Etsy (or, Who Knew I’d Buy Homemade Crafts?)

I first learned about Etsy from Dooce.com. Heather buys lots of interesting and kitschy prints and bags and whatnot, and posts about them on her site. Honestly, a lot of the things she posts about are a little too cute for me, so I didn’t really go check out Etsy just on her recommendation.

Later on, Aaron pointed out some video game related items that were posted on Etsy: earrings, specifically, I believe. It was at that point that I realized that there are all kinds of crafty people that make all kinds of crafty things, and I started looking for things that would suit my own style.

While I’ve found some interesting items that I haven’t actually bought, I have purchased an etched Buddha pendant, and I have some more purchases on the way this week, including a hand-thrown bowl (for burning incense on my Zen altar) and a cup/mug, and a triptych of Zen-inspired gicleé prints.

Maybe I’ll pull a Dooce and photograph my finds and post accolades as appropriate. We’ll see…

P.S. – I can’t deny the fact that I’ve considered making things to sell on Etsy myself — specifically, my soy candles, and maybe prints of my photographs. Honestly, though, I’m not sure they’d sell very well. I’d have to come up with some sort of gimmick to make them more saleable — holiday gift sets, or unique packaging, or something like that. I haven’t ruled it out, but I have plenty of other projects to keep me busy right now.

P.P.S. – Along those lines… If I were to start offering a weekly candle sale on my blog, to liquidate my current inventory (and actually make some off-peak income to keep funding my hobby), would I have any takers? Or would it really depend on the price? Leave feedback in the comments…

2 thoughts on Etsy (or, Who Knew I’d Buy Homemade Crafts?)

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  1. You might be able to clean up on Etsy charging for custom candle scents! But I might not know what I’m talking about…

    I have one hippy friend who sells hippy clothes there, and a hipster coworker who sells silk-screened hipster baby pajamas, as well as a crafty friend who sells craft things… another friend buys custom felt catnip toys regularly…