 

If you know of new handmade storefronts, please let us know!!!  See you on the Internet....