I mean, really. How many felted animals does one person need? And all this homemade jewelry that looks like it came out of a crackerjack box? Don't even get me started on terrible graphic design running rampant over there. Phew - I've said it.
Don't get me wrong, I think its a fabulous business idea. And even if only 10% of their items are worthy, thats still a lot of great stuff. Not to mention I totally love their custom alchemy marketplace. But I find it somewhat discouraging to browse when there is a lot of clutter too.
So in honor Halloween being just 51 days away, I've done the hard work for you and found 12 great etsy halloween finds. Go out and buy this cool stuff before its gone. (Having serious lust for that ouja board tray - how fabulous is that??)
1.Candy Apple Cocktail Hat 2.Ouja Board Tray 3.Pumpkinrot Groundbreaker 4.Severed fingers 5.Pirate Corset 6.Custom Carved Pumpkin 7.Masked Bunny Altered Art 8.Spooky Hand on Glass photograph 9.Witch Wig for your Cat 10.Fab Edwardian dress 11.Bottle Labels 12.Graveyard Terrarium
I hope you don't mind Halloween posts. I have a lot more coming!
Anyone up for a costume contest? I'd have to think up a worthy prize to give to the best one of course.
What great finds! I have already begun planning my Halloween party and started on diy decor- I posted some on my blog as well. Keep the posts coming I am always looking for new ideas! Thanks- V
ReplyDeleteLove the finds! From a previous post, you pictured some Halloween decorations from the past (maybe last year). My favorites were the mice on the stairs! I loved them and I know my kids would, too! Where did you find them?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great blog! You are an inspiration!
great selections! I'd love a costume contest!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll be dressing up, but I am hoping to dress my girls as Tiger Lily and Tinkerbell from Peter Pan this year. MAYBE I'll be Wendy and get the hubs to be Captain Hook, but that's pushing it. ;) Would love to see what costumes your readers come up with. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing the research! I LOVE the hat and just peeked around that Etsy site. I'm kinda in love with fascinators.
ReplyDeleteI must get that hat. Thanks for doing the research for us and I agree with you on Etsy.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Martha Stewart make those rat cardboard cutouts.
ReplyDeleteMrs. L - I'm totally with on Etsy...the only time I go is when someone recommends a specific seller; otherwise it's much too overwhelming! So thanks for doing the research! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm in love with Etsy - so many talented vendors on there. Don't knock it!
ReplyDeleteHa, I love your honest thoughts on Etsy. Love it!
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of the Etsy but must admit I don’t shop there very often because it’s a pain to find the “good” stuff. Like someone else said, I tend to visit a shop when it’s suggested but steer clear of general searches.
And while we are on an Etsy rant can I just balk at this new trend of selling a pdf file of your work rather then doing the work and having the person purchase the actual product. I don’t know… I’m just not down with that. Guess my inner paper obsesser is annoyed. I just imagine people printing the file on crap paper and doing a crap job of cutting blah blah blah.
Though I should probably shut up at this point since I do hope to open a shop over there.
Well yes - homemade does not always equal well-made. There is some really fantastic stuff though -- you should post a few of your favorite sellers and ask your readers to chip in with theirs.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kate. Etsy has a lot of wonderful sellers. I like her idea of posting your fav sellers.
ReplyDeleteKarla
LMAO...Sad to say but you are right. I do like the pics that you found.
ReplyDeleteAgree! I don't think it's all crap. Would love to hear about your favorite sellers. Etsy is my go to place for baby gifts etc. I always try to support small business owners / home businesses. I've found some great stuff...
ReplyDeleteHey, speak your mind, it's your blog! I have a favorite seller on esty, love the idea of a post asking for people to submit their favorites.
ReplyDeleteJanell
There _is_ crap on Etsy, and thanks for having the courage to say it! I haven't found much I've liked lately, but you've picked some great Halloween items!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't posting 12 items for sale on etsy count as supporting them?
ReplyDeleteI don't really have favorite sellers. As I said above, I know there are great items but they are buried under a lot of not so great.
Thanks for your honesty about Etsy, very refreshing. Etsy is part of those major forces that propagate trends and shape people's tastes. There's some amazing work but also so many things that I can't believe anyone would ever even think of selling. it's really hard to wade through everything.
ReplyDeleteITA! I have a hard time navigating etsy as well because I'm turned off by so much. But yet I find myself going back and trying. . . often. Go figure!
ReplyDeleteEven though it might be crap, it's good eye candy. I haven't bought anything on there yet, but I do like to look!
ReplyDeleteI love halloween! I just finished making my halloween party invites- nothing like the invites you come up with, so no judging if I post pictures of them :) I tried to channel my best Mrs. Limestone, but of course you are the queen of amazing invites :)
ReplyDeleteGreat finds! The fingers and ouija board tray are freaking me out! Eeek!
ReplyDeleteBring on the H-ween, Mrs. L!!
ReplyDeleteGreat finds. And you aren't kidding...there's loads of JUNK on etsy. Some amazingly creative and beautiful things are there too, but lots of "clutter" as you said. I'm working on our party invites. They're no where even remotely on the same level as yours (since they have to be emailed! BOO) but I have alot to live up to when I see all of your handiwork!
I hear what you are saying on the Etsy thing there is a lot of crap on there. And this is your blog to say what you want. BUT I want you to know that some of your readers have Etsy shops and while I hope you wouldn't think that what I make is crap it does takes a pretty large group to fill the 90% crap side... just saying...and also I love you blog and read all of your posts this is totally not a hater comment.
ReplyDeletehahaha i totally agree about the etsy comment. i mean i think it's great and all, but it makes looking for the treasure tres difficult!
ReplyDeleteI had a real bad experience with Etsy and a woman ripping me off. When I complained to Etsy, they did nothing and this person said some pretty horrible things about me. So I am not their biggest fan either. But, every great once in awhile, I will find something neat on there.
ReplyDeleteSweet hat btw!
I agree that there's a lot of not so great stuff on Etsy, but I think 99% is a tad exaggerated. I've been lucky enough to find quite a few things I really love.
ReplyDeleteOh, I couldn't agree more!! :) Ha! But you're so right, these are some goodies! I'm really loving the candied apple hat!
ReplyDeleteI think a big part of the issue with Etsy is the tagging. I think they need to work on categorizing like Ebay does. Ebay's search is far superior to Etsy's and you can find what you're looking for. I know Etsy doesn't want to be like Ebay but they really should look to them for how to work their categories and search function.
ReplyDeleteAside from that...I'm working on building a little collection of Halloween decorations because my 4 year old LOVES spooky. I'm looking on Etsy and Ebay and in stores.
Aw, you make me want to decorate for Halloween right now! Great finds!
ReplyDeleteThe Halloween posts are great. Keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteOne man's trash is another man's treasure. I think it fabulous that there is a place for people to offer their creations. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But I can appreciate your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteDown Pillow - she wrote 90%, not 99%. I think 90% is pretty accurate. There is a terrific amount of crap. Most of the jewellery is awful. I buy quite a lot of stuff from etsy, but from about 20 sellers, I struggle to find decent stuff.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are a LOT of pdf files for sale (annoying), there are about a million felted animals, knitted cupcakes & other such rubbish. Tassles... there are shops for tassles. Come on.....
But there are some brilliant, beautiful stores as well, & I love to support such ventures. I wish the search facility was a bit more sophisticated, because it can take forever to wade through crap to find what you want.
I am completely in agreement with you on etsy. I have managed to find several beautiful pieces of jewelry and a lot of other random stuff (hairbows for my dd, paintings, flea market stuff, etc.) but it took a LOT of wading through total junk to get to.
ReplyDeleteAnna
I love the Ouija board tray and I would also agree that it takes a LOT of sifting on Etsy to actually find what you want or something that is great. However, I often feature and keep links of great Etsy finds (see mine from a few days ago) on my blog. There are truly some great ones in the mix!
ReplyDeleteGosh I thought it was just me! I've not a fan of Etsy either. I have bought a few things..some photographs and personalized calling cards...but that's it. I think that most of the stuff on there looks like a bad craft fair in the park.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm a Halloween freak too! I'll be posting some costume and decorating ideas very soon on my blog. Check it out!
Oh my gosh, the tassels! Hahaha. I have seen the most ridiculous tassels on there - they're over the top, but the materials are from Hobby Lobby, so they're junky.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the 90% comment. For sure.
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ReplyDeleteLove Halloween, Love Etsy (for the most part) But, as with anything, there is going to be good and bad. Kinda like a flea market, You have to walk past 30 booths to find the one thing you cannot live without!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a fantastic and fun discussion!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that after a while, if an etsy seller has zero sales, they would just close their shop? So if they are there, apparently SOMEONE likes them? Maybe?
I also agree that I wouldn't buy at least 90% of the junk on etsy. But I bet my 90% is different than the girl above me and her 90% is different from the next girl...
This is a great discussion -- I agree that finding lovely, original items on Etsy is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
ReplyDeleteMy pet peeve is spray paint. A little part of me dies each time I open a blog and I see a lovely vintage item destroyed by a coating of paint.
Hey, I totally agree w/you about the 90% part. About 25-30 years ago a wise woman told me that 90% of EVERYTHING out there is total crap. You know what, I think she was right.
ReplyDeleteNo, I totally agree w/ you on this. The majority of stuff in the world is ugly. As my dad says to me about doing stuff really well, "If it was easy, we'd all be doing it."
ReplyDelete