August 17, 2007
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In Which I Hate on Etsy
I’m annoyed at them, and I haven’t even opened up shop yet. (yet! but i will! soon!)
While gearing up to launch Moontree Bead Company, I’ve been perusing some networking sites, passing around some pics of my beads and jewelry, and getting to know the competition. The good news is, I haven’t seen anything that comes close to what I do, and I clearly have mad skills and excellent craftsmanship. I kind of feel like a creative bandit, since i’ve been doing what i do for twelve years now, in semi-secret, and nobody else seems to have come up with a similar idea.
Of course, everybody on Etsy, and other bead-jewelry-crafty sites, think precisely the same thing of themselves, and in some cases it’s quite true. In most cases it’s definitely NOT. I certainly have my favorites out there in the craft-cosmos, which tend towards being extremely different, well-made, or useful. Not just “cute”. Or “retro”, for the sake of being retro. Or some bead jewelry that looks like it came from the reject rack at Target. Or another stupid tote bag.
Jeebus, the tote bags, with the ironic patches and silkcreening, they never ever end. Maybe they need them to carry the other lame DIY rejects around in.
When I was working at the bead shop, we often had customers who would come in and beg for assistance designing something, claiming to be pathologically un-creative. They always got a lighthearted scolding for thinking so little of themselves, and then taught to make things. I think everybody is capable of creativity, and my favorite part of the job was teaching people to make stuff and seeing how happy they were to discover that they could. Because whatever the result, it’s important to create things, even for yourself. So in a larger sense, I’m eternally pleased with how well this DIY fad has taken hold. And Etsy is a big part of that.
Like I said, it’s a great and beautiful thing to be creative, and as
snarky as i feel right now, I won’t argue with that most sacred of
truths. But it’s one thing to make stuff, it’s quite another to have
the method, the originality, the motivation, and the craftsmanship to
sell it.Basically, it comes down to this: I see Etsy as a means to an end; it’s a slick e-commerce tool and a great way for people to get their stuff out there. Like I said, some of it is awesome, and some of it is irretrievably ho-hum. But in reality, as cool as it is to “Buy Handmade!”, The ol’ Ets is an inherently limited marketplace. Why the hell would I make my sole focus a website where i have to compete with a bazillion other
beaders and jewelry designers for the limelight? Point is, it gets really insular and masturbatory pretty fast. How do you seriously make a living off a venue like that?So hile I’ve been scoping out the crafty scene, I’ve gotten to know some of the regulars and a little bit of the culture. And you know what? I really hate the cliquey shit that goes on. To lots of people, DIY/ crafts = Etsy, and they take themselves way too seriously. They think they are CEO’s of super-duper craft studios because they sell a couple pairs of earrings a week. Not that i’m any better, i guess, I’m the jerk who hasn’t even got anything in her shop yet. But as much as I’m overthinking it, I want to avoid the pretense, you know?
Today I was throwing some pics up on Flickr (Flickr! for photos! not the end of the universe, girls!) and someone in a group or some crap “Etsy-messaged” me to give me the third degree about what I do. And not in a “hey, nice beads,” kinda way, it was clearly a “You might be good enough to sit with the cool kids over here” kinda way. WTF? They were all Etsy people. They even had a membership plan, which read like an HOA agreement and had an annual fee. That is farking LAME. And to make it worse, they had about thirty members in their little group- and it was all, you guessed it:
“Cute”, “retro”, gratuitous beady stuff, under the pretense of being “Artisan Jewelry”.
And their logo? while i’m pissed off I’ll say this too: it sucked. Did they make that in MS Paint??
The good-craft-karma-fairy says i may have overstepped a little there, but it’s difficult not to be malicious when other people make a good thing suck so bad. So, screw you (just a little bit), Etsy, I’ve registered my domain name elsewhere, and I’m in the middle of
building a real website. I have people I’ve met face to face who are keen on
getting some of my work, and that’s faboo. I’ve been literally walking around
with my beads on, and working on ways to make them better. I’m also pretty savvy about marketing and the bead
and jewelry crafts industry from all my years of hoarding beads,
teaching beads, selling beads, and making beads. And selling and
hoarding and teaching and designing other things. But for the most
part, i’m having fun, and relishing the ability to sit in my studio and
make what i love. Because I’m good at it, muahaha.And that’s the whole point.
Comments (9)
But I’m on my way to ruling the galaxy via my massively successful apron sales on etsy! I sold ONE apron this week. Wow. I’m like uber-successful. PS: Can’t wait to see where your beads land on the web cause they’re like super duper cool.
Now see, your aprons were exactly what i had in mind when i said, “different, well-made, and useful.” Because I love mine, and as much as I’m mad at Etsy, I’m thankful it’s there so i can get aprons from you.
Those, and purses and things with skulls and roses on them. i think we know who i’m talkin’ bout.
no, who?
hardy har har.
there are certainly things on etsy that irritate me, but I just chalk it up to the fact that 99% of humanity bugs the shit out of me. I like it because it’s really easy. even though I KNOW most of the people that put my shop on their “favorites” are doing it to sell their own shit, and even though I see that 99% of the crap on there is just that – crap. I don’t really care. I’m lazy, and it’s there. I wish I had your confidence and momentum to do a bit more with what I do, but around here, it’s a good day when I get in a shower. I’m excited to see what you come up with for a website - mad skillz indeed.
My etsy shop has ohhhh… 4 whole things on it right now. I’m in the process of re-designing my personal website so that I can sell via that, but I’ll likely still run my etsy site too, cross breeding and alla dat.
No one has etsy messaged me, maybe I’m not cool enough to be at the cool table… *pout*
Whoa ! Grumpy farkus ! Why don’t you tell us how you feel ? Not to worry what other folks are making. If it’s cruddy, no one’ll buy it.
As a buyer, I found Etsy to be a little unwieldy, but once I went through a bunch of sites and picked some as favorites, I don’t have to wander around unless I want to.
And, since when are you concerned with who’s at the popular table. Going out for bead-leading? Rah,rah,rah !
Bah, i don’t care about popularity, at least not the cliquey insular kind. I don’t want to be that kind of popular, and really, I never have. What I’m concerned about getting my work showcased in the right places so people can buy it, thereby enabling me to make a living doing what pleases me; but stupid people keep gettin’ all up in my biznass.
And Deev, you’re already too cool for the cook kids table. The best artists, like yourself, are too busy making beautiful things to concern themselves with what everybody else is doing.
lol you have to focus on your own trip and not the garbage. You’re totally right about the dilemma of trying to stand out in a mass of people doing the same thing. I use cafepress – but I don’t compete with the cafepress crowd. I just put the link to the shop on my website and use it in my own way. You’re wise to get your own website and do real life marketing!
ryc- Yeah I’ve read about Bucky and the Earthships
I’ve been researching alternative building methods for a long time. Cool stuff
I wanna peruse your pictures, and if you are good enough, I’ll invite you to my super cliquey elite club where we make fun of everyone. I sold something last week, I’m bona fide!
But it was my old computer, so maybe I’m not.
don’t sit at fleener’s table, dude. it’s covered with clap.
my etsy shop has half a banner and no products. you should come sit at my table… the one where everyone wears braces and pants that are like an inch-and-a-half too short.