Shopping on Etsy

[merimask]

First of all, I want to thank everyone who read my last entry (Charlotte's essay about her day in Hiroshima)...I let Char read everyone's comments and she was really touched and grateful.   She's so insecure about her writing, so it meant a lot to her and myself as well...thank you thank you.  ^_^

Today I got pretty things in the mail.  New pendant from this artisan on Etsy.  I love it!

I used this picture of me wearing it to show you how HUGE it is...but I really love that because it makes a statement. 

It's a hand-sculpted polymer clay bead...each side is different.

One side is more white than anything else with a clear "flower" design on it.

The other side has more golds & copper, & some broken flower designs.  I think I like this side best.  The half-flowers look like fossils of ancient sea shells to me.  It reminds me of a piece of leopard jasper. 

It's lightweight and since the polymer clay has a vague soft matte feel to it, it's warm to the touch and simply awesome.  I love it 'cause it's so bold & fun to study.  The browns are actually metallic coppers & golds, so it is really interesting to look at. 

I also bought this baby for my Mom...

It's teeny & handmade (not a cast) of polymer clay by this artisan, also on Etsy.  The whole thing was a little more than 2 inches long and simply adorable.  Mom loves baby dolls so I knew she'd be crazy about it. 

I love ordering things from Etsy...it gives me such a happy feeling.  Nothing is mass-produced or made from a mold (usually) or made in a factory.  It's all lovingly done by people who really care about their craftsmanship.  Everything I order comes with a personal note of thanks.  It's usually wrapped nicely and it usually gets here SO quickly.  Everything is unique and most of all, I know I'm helping to support someone's home cottage industry.  Usually in North America.  Not corporate America but the best part of America; the self-made America.  No one's prices are ridiculous and you know that the price you pay goes 100% towards the artist; not into packaging or advertising or any of that.  It's pure and simple.
 
I used to balk at being called a "crafter" & I still do...it diminishes my art.  However, I've recently come to terms with the label "artisan" and I really like it...it feels right to me.  More than an artist, it sounds to me like who I am; a person who makes things with her hands.  I think all of us on Etsy are artisans.  It's funny that we all make our living in such an anachronistic way, & yet modern technology has allowed us to blossom & prosper in a way none of us could before.  We sit in our homes in our little studios & make pretty things with our hands for the world to love...it's quite beautiful if you think about it.  Such an honest living in these dishonest times!    Go visit Etsy and support an artisan!  ^_^

Comments

[golden-meliades.livejournal.com]

I always forget you're a little person :) (And that I'm unsually, er...statuesque.) That pendant would be about two inches, right? And you call it 'huge'. At that size you'd probably consider my kimono pendant gargantuan...it's about 2.5 inches. I also have a wooden necklace with a fan of mahogany-coloured wooden keys, and it's three inches at the biggest part of the fan. (It's pretty huge, as necklaces go.) I also have one necklace that has a four inch pendant, lol. (It dips into the very top of my cleavage.) and my blue agate necklace, that I made recently? Its about three inches long.

My sister would call your pendant huge too, though, I think. That's why actual measurements are so important on Etsy. "small, medium and large' mean nothing because they are so very subjective. What I call a 'large pendant' might be what others think only an elephant can pull off. ;D

I NEVER see polymer clay jewellery done in a way I like. (I don't like to instantly recognize that it's polymer clay, for some reason...I like to have to wonder for at least a few seconds.) Sometimes I see a few polymer pieces I'd like done into jewellery, but they never are. That's why I've got to start using it myself (you may recall I said I plan to make polymer bases for some of my new stuff) I think. If I can't find it anywhere but WANT it, maybe other people do, too. :)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

That pendant is actually 1.75" in diameter (4.5cm)...so yes it is a case of size relative to my tiny noggin! Also, fun fact; the ball & chain loop it was on was 22 inches long, too long! I shortened it to about 19 &1/2 inches and I can slip it over my head without unhooking it! O_O

I'm usually not nuts about polymer clay, but these colors & her technique are right in line with stuff I love. Really, it looks so organic & I'm a sucker for browns & golds & matte colors mixed together. The only thing that would have made me happier would be a tiny thread of blue or turquoise mixed in there...

[ramblinsuze.livejournal.com]

I was doing research at the library last night and happened to spot a writing contest sponsored by Scholastic. The deadlines for this year have already passed (due around the first week of January), but she should definitely consider submitting this essay next year (in the Personal Essay/Memoir category, for sure). There's loads of benefits to those who place well (and they give a number of gold and silver awards in each category), not the least of which is a boatload of scholarship money. The website with all the info is at: http://www.artandwriting.org/ I took a peek at some of the winners from last year and her essay is WAY better than theirs!

That little baby is SO cute! I haven't ordered very much from Etsy, but I'm constantly faving things and would love to own more items. I completely agree with you about how good it feels to be supporting individual artisans. It's the same reason I'm looking into a food co-op for later this year - it puts you in touch with the people who actually create, make, grow, whatever these things, without all of the middlemen. More money gets to the people who really deserve it, and the quality is a hell of a lot better than anything mass-produced.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Suze, thanks for the link! Darn, I wish we'd found out sooner (but she just wrote that paper on the 16th so it was already past the deadline). We'll definitely enter it for next year though, great idea!

I know her teacher entered it in some kind of regional writing competition too, so perhaps something will come of that. Really, she didn't write it for recognition or even for the grade...she wrote from the heart (which is why it's so good).

Buying from cottage industy really feels good, doesn't it? I mean, I am in the trenches too & it's really hard to make a go of it, but that's why I do all my gift shopping on Etsy now...because I know how wonderful it feels to sell something you made with your own two hands & I like to spread the joy. :-)

[zannachan.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that pendant is really lovely! Etsy is a wonderful, wonderful thing. It's a great way to support artists and a great way for artists to reach potential customers.

I hope that Char continues to write!

[merimask.livejournal.com]

I love my pendant!

Etsy is like a divine gift...it's totally changed my way of doing business. I'd be risking my neck out there on the icy roads right now, or grovelling for pennies with retailers, if it weren't for Etsy.

Char will keep writing I'm sure...it's her favorite outlet. I wish she would blog more but school keeps her too busy.

[kls-eloise.livejournal.com]

I don't need any encouragement to spend more time on Etsy thankyouverymuch.

Suze is right - she should definitely submit that essay. It's beautifully written - and I'm *fussy* about writing.

[ramblingrican.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

I adore etsy! Thanks to your blogs I've managed to make a lot of people happy this Christmas :D