I think we have just been insulted......

So a couple of weeks ago etsy was in the New Yorker. It wasn't a bad article. Basically it was about making things here in the good ol' US of A. A couple of sellers were mentioned (lucky them).

Well....I just got my recent issue of Ornament. There is an article about Lloyd Herman, director of the Renwick Gallery. And we here at etsy have been really insulted.....

He says and I quote: "...it is encouraging to see so many do-it-yourselfers making everything from quilts and knitted toys to jewelry and furniture....those would-be craftspeople, who buy their supplies to craft decorative items for their homes, may learn to appreciate the skills and talents of professionals and come to appreciate and even collect the work of professional craftmakers."

He goes on....."he also worries that many people today confuse what he calls "cyber-craft", meaning much of the work that is on websites such as Etsy.com, with studio craft. Cyber craft undermines the work of university-trained artists....things on Etsy tend to be on the cute side, not very challenging...I think of it as almost glue gun technology and it is usually not very good. From what I can see, most of the people on etsy are totally ignorant of the studio craft movement...

Is he kidding? Does he have any idea of the talented artists on here?

I was pretty pissed when I read that arrogant attitude. What does he say about the Gees Bend quilters? Were they professionals? Did they go to university to learn to quilt? I think not. Their art is from their hearts and hands.

Not everyone learns their art at the university.

The pomposity!

Sorry I just had to vent that one.

I will write to Ornament although they don't print letters.

Posted at 8:16pm Mar 31, 2009 EDT