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Mar 6th, 2013 |
Holiday, Quick Crafts
Candace at Crafty Sisters has two colorful decoration ideas to liven up any Easter table. She and sister Nicole originally made adorable jelly bean topiaries; rather than pruning the trees themselves, they pruned the jelly bean supply while creating them! The sisters followed up the topiaries this year with something more au natural – a ...
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Mar 5th, 2013 |
Etsy Tips
It’s hard to stand out from the pack on Etsy. With close to a million active sellers, the competition is packed tight in every product category. Sellers often find themselves in a rut – their photos are solid, descriptions and tags are carefully entered, but sales are stagnant. Brooke Marton of Firebird Bath & Body ...
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Feb 20th, 2013 |
Better Together, Etsy Spotlight
Casey and Olga from Mirasol Farm make organic herbal skin care products almost entirely from plants grown on their small farm in Wisconsin. The ingredients they can’t produce in-house are sourced from organic agriculture around the world. This couple has built a loyal following making exquisite hand-crafted soaps, salves and oils for over a...
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Feb 19th, 2013 |
Etsy Tips
Pinterest is a social bookmarking site and a source of great joy – it’s easy to waste an entire day browsing around! Many Etsy sellers love and use the site daily, but have no idea how to harness the power of Pinterest to boost interest in their shop. Meka Allen of Breeding Fancy swoops to ...
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Feb 14th, 2013 |
Craft Tutorials, Wedding
Wedding costs can quickly spiral out of hand – a few DIY projects can be fun and help keep your budget in check. Making your own wedding dress might be too much to tackle, but these simple and elegant table number cards can be made for under $20 and personalized to your wedding color theme. ...
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Feb 14th, 2013 |
Better Together, Etsy Spotlight, Wedding
Minter and Scott Richter are the husband and wife duo of Minter & Richter Designs. With a love story that began over a decade after their first meeting, it might be the longest and shortest whirlwind romance in history. They’re the perfect couple to kick off our new series Better Together, spotlighting Etsy shop partnerships. ...
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Feb 13th, 2013 |
Wedding
Getting engaged is an incredibly exciting time in your life. I was on cloud nine when I started planning my wedding – finding a venue, picking a color scheme, finding the perfect music. As the months wore on, bliss turned to frustration and then panic when I couldn’t find the perfect accessories. I wish I’d ...
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Feb 12th, 2013 |
Etsy Spotlight, Etsy Tycoons, Wedding
Emily Zych of Whichgoose creates beautifully crafted flower hair crowns and other accessories. She’s a seasoned Etsy veteran, with over 8000 sales and nearly five years on the site. She’s been featured on Etsy’s Quit Your Day Job series and Etsy blog, along with countless other sites. When you planning your shop, did you...
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Feb 11th, 2013 |
Editorial, Wedding
Kelly Mendenhall of Three Leaf Floral is an up-and-coming floral designer and mother of two based in Grand Junction, CO. After working with brides and mother-in-laws for years, she’s developed a keen insight into the wedding world. Kelly took some time out of her pollen-coated world to share tips for working with modern brides. I’m ...
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Feb 7th, 2013 |
Etsy Tips
Megan Adkins of The Light Project has worked hard to master the art of product photography. Many of her jewelry items are finely detailed, requiring exquisite lighting and camera skill to show off their beauty. Megan joins us in this guest article with some tips to get your photos on the right track. Photos are a ...
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Feb 4th, 2013 |
Etsy Spotlight, Viva Vintage
Carol Exline of Ribbons and Retro and Rags and Rhinestones has loved vintage pieces since she was a child – she started selling handmade items on Etsy before returning to the allure of vintage. She’s now a full-time treasure hunter that passes along her fantastic finds. Carol agreed to share some tips and tell us about ...
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Jan 31st, 2013 |
Editorial
It’s been a busy year for Etsy since my Missing Etsy Features article; the keen minds behind the scenes rolled out direct checkout, Etsy gift cards, new ways to browse, a wedding registry, and apps for iPad and Android. There were even nods to my last article with the addition of listing variations and an improved custom order...
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Jan 29th, 2013 |
Undiscovered Treasures
Alexandros Lagos of Cementology has put decorative concrete to new use in housewares, art and jewelry. Inspired by his career in the fashion industry and working closely with architects and designers, Alexandros has dubbed his creations “DecoARTive” – a play on words that fits his art perfectly. Whisk away with me to Greece,...
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Jan 28th, 2013 |
Holiday, Quick Crafts
If you’re looking for a quick and inexpensive Valentine’s Day project, Jessica Jones at How About Orange has a perfect project. I can’t think of a quicker craft than these Heart-Shaped Paper Clips. So easy that you can make them for everyone in your office or child’s classroom. I made two using the only colored ...
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Jan 25th, 2013 |
Editorial
Two years after opening my Etsy shop, I’ve come to a striking realization. I’m a hobby seller. It seems obvious in retrospect; I’m earning less than minimum wage on Etsy. I spend hours fretting over items and tearfully sell them for pennies on the dollar. I’m so grateful that anyone likes what I make that I’ve ...
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Jan 23rd, 2013 |
Etsy Spotlight, Viva Vintage
Suzy DuBois of SkitterCats and EarlyBirdSale is a seasoned vintage seller with over 10 years experience. She’s expanded her local business by selling difficult to find vintage prints on Etsy. I sat down with Suzy, after meeting her in the forums, to talk about the challenges of selling vintage and her advice for new Etsy sellers. ...
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Jan 20th, 2013 |
Etsy Tips
Etsy sellers are in a state of confusion after Tuesday’s Seller Handbook blog post. In a featured comment, Tara implied that sellers could use MailChimp, an email marketing service, to add an ‘opt-in’ during checkout and contact buyers after the sale to follow up. Sadly, this tip is misleading at best. While this would be a ...
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Jan 15th, 2013 |
Etsy Spotlight, Undiscovered Treasures
I’ve featured new Etsy shops over the past two years with my series Undiscovered Treasures. This week, we checked in with some of the featured denizens to see how their shops have fared since they were featured on the site. Bucket O Bolts Scott Evans of BucketOBolts has sold more items in 2012 than he ...
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Jan 11th, 2013 |
Editorial
The Etsy forums lit up today with the news that a critical security hole (exploit) has been found in Java, a plugin installed with many browsers. Brittany asked me to explain what the security hole means and what you can do to defend yourself. Java is a technology akin to Flash that allows websites to do ...
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Jan 5th, 2013 |
Etsy Spotlight, Shop Local Colorado
Frederick Doerpholz of Light a Fire is an artist and Colorado native who pushes the boundaries of ceramics with industrial-inspired designs. He creates and fires a dizzying array of cups, bowls, mugs, sculpture and other pieces in his studio in Denver. Frederick sat down to answer some questions about his art, process and history. You’ve ...
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