Have you ever wanted to take a peek inside the shopping bag of your neighbor? Or maybe check out your boss’ choice of sleepwear? What are your kids’ teachers, your employees, or your ex really shopping for? Now, thanks to Etsy’s soon to be released “findability” feature, you can find out. And chances are good they’ll never even know you snooped. Unless, of course, you decide to post your findings to your facebook friends, your book club, or a few... → Read the rest of this article
Every holiday season each of us comes face to face with this question at least once… what do you get for the person who has everything? Since the vast majority of us have more than one hard-to-buy-for person on our gift list, it’s a question that comes up time and time again.
One good solution is a gift of handcrafted, small batch, artisan food. For many, your gift may be the first time in recent memory that they have had the opportunity to enjoy food that... → Read the rest of this article
As participants in the artisan movement, those of us keeping up with the ebb and flow of the commerce of handmade have many things to be thankful for this year.
We are grateful to all the artists who use their amazing talents and unending creatively to share with us their body of work. Without them there would be no handmade goods and our lives would certainly be less without them.
Despite all the grousing, we are thankful for the handmade venues that allow artists... → Read the rest of this article
In the wake of the demise of 1000markets, now might be a good time to update your resources and make a new plan for shopping handmade this holiday season. 1000markets was a wonderful handmade-only venue with a fairly extensive array of artisan “markets” that made holiday shopping a breeze last year. Unfortunately the venue has now been acquired by the newly renamed Bonanza (think ebay with some handmade goods thrown in) so markets and the attractive interface that were... → Read the rest of this article
Part of the fun of buying handmade goods is discovering the interesting artists behind them. A purchase often allows us to briefly step into the creative world of the artisan, which is usually a very interesting place. So where can you hang out with the artists that interest you, and discover new ones that may become new favorites?
Artists often can be found hanging around the handmade venue forums such as etsy, zibbet, or artfire. Discussions focus mostly on issues specific... → Read the rest of this article
