Noted: Retail With Nothing to Hide

Great post!

Maybe it's the novelty of having something interesting to look at, and curiosity about how things work, that appeals to people in this kind of shop. I do hope it will reflect a broader growth in appreciation for and interest in uniqueness, the handmade, the arts, and the personal interaction with artists and artisans by the general public. That would benefit everyone, I think. Yay for thinking out of the box!

It is great to see the process different types of stores have for creating their product. I love that more and more are showing it off.

Very cool. I love watching how things are made. As an etsy shop, would the equivalent be posting images of making your item, not simply the finished product? Maybe an image of a knitter half way through a baby blanket, for exmaple, would make it feel that much more handmade and special to the buyer. Hmm.. Something to think about.

I think places like Sightglass also give loads of integrity to their product. Imagine walking into a fast food restaurant and seeing exactly how those chicken nuggets are made. If you're allowed to see the process, then most of the time you know it's a process you can trust. Not to mention the instant style this type of decor adds to any establishment!

Benihana Restaurants have been using a version of this philosophy since the 1960's It's worked for them, and I personally would love to see more of it!

Great!

Nicely done congrats on the article.

Awesome! Love this post.

Always interesting this world of Etsy...... great article!

I like that!

That is certainly an interesting concept. I went to a 'local shop' while on vacation in the Caribbean, and was told that I would get to see the process of their fabric-printing (it used a long process of wax and dye to get all the right spots). I was totally disappointed when we only got to see a series of prints hanging on the wall that showed how it looked at different steps -- I wanted to see it actually happening! I do think it would be interesting to try and bring this to an Etsy shop. As a stay-at-home crocheter, it might be hard to photograph myself working on something, but this notion of curiosity toward process might be worth trying to make it work!

I love Lush, all their products are handmade and its great to see the making process on their website. Whats even better about what they do is in the various territories where there are Lush shops they use locally sourced ingredients!

I would love to see more of this...I live in retail heaven/hell. Nothing is original.

Interesting article. A donut place has the process behind glass. Kids love to see donuts being made

As the saying goes: SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL!!!. Small retailers like us on Etsy are trying to sell our handmade items one by one, in our small little workshops.

It might have been about honesty, curiousity from the client side, and sharing skills and eagerness to sell more, show more, that way it creates a distinction between those you aren't so open about the process and those are..

Cool!

Wow, nice!

Can honestly say I've not noticed more retail shops highlighting their behind-the-scenes process - probably because the produce sold in most stores is mass produced in China. Having said that, one that does show you some of their process is a delicious fudge kitchen in Cambridge!

Hmmmm...I'll have to go see this.

This really intrigues me.

Yes, it is great to see how things are made. All of my made items are made on vintage treadle sewing machines and I do have some photos showing some items being made or on the machine used to stitch them. I think I need to make sure all my listing items show the process, it's a great idea.

i love knowing how everything is made

We recently switched coffee from a large retailer to a local small community coffee shop. They came in a presented the coffee samples almost identical as the pictures above. We were sold on the culture behind their coffee and behind the company. They had no dreams of being big, just wanted to be apart of the community and becoming friends with other local companies. Love. Great article!

Great article1

Not so good if you hit yourself with a hammer and need to swear loudly..

This was so interesting to read. I just opened a retail space in my neighbourhood and love to invite people in to the workspace attached to my shop to talk about custom blends and let them see where I create my products. It gives them a greater understanding of the making process and sparks their imaginations. I'm also attracting a loyal clientele in the process.

Sounds like an interesting place to visit!

We have a bath & body store in Tulsa, OK where we actually make our soap on-site! People can come in and see our production area while shopping the retail area- there is nothing hidden. I think our customers appreciate that and also feel comfortable in that if they have questions about anything we can answer them honestly and not from a "salesperson" point of view. I think I am the only salesperson that actually down-sells myself. What I mean by that is if I don't think something will work for someone I will tell them honestly. This is the future - consumers are becoming aware of everything and companies need to respond accordingly.

Interesting article!

I used to blow glass (and will eventually build a studio in our handbuilt home on the East Coast), and the best, best, BEST part of doing that was that collectors would come to the studio and watch the process. It is totally fascinating, and watching a gaffer in studio is exactly how I ended up choosing to learn the craft myself. It's one thing to have a handblown vase or sculpture, but it is so much grander an experience to have seen it made. :) Handmade is so beautiful, so life-affirming. Much love to everyone who does this!!! <3

Cool. Afraid I care more about the end result than the process.

We have a couple creperies in my area where you can watch your food being made. it's really nice to be able to see what goes into it and how it's made.

Y E S ! I think this will give the consumer a greater appreciation for the items being made.

So wonderful. I love any shift to unselfish consumerism. Great point about curiosity. In modern society we are trained to learn prescribed things and often loose our curiosity and joy.

Very interesting. And I hope the maker DIY culture IS infiltrating retail. The more we look around the more we find we the consumer have been used and abused by the large industries and corporations. I am all for knowing how it's made and from what so I can know for my own peace of mind that it wasn't made by slave pygmies or something in China.

my dream after i "quit my day job" is to have a small retail space, more for showing the creative process to everyone walking in than for the selling process, unfortunately many of these shops fail even though the workmanship is amazing

Great article. It's amazingly true. We recently popped in to a local specialty liquor store and they had a distiller right there with a sign saying what was currently dribbling out of the spout into a copper jug. A gorgeous piece of equipment. I think that's part of the draw... the equipment itself is far more beautiful than we realize.

the first cafe I ever worked at believed this. A grand mirror reflected the working side of the espresso machine. People were fascinated. I think it truly adds to the experience of any hand made item.

I love this idea. I know people love to participate in the process, no matter what it may be. If not in the retail setting on a daily basis... holding seminars where people can get a "Hands on experience" is surging as well. Etsy's own "How Tuesdays" and workshops included.

Sounds fascinating! What a neat idea. I think I'd like to drink my coffee in a place like that. And I can certainly appreciate all that goes into making something, whatever the product may be.

In my local Indian restaurant you can watch your meal being cooked, it's fascinating to see the process as well as comforting to know nothing untoward goes on behind the scenes!

I've been hearing about this kind of transparency in a different context but it applies to retail businesses as well – I think people like to know as much as they can about the inner workings of a business they're giving their money to, whether that comes from, say, knowing how much a CEO is getting as a bonus or being able to walk into a store and watch as their food is made fresh right in front of them. It inspires trust by showing there's nothing to hide and can make a customer feel closer to the product and the people producing it. Personally, I haven't seen much of it in the retail stores around here but, well, I don’t get out much.

Seems I've noticed lately that more restaurants have that glassed area where you can watch them grilling your meats and such. But I don't want to know how my chicken nuggets are made.

This was such a good and very interesting article to read and to me that just reaffirms how important and nice it is that we now have our about pages here on ETSY.

I think it's a great idea being so visable! Anything the smaller individual company can do to separate themselves from the corporate giant I'm all for! I wish them much success!

Ever thankful for the DIY revival that has made the life of us crafters so enriching.

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What an interesting article! It makes sense, I believe the more we are in-tune with crafting, the more authentic the experience! I just wrote a blog article on a Etsy seller who makes beautiful wooden dreamcatcher earrings, and she is an embodiment of her craft- she lives and breathes it! Check out the story on my blog, we talk a lot about Etsy, DIY, and vintage style too!: http://www.pearlandearl.org

What a cool idea! I love getting that "insiders" feel when I'm shopping too :) Thanks for sharing this!

A really great blog post

Interesting thought....I will have to pay more attention to that when I am out!

Wonderful. Love the concept and wish to see some DIY culture in my neighborhood.

Yes! I always love when you could see things being made: fudge, pretzels, crepes, bread, glass...

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. It is too bad we've forgotten this in our love for a bargain and big box retailers. The big box retailers offer consistency, so that your expectations are met wherever you go. However, they lose the charm of the small, eccentric, creative and unique establishments. What a wonderful article. Maybe if there is more attention paid to the small business again, then perhaps we can rebuild our economy into a vibrant, healthy one that will sustain us for the long haul.