A little Etsy controversy for a fun weekend on the forums!

This weekend, Etsy (the marketplace for handmade and vintage sellers - including me!) featured a post on their blog "The Storque" by Temple St. Clair. TSt.C is a jewelry designer - high end fine jewelry - found in Saks and other similar venues. Needless to say, not handmade, not a company needing Etsy's promotion (vs. a few thousand on-site paying Etsy Jewelry designers).
TSt.C posted an anti-coral article, which may have some merits but left out a lot of things, including balance... but either way, a lot of sellers are alarmed at Etsy's venue being given to a non-Etsy seller and promotion of their website. Comments were eventually locked, but I got my point in around 8:55pm last night (10/16)

Etsy Storque Article 10-15 by Temple St. Clair re Coral Usage

"Apparently Etsy couldn't find any actual Etsy Jewelry designers to interview, and bent their own TOU to publish and link to an off-site seller?
Regardless of the opinion stated, its validity or not, there are so many talented, amazing artists here to feature .... and yet.....oh such a waste of an opportunity...for shame."

Much follow up fun on the Etsy forums all weekend...

Back to Basics - New Earrings!

Back to creating designs - new uploads coming today/tomorrow to my shop, hope you like!

Dramatic Red Garnets in Sterling Silver

Simple strands of amethyst with silver on french hoop hooks

Delicious Smoky Topaz with a teeny deep red Garnet

Orchids! (that's where the name Aerides came from)

It might be Fall, technically, but in South Florida it's just barely dipping under 80 - my orchids tend to bloom mostly over these next few months - here are some that are making an appearance.

Aerides is a species of orchid, also known as the cats tail orchid. The literal translation is "Of the Air" and I kind of like the sound of that.

Here's a couple of shots from around the garden:

First up Brass. Nodosa - a lovely fragrant white flower that blooms for me a few times a year:
I picked up this large vanda (it's about 4' tall) at a show, very cheap, this past winter. It's not labeled but I'm very happy with the first blooms - lovely big and dark purple reds.

You can show me all the fancy species, but these simple white dendrobiums get me every time. Love the pink accents on the tips.

Trying to get pricing right - my first sale experiment!

Another Etsy seller, KathyPanton recently posted a thread on the Etsy forums about her goals to increase business and get to a goal of 3 sales per day. I've been watching her shop and her sales really picked up - the primary change she made was a simple "buy 2 get 1 sale". Kathy creates artistic prints, entirely by hand using cut painted paper - very unique.

So I figured why not? I'll give that a try - I put up my own "buy 2 get 1" to run through Monday as an experiment. Depending on how it goes I can do it for longer or again - kind of fun knowing that I don't need anyone's approval to change the rules as I go! If few new customers find me as a result - great!

Beginnings

I started this blog to share and showcase my efforts at starting my own business - in the world of handcrafted jewelry. In looking for places to market myself online, I found Etsy - a 5 year old site with thousands of shops run by individual artisans, crafters, and vintage sellers. There's also a dynamic forum community and a lot of helpful tools - a nice place to start out. You can find my etsy shop at AeridesDesigns



But enough about me for now - plenty of time for that!

Here are some other shops I've found in my short time on Etsy that have particularly caught my eye:


EnergyShop - Jewelry Designed to Fit your Dreams
I first found EnergyShop when the owner posted her strategies for a successful shop after her first few months on Etsy. She sells primarily gemstone bracelets aligned with different energies - I always feel more positive after browsing through this shop.





UrbanHeirlooms - Handmade Handbags, Leather Wallets, Cuffs, Antique Keys
Really unique leather wallets and messenger bags, tons of other things, this seller often makes it to the coveted "front page" - her items are just so unique and interesting.






TrafalgarsSquare - It All Begins with Once Upon a Time
I found this shop when putting together a Treasury list of "woodland" themed items and found her original artwork. I wish I'd found this shop a few years ago - were my niece just a little younger she would have loved this print on her wall:






That's all for now.