Try Handmade 3.0

Have you noticed a certain lack of posting around here? While the amazing columnists have been bringing the beauty every day, over the past couple of weeks I have only managed to slip in a few posts a week.

Would you like to know what I’ve been up to? Well, I’ve souped-up the Try Handmade site and extended many features to help you get to know and trust and love and adore handmade even further.

In addition to the Try Handmade Blog, we now have the Try Handmade Gallery.

You know sites like Digg and Kirtsy? Well it is kind of like those, but with more of a focus on images. Makers go to the Gallery and submit their work, and then you get to browse around the lovliness and vote for your favorites. The items with the most votes bubble up to the front page, so in addition to you getting exposed to more handmade goodness, you’re helping lucky makers get more visibility for their craft.

Another new area to explore is the Try Handmade Expo*.

It is currently low on exhibitors (hint hint to the makers out there) but as it fills up, you’ll be able to browse this business directory full of folks who make their wares themselves. It’s like a shopping mall, but better because when you shop there, you have the opportunity to get to know the person who made what you are buying.

And finally, we now have a forum called Try Handmade Talk*.

You can head over there to just chit chat of course, but you can also browse the latest sales and deals from handmade sellers. This area too is currently a little sparse, but once it ramps up, it is going to be a fantastic space to discover where to get your favorite products for less.

Oh, and here’s something I think is pretty cool. You can now get Try Handmade on your Kindle.

Even if you don’t plan on subscribing with a Kindle, I’d still love a review of the Try Handmade Blog on Amazon. Now through the end of June I’ll give anyone who writes a review their choice of a free month of advertising or a $50 contribution to Kiva :)

And if you’ve found anything I’ve broken with all this tinkering, feel free to report it. I truly want to hear about it if you’re having a problem with the site. There’s also a new contact page which very clearly tells you where to go to get in touch with me for all sorts of reasons. (Makers: now when you advertise, your ad appears on the whole network.)

Phew, writing this post feels almost as involved as completing this redesign — oh yeah, did I mention that I redesigned the look and feel of the site too?

So now that you know how I’ve been spending my nights and weekends, I’d like to hear from you all about any other ways I could make learning how to shop handmade easier, more fun and fulfilling.

Let me know, won’t you?

( * Update Oct 2009: I’ve taken down the Expo and the Forum due to low traffic. )