Kara & Michael’s Blog

While Michael and I are going into the locavore nonsense, I thought I’d bring up etsy.com as a great resource for supporting local artisans and for finding homemade, interesting gifts for loved ones.  I have linked previously to an etsy store run by a young woman in Japan (From Japan With Love’s store), but I’d like to talk a little more in depth about etsy.

• You can search for local artisans very easily. When you first load etsy.com, click on the link for Shop Local in the left-hand navigation column.  Then enter a nearby city or even just your state and see what pops up.  If you’re looking for something in particular, you can enter it into the search box, or navigate using the product themes in the left-hand navigation column.
• It’s very easy for anyone to open a shop with etsy, and their prices seem pretty reasonable for hosting your shop and your items. It’s a better bet than someplace like e-bay in terms of being more focused on the craft-y world.
• There’s a ton of variety – people will sell thrifted items, cookies, spices, ceramics, jewelry, candles, cosmetics – pretty much anything you can think of. People also sell materials for crafting – paper goods, stickers, fabric, yarn.
• You can make listings for things you want and people can offer their products or services.  Say you want someone to design and print cards for your wedding – etsy.com can help you find an artist with a style you love.

I love just looking at the site for hours and hours – and sometimes I find something great.  I recently bought my mother a ceramic owl planter for mother’s day from FruitFlyPie’s store. I love getting something handmade that I couldn’t make, and being able to tell my mom where I got it, and even a little something about the person who made it.  Here’s a picture of Inari sniffing the compact heliotrope (bought at the Annapolis Farmer’s Market) I put in the planter – I apologize for the lighting in the picture.  The rain has made taking pictures without a flash a pain.

Inari loved the planter, I loved the planter, my mother loved the planter – and I got the chance to support an actual human being’s creative efforts and not a corporate empire. I can’t recommend etsy.com enough.