Crazy for Etsy

I love selling on Etsy, it's easy, safe and there is a great community spirit. I've been spending a lot of time on their website recently, updating my shop and finally adding some necklaces as well. The busiest time of the year for jewellery makers, and I suspect a lot of other crafters as well is the run-up to Christmas. There are a lot of markets, craft fairs and fetes about as well as people looking for interesting gifts for friends and family. Many shoppers at the moment are looking for handmade, local and individual crafts to give as gifts this Christmas which is great news for those of us who make just such products! The online Etsy community has been given a boost with the addition of 'Circles' which now appear when you sign into the website. You can add your favourite shops and sellers into your own circle and then keep updated on what they are doing and see what they recommend as well. This has taken up many hours of my time already as I click from one shop to the next playing a crafty sort of six degrees of separation. The best thing about this new way of connecting people is finding some shops that you would never have spotted before. I spend a lot of time (and money, obviously) shopping online and it is refreshing to look at sellers statistics and see 100% positive feedback all of the time. I can say with my hand on my heart that I have yet to encounter a seller, or buyer on Etsy who does not have a perfect feedback rating. This is a credit to everyone working at Etsy and everyone selling or buying there as well. I am about to re-list some old favourites as well as some exciting new jewellery pieces in my shop and I am going to be promoting them on Twitter and anywhere else I can manage over the next week or so. I've also got a couple of new Treasury ideas up my sleeve which I'll be popping online some time in the near future. The pictures in this blog are largely of pieces you can expect to see very soon - a sneak preview, if you will! Pounce allows you to look at new sellers or shops which have just made a sale. There are so many ways of finding just what you are looking for on Etsy that I cannot recommend it highly enough for people looking for gifts this holiday season. I spent several happy hours the other day looking at all of the snow-related items that came up on pounce and created this little Treasury to show them. And if you are looking for individual, local jewellery then you can always have a peek at my shop as well! Vick. vclinde@gmail.com www.vclinde.co.uk @vclinde