An Etsy First

I'll admit I have been a little blog-shy since I first started writing at the beginning of the month. I was having difficulty deciding what I wanted my blog to be about, and also feeling a little unsure about whether or not I actually had anything to say! I know that what I appreciate about looking at other artists' blogs is getting to have a little window into their worlds -- I like to see their creative process, what things inspire them, and how they produce what they do. For me there is nothing as inspiring as being around other artists, and so the art-blogging world offers a (not so) little virtual community of artists.

Since joining Etsy, I have enjoyed some sweet and unexpected interactions with new people. One of my first experiences was when my friend Elaine, who I had met when she was taking one of my beading classes the past year at Dava Bead and Trade in Portland, reconnected with me when she found me and my shop randomly when she was browsing a forum! Since then we have exchanged frequent convos over Etsy and also met up for a museum talk at the Oregon Museum of Contemporary Craft followed by lunch where Elaine introduced me to two of her other friends, Julie and Kara. Julie and Kara also have Etsy shops, HandmadeJulz and OctavineIllustration, respectively.

Another Etsy contact was with Ristowlk, who was kind enough to both include me in her beautiful treasury, and to let me know that she had done so! Recently her boyfriend purchased a necklace from my shop to surprise her with on her birthday. Kate makes beautiful jewelry herself, so I took it as a great compliment that she enjoys my jewelry too! And finally, I returned home from work the other day to find a message from RecycledIdeas. She is an evolutionary psychologist and I have been reading her blog for a couple of years, (I was a psychology major, but hers is a great blog for anyone interested in learning about evolutionary psychology). Recently I was on the Etsy forums and clicked on a link to someone's blog, and it turned out to be hers! I sent her a message then to introduce myself and say hi and to tell her that I'd been a fan of her blog for a while. Anyway, the message she sent me today was to tell me that my Art Deco Earrings had been featured in a treasury by GigglingGoldfish on Etsy's front page! She was even sweet enough to take a screen shot of the treasury in case I had missed it (which I did). I'm including a picture of the treasury for you to see. Didn't GigglingGoldfish do a great job with the items she selected?