For many people, the word ‘craft’ tends to conjure up images of little granny sitting on her floral print recliner, knitting woollen sweaters and tea cosies. If your nanna is anything like mine, then the lovely sweater she has forced over your head would act as wonderful camouflage should you wish to hide amongst the prize-winning pumpkins in her garden.
Although I did so love my pumpkin sweater, I must admit that I never gave much credence to the art of craft. Until one fateful day, strolling amongst the isles of the local St Vincent’s opportunity shop, I discovered the intricate beauty of the doily. The next thing I knew I was adding lace and pom poms to everything I owned and all at once the word “quaint” seemed to have been adopted by all my friends as my one key descriptive. It was abundantly clear that I had become a craft fiend.
Well, stumbling along on the internet one day, as I often do to avoid all manner of inevitable tasks, I happened upon a website called Etsy. I was at once enthralled. Custom made art, books, clothing, crochet, jewellery, toys, house wares, and they were all handmade. And if you’re envisioning the sort of wares that are sold at your local church craft fete, then think again. Etsy is a revolutionary website devoted to the expulsion of mass-produced, generic design.
Etsy is the artisan’s and crafter’s answer to Ebay. It’s home to all manner of trinkets, traps and tricks and it is impossible not to be drawn in for hours or to spend excessive amounts of your holiday savings (all in the name of research, of course).
Etsy was born in Brooklyn city, in the living room of 26 year-old Rob Kalin. Kalin designs and makes furniture from recycled materials and says that the concept for Etsy came about because of his frustration at not being able to find quality, handmade goods on the internet. “I don’t think handmade goods are a fad” says the young artisan and web designer, “I think they’re tying in to sustainable living, to making things people will want to keep, and to seeing that these objects should have more meaning. If you look back 150 years, everything was made by artisans. Then along came the Industrial Revolution, and there was a huge swing toward mass production. What I really want to do is swing the pendulum back the other way.” Kalin has very serious prospects for Etsy, aiming to counteract consumerist attitudes. “We live in a culture of excess,” he says. “Landfills are a testament to the lack of meaning in our lives. We want more and then throw it away faster and faster.” Over 40,000 sellers from all around the world, including 96 from Brisbane, are aiding Kalin in this mission.
Seller, Norma Toraya of Crankbunny, believes that the most wonderful aspect of Etsy is ‘touch’ suggesting, “there’s something really potent about getting something that you know was touched and individually cared for by another person’s eyes and fingers”. Elsa Mora, of Etsy shop Elista, believes that personal exchange is the signifying force behind the success of Esty proposing that “by buying handmade you are saying in a subtle way that you care about other people and that you are open for them to bring something into your life, it’s an exchange, it’s human connection.”
Esty sold over 150,000 items in its first year of operation and it’s not hard to understand the attraction. A buyer can log on to Etsy and discover a wide range of unique items from art to house wares, guaranteed not to be found in the local Ikea or chain boutique. And it’s amazingly fun to use. Users can shop for items by colour, material or geographical location. But it doesn’t stop there. Shop around, adding items to your favourites list then visit the Etsy suggestion page and Etsy will generate a list of items for you based on your favourites list. And, of course, there is also a search engine. Type in the word “owl” and over 3000 items pop up over 203 pages ranging from jewellery to hand-illustrated books.
Etsy is the perfect place to find that quirky little gift for someone you love or perhaps just filling your life with items that possess the worth of human touch. Self-proclaimed Etsy fanatic, Hannah Perkins from Brisbane, says that she chooses to use Etsy because, nowhere else can she find such wonderfully strange little artefacts. Her favourite purchase from Etsy store Paraphernalia, is a bird nest necklace made using a vintage illustration printed on plastic laminate and hung from a silver chain. My favourite purchase is a hand-crafted picture book made by seller Egret Seacrow, which most definitely occupies pride of place on my bookshelf.
So if you’re looking to discover a little treasure or two then I recommend you take a hop, skip and a jump over to www.etsy.com and I promise you, you won’t leave empty handed.