Search results (tags) for: "calendars"

Holiday Shopping Lists: Calendars

2008-11-14T15:20:00Z

Time flies in this digital era. Give the gift of a handmade calendar: your friend, office-mate, or loved one will be reminded to thank you every day!

Etsy's Paper Goods Category has many types of calendars: search for letterpress, desk calendars, wall calendars, planners, or even to make your own with calendar tags (also great for scrapbooking) to tuck into a wallet. We also found some unique advent calendars in Etsy's Holiday Category.

Gift Ideas | Holiday Shopping | Calendars on Etsy | Coworkers Gift Guide

Etsy Teams Digest: Virtual Teams!

2008-09-05T12:50:00Z

It's back to school and the beginning of the holiday marketing season for many Etsy Teams! Here's a glimpse of what some of the Virtual Teams have planned for this month:

The Green and Clean Guild is running an Iron Chef Challenge, which is a competition within the EGCG Team during the month of September. EGCG "chefs" will have one month to create and improvise a unique bath and body product around three theme ingredients that must be present in their product. There will be three judges, whose goal will be to determine which chef was able to "best express the unique qualities of the theme ingredients" in their bath and body product.

Studio Art Originals has decided to keep it small. The Team is five fine artists who do original work in studios. They choose to jury the work that is tagged with their Team Tag, including the founding members. At this time, new members are accepted by invitation only, but no new members will be accepted until the Team has redesigned their marketing strategies.

In the EtsyBloggers Team, you will find a global group of artists who offer a wide range of items. This Team is super supportive of each other and has lots of fun too! Some of their regularly scheduled events include a monthly Featured EtsyBlogger, weekly EtsyMini Mondays, Team Treasuries, bi-Weekly Blog Carnivals, EtsyMini birthdays and weekly promo threads! They network at several online locations and are always welcoming new members to their Team of over 150 members. If you would like to become a member of the Bloggers Team, visit EtsyBloggers.com

The Fashion, Design and Lifestyle Team launched a new project called Sharing Hearts and Hands (Shh). They are partnering with Kiva to loan a portion of sales proceeds from their shops to small businesses through Kiva. What they make with their hands, they give with their hearts. Items are tagged as "fdlkiva". Every time $25 is collected, the Team will lend to another business. Check the FDL Team blog for more information.

The Etsy Greetings Team has implemented a number of new ways for Team members to become more involved. Not only do these opportunities promote the group, it promotes the members, too. Volunteers make up sub-committees to help promote the Etsy Greetings Team and its members. From taking turns snagging Treasuries and gathering giveaway items to scheduling member features on the Team blog, the members of Etsy Greetings are working hard to promote in various ways. Look for the upcoming Halloween Promotion: go trick or treating with the Greetings Team to find great Halloween card deals with some treats!

Etsy for Animals is celebrating its first birthday in September and they are organizing a huge celebration with a lot of fun for Etsy buyers. Over 120 sellers (at last count!) around the world will be offering a 20% discount coupon, and they have special, cute logos and avatars to help everyone to find their shops and get discounts. Search "Team EFA" to find items by this active Team.

The Trashion Team is having its first annual Monster Mash! They partnered up to swap unwanted, found and ready-to-upcycle materials. Right now, Team members are making two plush monsters each. Each monster will come with a original Trashion Monster Trading Card. Prints of the ACEO size Monster Trading Cards will also be available for purchase. They will be listing these upcycled creations in two different locations between September 12 and October 11, 2008: first in their own shop, and then donating to H.O.S.T. (Helping Others Street Team). The Trashion Team chose to donate a Monster from each participating member to the Helping Others Street Team in order to raise money for Etsians in need. This goes along with the Trashion Team's philosophy of environmentalism, innovation and embracing creative healing. Be on the look out for Trashion Monsters coming soon! Search "Monster Mash" and "Trashion Team" to find items from this project.

Look for an upcoming Featured Buyer article from the Etsy Patrons Team in the Storque this month! Members have opted to select pieces from shops with five sales or less, in an effort to give new artists some additional exposure to the handmade community. Etsy Patrons is one of only a few Etsy Teams focused on buying, and as such they welcome buyer-only members who love to patronize Etsy shops. Shop owners are also welcome but no self-promotion is allowed within the Team. For more information see their profile or their Team blog.

The votes are in for the Creative Glass Guild's summer challenge. Congratulations to SierraCreations, who won a tie vote between two of her own stained glass entries. Voters had a difficult time selecting just one work out of an incredible 91 entries in various glass mediums that were submitted by 43 member artists. If you who missed out on voting, you may still view the entries in a slide show, and you can read more about SierraCreations on www.cgge.org. The Team's next challenge ends September 25, 2008, and CGGE members will be submitting entries using fall colors as their inspiration.

Thanks to all the wonderful Etsy Teams for all their energy in creating these challenges, events, promotions and projects! It's so inspiring to see the many creative ways Etsy members are getting together to promote handmade worldwide, even when separated by many miles. For current events from location based Etsy Teams, be sure to check last week's Local Teams Digest. To join the Etsy Teams, browse our complete list of Teams and find instructions here.

Etsy Teams Digest: Local Edition

2008-08-29T12:38:00Z

As end-of-summer relaxation abounds, the Etsy Teams are hard at work to bring you fresh event ideas. This week's Team Digest covers local Teams of Etsy members getting together all around the world... and maybe in your own back yard. Check out these events and find out!

The Eastern Washington Etsy Team just hosted their first team craft fair organized by GeckoJewelry. Everyone on the team enjoyed this festive opening event and the chance to meet face to face and share in the crafty lifestyle! Plans are underway for a second fair on November 15th, where the team, along with additional local artists, will gather for another day of selling, shopping, meeting and greeting.

In the Washington DC area, CREST, the Capitol Region Etsy Street Team, is proud to announce their first group show, taking place September 6! Learn more about the Artisans at Artway event on their Team blog. Goodie bags will be available for the first 50 customers, with treats ranging from coupons, to seeds (thanks to the EtsyPHAT team!), to beads and even mini skeins of yarn. Additional items may be contributed by EtsyCREST members who will not be selling at the event, giving more people the opportunity to strut their stuff.

New York's NewNew is planning the Handmade Cavalcade in Beacon, New York for September 13! Check out their blog for more details!

In North Carolina, the NCTriangle Street team has launched a creative partnership with The Scrap Exchange! They're helping the store promote ways people can reuse the materials the store offers by spending an afternoon making items from a list of materials in the store. Check out the details on their blog. The Team is also busy curating their annual CRAFTLAND show. Held October 2008 through December 2008, CRAFTLAND offers holiday products made by local artists (and the NCTriangle Street team) that have reuseable/recycled/repurposed materials or an earth-friendly component, such as handmade books, handbags, jewelry, mosaics, natural cleaning kits and more!

The Creative Scandinavian Etsy Team may be small compared to many Etsy teams, but it carries a big punch! Members are located in three separate countries: Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The CSET works together 2-3 times each week. They're pleased to announce that the Pushing the Boundaries Event is just around the corner. It begins September 19, 2008. Organizers say, "Chosen as the theme for our autumn event, 'Pushing the Boundaries' was a way to get all of our members thinking outside of the crafts we have been working with and feeling very comfortable with for many years." Check out some of their work for this event on Flickr.

Etsy RAIN, the Seattle Etsy Team, has had a busy summer and shows no signs of stopping! Recent events include collaborative booths at local art festivals like the Tacoma Showcase art festival and LocalBounce — a neighborhood craft show held in conjunction with the area's art walk night as well as fun social events like an evening on one member's houseboat and a belated Etsy RAIN birthday celebration. The team has also started a two-tiered team membership program — one that allows newbies to be a part of the team for free, with the other a paid "premium" membership that offers participants discounts on booth fees, ad spaces and other perks that help make Etsy RAIN the fabulous team that it is. (You can also meet several Etsy RAIN members along with Etsy staff at this weekend's Bumbershoot festival. See this post for details.)

The Etsy Teams never fail to amaze us! It warms our hearts to hear of all these great events happening all over, with Etsy members coming together to share their love of handmade goods. Want to join a Team? Check out our list of Etsy Teams here and find instructions on how to join. Keep your eyes out for next week's Virtual edition of the Teams Digest!

Etsy Teams Digest: Global Teams Extravaganza

2008-04-04T17:52:00Z

With the Etsy Teams having just reached the milestone of having 10,000 members and over 250 Teams, you can imagine how much there is to report on! To make things a little more digestable, this month's Teams Digest is split into Local Teams and Global Teams. For the Teams Digest for Local Teams, check out this companion article!

All the Teams have been busy bees, promoting their shops, their Teams and Etsy, this is just a sampling of their hard work. Here is a summary of events from the Global Teams:

The Bookbinding Team's charity drive for H.E.L.P. International is doing fabulously! Six weeks in, they have raised $269.55 for the Books for Africa Literacy Project. Check out the Bookbinding Team Blog for more information. You can also find gorgeous books that members of the team created for the tri-monthly book swap pictured on the Blog! There are still three weeks left in the charity drive, so don't forget to do a tag search for "bookbindingteam charity" to find the rest of the charity books listed for sale, and check out the Team Shop for other wonderful handmade books!

The new Etsy group Swarovski Crystal in Design is dedicated to promoting the brilliance and beauty of Swarovski crystals, among other things, and they do this through their work. Mother's Day is coming up, and what better holiday to purchase beautiful items handcrafted out of Swarovski crystals, which are some of the best cut crystals in the world. There are many, many more examples of perfect Mother's Day gifts designed and handcrafted by the members of Swarovski Crystal in Design. Wishing all a Happy Mother's Day!

Photo by CrystalWonder of the Swarovski Crystal in Design Team

Sleek, chic, fun, serious, corporate, whimsical, formal, trendy, conservative… If any of these words describe the mother in your life, the Etsy BeadWeavers Team members are confident they have the solution for your Mother’s Day gift giving, with hundreds of beautiful creations for your one-of-a-kind mom. Lovingly and patiently created one bead at a time, each piece is art she can wear. Many of the Etsy BeadWeavers accept custom orders, so you can request specific colors, sizes, and styles through Alchemy. The Etsy BeadWeavers conduct a monthly challenge open to all members, with a new theme selected each month. Members create pieces designed specifically for the theme, expanding their range in terms of technique, design, color, and interpretation. This month’s theme is Fire + Flowers, and you can visit the BeadWeavers blog from April 7- 14 to vote for your favorite entry.

Mixed media artists of Etsy now have a community and an outlet to discuss, share, and network with each other: Mixed Media Etsy or "Metsy," a new team on Etsy with over fifty-three members so far. The Team formed by posting in a forum about various techniques used in their artwork, to make a group to make networking with each other easier. There is already a Metsy blog! If you're interested in joining this fun new group of artists for friendship and support for Mixed Media crafts, please visit the Metsy blog for more information.

The Eco Etsy team does a weekly Eco Tip every week on their blog. The new tips are posted every Sunday. It's a great way to spread the word about living a more sustainable life, and the Eco Etsy team wants to spread the word to everyone! We hope to one day create an Eco friendly book and combine all our tips we have collected over this year. You can see our Eco tips and what else our team has been up to at http://ecoetsy.blogspot.com.

Photo by LilFishStudios of the EcoEtsyTeam

Grandmamas rule! 50 members and counting! The Wild, Wise, Witty Grandmamas is another ambitious new Global Etsy Team, off to a great start. They're adding new members each week and are really forming a fun, supportive group of crafty Grandmas. To join, contact Elenamary, their fearless leader.

Etsy Team MiniMakers is looking for dollhouse scale artists on Etsy! The MiniMakers team creates collectible scale replicas for the dollhouse in 1:12 size, plus slightly larger for Blythe-size dolls in 1:8 scale, all the way down to the other end of the size spectrum at 1:144. In other words, really tiny! Their pieces are miniature works of art meant for adult collectors and are not intended for children to play with. Everyone from beginning artists to master craftsmen can be found in their ranks. All of them will be featured individually this month on the MiniMaker's blog, in a new weekly MiniMembers Spotlight article describing their art and photos showing some of their latest works If you create scale works of miniature art, check out the MiniMakers Team and convo Greenlupa about membership.

Photo by TrilliumArtisans

Trendy Textiles is a group of designers who have an eye for spotting the next great fabric designer. Their mission is to seek out top of the line fabrics with new and fresh designs and then create amazing handmade items with these fabrics. From March 27th to April 27th, Ginger Blossom by Sandi Henderson will be the focus of the designers’ attention. Jennifer Paganelli will also be featured in the very near future with her brand new line of fabric. Want to know more about Trendy Textiles? Visit the Trendy Textiles blog.

Everything old is new again! The Etsy Vintage Street Team has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past few weeks. Member shops have everything from vintage pyrex for your retro kitchen to poofy vintage prom dresses! The team is excited to announce it's new blog, which can be found at http://etsyvintage.blogspot.com. There are bi-weekly featured member shops, which run exclusive sales and promos for blog readers! The blog strives to capture the many design elements and infinite possibilities found in the world of vintage home goods, clothing and accessories as well as the inspiration behind and the essence of items hand made with vintage components. The Vintage Street Team is always welcoming new members and would love to hear your comments on vintage style, collecting and design on the new blog!

Interior Design Etsy is a new team that is open to all Etsy sellers who sell items in the Interior Design/Home Decor/Art/Furniture/Housewares categories. The team is welcoming new members. The main component of membership is active contribution. Additional focuses are on cross promotion and group sale events. The team's Bunny Hop Sale is going on now until April 6th. Each seller has their own sale offers so check out each shop announcement for sale specifics. To find out which shops are participating in the sale or to join Interior Design Etsy check out their blog.

The biggest news from EtsyChai: they exist! It’s a team for the Jewish community (“Jew-positive, not Jew-only”) here on Etsy, and not just for sellers of Judaica. They’re less than a month old and already have over 50 members! With Passover fast-approaching, they’re putting together an “afikoman hunt.” In a traditional afikoman hunt, either the children or adults hide a broken piece of matzoh (the “afikoman”) and, when found, the kids get prizes. In the EtyChai version, the “afikoman” will be hidden in a participating shop and whoever finds it will get some serious discounts! So keep an eye on the EtsyChai blog for this and other great things from a very new team!

Some Etsy sellers have recently come together to form the Wire Artisans Guild, a team of like-minded jewelry artisans who subscribes to the code of intricate, wire-wrapped pieces. This new Team's main goal is to educate buyers on the work intricacy and labor-intensity that goes into the making of each piece (and the consequent pricing). We intend to increase awareness and knowledge of the various skills and techniques involved and invested into the making of a wire-wrapped piece, and promote the uniqueness of each and every single design, thus reinforcing wire-wrapped jewelry as collectible OOAK couture jewelry.

Photo by LuckyDuckDesigns of the EtsyGreetings Team

The Jewelry on Etsy Team (JET), EtsyFAST, and ETSYGreetings teams have come together to offer their members a creative Wedding Challenge, which will be launched on the participating teams blogs on April 1st. Members are challenged to design a "jewelry," "fiber," or "paper" item inspired by a featured bride's wedding details. To ensure maximum promotional benefit for this challenge, the featured bride was chosen from another online community, Our Little Universe. The OLU community and the Etsy community will be invited to vote for their favorite challenge entry, beginning April 22. The entire Etsy community is invited to share this promotional opportunity. Any Etsy shops wishing to contribute to this gift basket for the featured bride will mentioned on the 3 teams' blogs and on the OLU forums.

Cruelty Free Etsy is proud to announce that they are a new team for all Etsy sellers who use cruelty free materials in their work. Cruelty free is any product that is not made from animal products or animal by products. For more information or to join please contact JaKRandomArt with your e-mail and a short description of your shop.

Old World Shoppes is having a Mother's Day giveaway! Visit the Old World Almanac for details on how to enter.

The Old Farmhouse Gathering Team will be having a group Challenge starting on April 25th. The theme of the challenge is " A Tribute to Motherhood." Please come and see what the ladies come up with. There will be many very unique and original pieces offered you won't want to miss! We will have voting on your favorite pieces on the Old Farmhouse Blog. Please come in and vote and let the girls know how well they did!

Thanks to all the Global Etsy Teams for their inventive events! There are new Etsy Teams forming daily, so be sure to check the list of Etsy Teams to see if there are any you might be interested in joining, and browse the Etsy Teams Blog Ring to stay up to date on all the Teams' events!

How-to Sell Sell Sell 365 Days a Year: Make Everyday a Holiday

2008-01-03T19:38:00Z

Although retailers do the most business during the Christmas holiday season, it is important to keep in mind that gift giving is a 365-day-a-year activity. People always have occasion to indulge their loved ones and even themselves. As an internet retailer you can make this work for you because, in addition to gifts, people love convenience. In order to make your shop the place people go for every occasion it's important to be cognizant of the other events that take place throughout the year and stock your store accordingly.

A seller needn't resign herself to a slow trickle of sales once the Christmas rush is over, she should be preparing for the next big rush: Valentine's Day. As soon as people put their Christmas sweaters away the Valentine's Day pressure begins. "What do I get my sweetie?" is on everyone's mind. Shoot for Valentine's Day!

The internet retailer should be there to help and here's how:

First, stock up on products that are an appropriate fit for the holiday. If possible, offer products that are appropriate for men and women or even singles to give their other single friends as novelty gifts. Second, plan a press campaign in advance to get bloggers and magazine editors buzzing about how your product line is perfect for the occasion. Last and most importantly, include tags in your product descriptions that get you in the results when people search for Valentine's Day gifts. Sometimes a change in product line isn't even necessary, just the suggestion that an existing item makes a great Valentine's Day gift can improve sales. Featuring your Valentine's Day items on the front page of your virtual shop is also a good idea.

Think you're done come February 15th? Think again. You'll want to repeat the above process for each seasonal event. After Valentine's Day comes St. Patrick's Day, and then Mother's Day and Father's Day. Next comes graduation season and then wedding season which means bridal shower gifts, wedding gifts and anniversary gifts — not to mention the gifts brides and grooms have to get their bridesmaids and groomsmen. By summer's end it's time to turn your attention to back-to-school items and Halloween novelties. Before you know it, it will be Christmas again.

Remember that in addition to seasonal gift giving, people have to get gifts for birthdays, bar mitzvahs, new babies, housewarmings, thank yous, get well soon, congratulations, and just because they want to say "I love you" to some one in their lives. Maintaining a product line that serves all of these different occasions and using keywords that help shoppers find you is essential to making your shop the go-to place all year long.

Post in the comments below with dates on the calendar we forgot to mention! Try to match the occasion to the related items below!

Also, you should check out exboyfriend's previous How-tos on Internet Advertising.

New Year, New Stuff

2007-12-29T08:06:00Z

Get organized for 2008 with fresh items for your home and life. Be it calendars, planners or simply new decor for your abode. The new year will soon be upon us!

What is your New Year's resolution? Radical change or easing into new habits, new touches of style? Post it in the comments!

Etsy Finds: Taking Time to Make Time…

2007-12-24T22:18:00Z

Hopefully, all of your holiday shopping/crafting has been completed: if not, I pity you. So what’s next on the horizon? 2008, of course! Now, I am personally not one for making resolutions, but after all of the holiday hype has wound down, it seems as though everyone begins thinking about time. The year that has passed and the ones to come, and so on and so forth. I can’t think of a more stylish and unique way to mark the passage of time than with this modern wall clock. I love its clean lines and the fact that you can customize it to suit the décor of your home. I’m also a big fan of functional art pieces like this. In case you’re wondering, this project has been seven years (!) in the making, according to buttoncollective. It is well worth the wait.

For those of you who are more concerned with the passing of days and months, I also found some snazzy calendars from maxandbella, SureAsBlue, and valentinadesign that would make great additions to wherever it is that you find yourself staring off into space the most in 2008.

Gift Ideas: A Fresh Start for the New Year

2007-11-23T06:21:00Z

Gearing up for the New Year? 2008, here we come!

Here we have a variety of calendars, planners and journals, any of which would make a great gift for a loved one (or maybe for yourself!). Start thinking about your new year and get organized now.

Happy shopping!

Etsy Labs Classes: October Calendar

2007-10-09T08:14:00Z

Hey guys! We sure have been busy here in the Labs, and we have a full October class schedule for you. If you live in the area or are travelling our way, we'd love see you at some of these great classes. I know that I'll be getting some great makeup tips at the Horror workshop listed below!

Labs classes in October (click links to read class descriptions and details):

10/20 Beginning Metals, earrings and cufflinks

10/20 Learn to screen print

10/25 How to promote yourself on Etsy

10/27 Horror Class, weekend workshop

10/27 Heirloom bedding, pillow casing, and sheets weekend workshop

10/28 Beginner Sewing: Design your own totebag, 4 week series

10/29 Introduction to Crochet, 4 week series

And heeere's a teaser for you:

I am happy to report that we are planning more online webcam classes to be hosted and broadcast from the new Virtual Labs! Keep your eyes on the Storque for dates and times that the classes will be held. Also, we will soon be announcing an application to teach a class via the Virtual Labs from your very own home and webcam! Exciting!

DIY PR: Plotting with the Calendar

2007-09-06T21:00:00Z

If you're trying to get your story out there and raise awareness about what you make, here's a useful tip:

Always have the calendar on your mind. Send out your announcement relating to a holiday, pop culture event or any other timely date of significance.

If you're interested in taking advantage of some winter holiday press, you should be aware of what we call "long-lead press" in the biz. These are monthly magazines which plan their content months in advance. Many have special holiday issues whose editors are cruising for content now (September). The admin and I are working on getting the word out about Etsy as a great place to buy holiday gifts. But you can do some promotions for your own work as well.

tiffany33 works for Etsy as a publicist. She is based in San Francisco, CA.