Search results (tags) for: "etsy world tour"

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

2008-11-01T09:27:00Z

Happy Dia de los Muertos! (aka Day of the Dead) The Day of the Dead is the traditional Mexican holiday to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. It also has amazing iconography and handmade traditions, like sugar skulls and paper cut-out banners. This collection of Day of the Dead inspired artwork is in reverence to this holiday.

Previous Day of the Dead Posts | Find Sellers based in Mexico | Etsy World Tour series

Etsy World Tour: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Oaxaca, Mexico

2008-10-14T11:41:00Z

Last year I checked another experience off of my immense to-do list: I rallied three girlfriends to accompany me to Mexico to observe one of my long term obsessions, the Día de los Muertos holiday.

After a few days in Mexico City meeting friends, swooning over Frida Kahlo's blue house and Diego Rivera's murals at the Palacio Nacional, and yes, drinking tequila (poured by the gregarious Gerardo at Hostel Amigo), we boarded a bus to the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.

Land of a thousand moles, chapulines (fried grasshoppers — sorry Mr. Bourdain, I totally chickened out!) and the most amazing cheese in the world, Oaxaca is also know for its many artisans and craftspeople. Indigenous traditional crafts are displayed in the marketplace alongside works by classically trained fine artists. Oaxaca was a pleasant respite from the bustling New York-esque Districto Federale, despite being torn apart by violent political conflicts only a year before.

I was slightly bummed to be missing my favorite holiday back home — Halloween — but my disappointment soon lifted once I saw the parade of children through the zócalo, or public square. Tiny red devils, little skeletons, and miniature brides with black circles painted around their eyes proudly marched past with not a prefab Disney character getup in sight. Every inch of the zócalo was festooned with blazing orange marigolds, paper-mâché skeletons, and intricate spreads of edibles not meant for consumption by the living.

That night we visited the cemetery Xoxocotlan (Xoxo for short) just outside of the city limits. Around midnight, we entered the grounds, illuminated by the candles on each grave and the amber light from the generator-powered floodlights. The wind, gently but noticeably blowing through the graveyard, rustled the colorful papel picado flags strung between the tombstones.

Families and friends crowded around the graves of their deceased loved ones. Men passed plastic cups of mezcal, while others strummed guitars and sang. The theme song of a certain bilingual young female explorer blared from a pink boom box atop the grave of a young girl. Despite the potentially depressing context, the mood was not purely solemn; the graveside atmosphere was a mixture of fiesta and reflection.

Comedy was not unheard of. Skeleton sculptures known as calacas depicted an exotic dancer on a pole, luchadores, a cuckolded husband, and a drunkard chased by a skeletal hound. At one point, a sharp gust blew through the cemetery at the exact moment that the floodlights suddenly switched off. Departed spirits returning to join the party held in their honor? Everyone in attendance either jumped or laughed, then resumed the festivities.

Eventually, we retreated through the cemetery gates to cups of thick hot chocolate and a taxi back to the hostel. Turning to look back at the devoted relatives of the sleeping souls, holding their chilly but cheerful vigil until morning, I wondered why we Americans don't make a point to visit more often with our late ancestors. Why is death a feared and somber occasion and not a joyous one, a celebration of life and moments cherished with family and friends over a nice plate of grasshoppers?

Halloween Gift Guide | Find Sellers based in Mexico

Halloween Posts | Etsy World Tour series

Halloween Across the Globe

2008-10-11T19:30:00Z

Spooky shout-out to all the internationals on Etsy who celebrate Halloween around the globe! I collected this bunch on Halloween items from Etsy sellers in England, Australia, Canada and Mexico (we'll be doing some more Dia de los Muertos posts too). The great thing about some of these items? You can wear them or use them throughout the year!

Take the ingenious eggplant stroller sleeping bag, for example. Sure, it's adorable on any chilly day, but it has an added benefit. Are you a new parent all jazzed about Halloween, but your infant can't stay up past sundown? Have no fear! You can still wheel em around the neighborhood in a cozy stroller and get your — er, I mean, your kid's — trick or treat candy.

Or, for example, this beautiful vintage shirt in AidaCoronado's shop. It's the perfect centerpiece for a Pocahontas costume, but also works for stylish everyday wear.

Happy Halloweening! If you're an international costumer, give a shout-out in the comments.

Try the Shop Local site feature to find a seller in your neck of the woods.

Etsy World Tour: Germany Celebrates National Day of Reunification

2008-10-03T17:30:00Z

National Day of Reunification is a holiday in Germany celebrated on October 3rd which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990.

For 41 years our country was divided into to Federal Republic of Germany in the West and the German Democratic Republic in the East, separating friends and families for almost half a century. My grandma, having just gotten married, had to part with her parents and sister who had decided to move to the West before border control became tighter.

And it did become tight. My earliest childhood memories include standing in a long line with my grandma, waiting (and hoping) for her to be granted a visa to see her parents again. Sadly, she only ever got permission to leave for special occasions such as weddings and funerals. I was still a child at that time and had never met my great grandparents. All I knew was they sent us care packages for birthdays and Christmas, filled with goodies we could never get in the GDR. And sadly a lot of these goodies were mysteriously gone before they reached us.

While I do not remember the day the Wall came down on November 9th, 1989, I do fondly remember our first train ride into the West of Germany. My whole family, without a visa and without any fear. My first time to meet a part of my family I had never met before.

Shop Local: Sellers Based in Germany | Etsy World Tour Series

Etsy World Tour: Paper Dolls in Japan

2008-08-15T15:11:00Z

I met Chisako Higashiya, aka Japanesepaperdoll, at a Thanksgiving dinner she hosted during my first year living in Japan. As far as I know, she was the only person in the area with an oven big enough to cook a turkey—and a heart big enough to invite thirty foreign teachers into her home to celebrate a North American holiday. But this generosity should come as no surprise to the hundreds of students who have worked with her over the years. They know Chisako has spent nearly a decade teaching classes in English on how to make washi ningyo, elaborate dolls constructed entirely out of handmade Japanese paper, giving foreigners living in Japan the rare opportunity to learn this traditional Japanese craft.

[Chisako, teaching a class in her studio]

Chisako's interest in sharing Japanese culture began even before she knew how to make paper dolls, back when she was a music teacher in Seki, a small city in central Japan. She was teaching a student from the United States, a man who spent part of his lessons asking questions about Japanese culture. "I understood what it was like to see Japanese culture through a foreigner's eyes then," she says. He was interested and wanted to learn more, but classes in traditional Japanese crafts like ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) and shodo (calligraphy) were expensive and typically taught entirely in Japanese. Chisako wanted to help, but at the time, music was the only subject she was qualified to teach.

[Washi ningyo on display in Chisako's studio]

That changed a few years later when she saw a handmade washi ningyo at a friend's house. "I saw the doll and I thought, 'I want to make that,'" she says. After apprenticing with an elderly paper doll teacher, Chisako passed the test to become a certified washi ningyo teacher and set up a small doll studio in the attic of her house. Remembering her conversations with the American student, she decided to teach her classes in English and charge only a nominal fee, giving interested foreigners the chance to learn a traditional Japanese craft.

[A doll I made in Chisako's class]

I had the same reaction as Chisako the first time I saw a doll made by one of her students: "I want to make that." Washi ningyo (washi is handmade Japanese paper, "ningyo" means "doll") are beautiful and a little eerie: faceless, three-dimensional dolls wearing ornate kimonos and upswept hairstyles, often fashioned after geishas, historical figures or characters from kabuki theater. Once known as anesama ningyo ("big sister dolls") because they were usually made by the eldest sister in the family, dolls of this type have been made by women in Japan for hundreds of years, but are not seen very often these days.

[Washi at a store in Mino, Japan]

The paper is what defines each doll; it can be bright and crisp or muted and soft as cotton, shimmering or rough. Chisako buys the washi for her dolls at big paper shops in Nagoya and Tokyo, but she also finds it in nearby Mino, a rural town known since the eighth century for its paper-making, a place where you can still spot people bleaching mulberry fibers by hand in the cold river. For several years, she and some students even constructed doll-adorned paper lanterns to enter in Mino's annual washi lantern festival.

[Doll lantern made by Chisako and her students]

In addition to a kimono and obi, each doll has its own special under robe, accessories and hair adornments, so Chisako spends her weekdays cutting paper to size in preparation for the weekend classes, usually for about three hours a day and sometimes up to six. Students range from absolute craft beginners to washi ningyo masters, so she offers two different dolls each month—one simple enough to be completed by a novice in a few hours, the other challenging enough to keep a pro busy for up to two days. (She keeps a guest bedroom at the ready for these dedicated students.)

Flat Maiko Doll eBook by Japanesepaperdoll.

After starting a Yahoo group to keep her students posted on class schedules, Chisako began receiving emails from crafters around the world asking for instructions for making washi ningyo. "I am in Japan, they are in Canada—I didn't know what to do!" she says. Then a friend suggested she write an instructional e-book, which she could sell along with doll-making kits. So she wrote one e-book, then another, and now has buyers throughout Asia and North America.

[Chisako at a local exhibition of her dolls]

For Chisako, who has not traveled much outside Japan, it's exhilarating to think about how many of her dolls are out in the world. Whether sent home as gifts or carried back in students' suitcases, washi ningyo made in her classroom have been globe-trotting for years. "It makes me happy to know my dolls are traveling," she says. Through the pictures and updates she receives from former students, she gets to see the world—with washi ningyo as her ambassadors.

To read more posts in the Etsy World Tour series, click here.

Etsy World Tour: Berlin with leolucaescobar

2008-08-08T10:58:00Z

This is not an expat story, although I am one. Secretly, I despise expats. They remind me of defectors who've run into the depths of a jungle, never to return or to be seen again. I am more akin to a sailor dropping her anchor down whenever the coast seems fruitful and the water clear. And so I find myself in Berlin, a city budding with young artists, fresh markets, and abundant vintage opportunities.

Oh the markets: never before have I seen such a multitude of markets. There are fancy ones with cherry picked vintage items and organic fare, antiquities markets with funky retro lights and turn of the century goods, and rummage galore bric-à-bracs one must spend hours to rifle through. Me, I relish in the challenge of the shabby ones, the ones with raggedy cardboard boxes stuffed to the brim with precious doodads. Perhaps I'm more than a sailor, but instead a pirate — with a knack for treasures.

Kreuzberg is a colorful and diverse district in Berlin where an international crowd merges with Turkish and German locals. Every Tuesday is market day along the southern side of the Maybachufer canal, an excellent fresh market with organic vegetables, fish, meat, turkish spreads, olives, raw cheese — just about anything the heart (or stomach) desires. It takes a good hour to navigate through the narrow and crowded passages. Turkish vendors shout loudly as you walk through, and people cluster tightly where there are deals to be made like it's Wall Street. It's exciting and one of the things I look forward to every week.

The rest of the week I'm busy working on my Etsy shop, leolucaescobar, the store where I put all the cool things I find. On Saturday, the real work begins, as the bigger clothing markets are on the weekends and I spend hours visiting the different ones in the city.

This is me amid a sea of vintage.

It's a hard job, bartering in German. I sometimes get my numbers mixed up. I work my way through, choosing items that catch my eye and charm me. I try not so much to follow trends but to find items that fit well, look comfortable and that contain a certain quirkiness. By the time I'm done, I'm usually up to my head in bags of clothes and heavy shoes. Sometimes I get really anxious beforehand; I can't help but imagine other people taking away a piece of clothing that I might never get to see. But when I get home and rummage through my bags I'm in wonderment at the treasures I find.

So you see, how could I not love Berlin? It satisfies my two biggest needs: good food and good vintage. I feel really fortunate to be able to live somewhere where I can buy fresh food within walking distance and have so many options for when I need to go vintage diving. I've set my anchor down for now. Just don't call me an expat.

All photos by Mariel Lohninger.

For more interesting places, check out the other posts in our Etsy World Tour series. Also check out leolucaescobar's German and vintage picks below!

Gotta Travel On: A Dog's Life in Greece

2008-06-30T12:49:00Z

In the coming weeks, the Storque will be posting content about pets and animals. aegeansea offered the story of her Greek pooch DeeDee as a transition from the Gotta Travel On series to the Etsy Pets series. She included some of her surrealist pet collages too. Enjoy!

Born in a Greek village in the south of Greece, my dog DeeDee was gifted to me, and I moved her to northern Greece, where I now live. She now calls Panorama, near Thessaloniki, her winter home. She summers in Gerakini, our beach home located on the beautiful coastline of the Aegean Sea. DeeDee quickly adjusted to the northern lifestyle and became fluent in both Greek and English. Without a doubt, since she is a Griffon, I’m sure that her skills in French would be more than adequate, given a little exposure to it.

Living in a bi-cultural family, she is surrounded by English, my native language, and Greek, the language of her home-country and of my husband and sons. Like many bi-cultural offspring, she has the opportunity to live and travel in two countries, and the advantages of both. Recently, DeeDee had a great adventure visiting Texas. She had a blast hanging out with the cowboys and horses (got a little dusty!), sampling spicy bbq (licked her paws!) and, of course, doing country western dancing! Her new red kickers (boots) were the envy of every gal on the dance floor. The day we spent in Canton, Texas, the largest open-air trade and craft fair in the world, was a highlight. More handcrafts and artwork than one could ever hope for, in one location. We had our share of lemonade and sausage links that day.

Home in Greece, DeeDee is happy to be back in the "cradle" of civilization, and the "spring from which creativity sprung." Since ancient times until today, Greeks have continued to create some of the world's most beautiful pottery, paintings, jewelry, woven fabrics, needlework, architecture, and the list goes on. Creativity knows no borders or language barriers. Any world traveler knows hand-crafted artworks are as important as history, scenery and cuisine. Even without a common language, we can understand the wonders of a culture through its distinctive ethnic creations.

When you visit Greece, a world filled with antiquities, art, farmlands, mountains and Aegean Blue seas and sky, take every opportunity to see as much as you can. Visit the markets, the villages and the gift boutiques, where DeeDee promises you will find the greatest of Greek Treasures, the handcrafted works and arts of this richly creative land. You never know where you'll bump into DeeDee. She's known to frequent the little shops with homemade marmalades and sweets. Each is a work of art. Or, maybe you’ll see her on the beach.
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Don’t forget your sunscreen and sun glasses. You’ll need them in sunny Greece. In the evening when it cools down, be sure to take a stroll and you’ll find the perfect handcrafted souvenir to remind you always of this beautiful country. The nights in Greece are indescribable! Stop by at one of the tavernas (local restaurants) and enjoy a delicious Greek salad with grilled fish or meat and a glass of your favorite wine, ouzo or lemonade.

As for me, aegeansea, I was born in the USA, near the Gulf Coast of Texas. I have always loved the sand, surf and sun. After marrying my Greek husband, we moved to the Aegean Coast of Greece. It wasn't long before I realized my new homeland was a natural delight for my spirit. Watching my energetic doggy run along the shoreline, I chased her and picked up as many seashells as I could along the way. I could say DeeDee inspired me to begin my Aegean Sea coastal creations that opened the door for my Etsy shop. She is my greatest encourager and sits beside me as I design and create. Coastal shell chimes are her favorites, but we’re both excited about the doggy scrapbooks and collages. The possibilities abound when surrounded by such a wealth of inspiration.

Yassas (so long), until we meet somewhere in Greece.

Gotta Travel On | Etsy World Tour |Etsy Pets | Special Pets Showcase

Etsy World Tour: Macrame Gringa

2008-06-27T11:46:00Z

I was walking up the stairs when it came to me: "If you want to improve your macrame skills, learn from the artists who inspired you." It seemed obvious, except for one minor detail: I live in Northern Minnesota, and the artists who inspired me live in Mexico.

"Well, why not?" I asked myself. Six months later, sitting next to Alejandra Scipioni on the beach, working on macrame and looking out at the Pacific Ocean, I smile and said, "Why not, indeed."

One year earlier, during a trip to Sayulita, Mexico, I discovered Cavandoli Macrame. I was mesmerized by the macrame that I saw on the tables of the weekend street vendors. When I returned home, I started my research to find out how I could learn to do the same.

I managed to find out that the art form is called Cavandoli Macrame or Micro Macrame, which uses intricate knotting techniques to make geometric designs. I bought the few books I could find and taught myself basic knots and techniques. I was (and still am!) amazed to see string and knots become patterns. Macrame has changed the way I see every color, pattern and design in my life.

It wasn't too long before other people were noticing and desiring pieces that I had made for myself. That was the beginning of Soul Candy Jewelry.

However, after 6 months of unsuccessful attempts to incorporate stones and irregularly shaped objects into my pieces, I decided that I needed a mentor. I didn't want to go to a workshop to learn a project and have my work look like the teacher's. I wanted to capture the spirit of the work I fell in love with and incorporate that into my own creations, and I wanted to know how the heck they captured those stones using knot tension.

I knew that the Minnesota Region 2 Arts Council and The McKnight Foundation offered mentorship grants to independent and emerging artists. I contacted Walter Fehrmann, a macrame artist in San Pancho, and he agreed to be my mentor. I applied and received the grant. You should have heard the celebration at my house when I found out that I was going to be paid to work with the artists who inspired me — in Mexico!

Last February (good time to go to Mexico if you live in Minnesota), I spent two weeks in Sayulita and San Pancho. Walter and I worked together in the mornings at the Artista Collectivo, where he taught me to use a jeweler's saw to carve my own pendants from coconut shell.

He introduced me to Alejandra Sciopini, who taught me her super secret unique technique that uses knotting to wrap stones.

I searched the market places and beaches for other macrame artists who were open to spending a few hours, or in some cases, days, teaching me their patterns and innovative techniques. Sergio, Pablo, Natalia, Angel and Carlos were all incredible artists with whom my path crossed. They called me their 'Macrame Gringa.' I learned more than I ever dreamed I would. I can still hear the Spanish words for patterns while I'm working. Sometimes I can smell the ocean while I knot. It was a magical experience to have these mentors and friends whisper their secrets in my ears.

Having an open heart and sharing ideas with other artists inspired my work and improved my skill level with this unique and intricate art form. I could not have learned this in the United States. I plan to improve my Spanish and go to Peru, where, I hear, the macrame is out of this world. See you in Peru?

Gotta Travel On | Travel Showcase | Etsy World Tour

Etsy World Tour: Canada with the Trans-Canada Team (Part Two)

2008-06-24T11:49:00Z

In the first part of this tour of Canada, we started in the East and visited Nova Scotia, Ontario, Toronto and Saskatchewan. On July 1, Canadians celebrate the day their country came together to become a nation. In this post, the Trans-Canada Etsy team is excited to celebrate and introduce you to some of its Team members and the art, food and culture of their regions. Dust off your atlas and follow along on a virtual road trip across Canada.

Moving onto the prairies, we find ourselves in the neighbourhood of Pinkfire Designs, in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan is known as “The Land of the Living Skies” due to the vastness of the sky that stretches above and its spectacular sunrises and sunsets. The Great Sand Hills of Saskatchewan, which encompass 1900 square kilometres of the southwest region of the province, are home to unique wildlife and hauntingly beautiful scenery.

Topping the list of favourite regional foods in this province is Saskatoon Berry Pie. Saskatoon berries are much like blueberries, but smaller, sweeter and much tastier. The crafting community is very supportive in Swift Current. The South West Region of the province is rich in history, and vintage findings for jewelry designs are a treasured find. Pinkfire Designs came across Etsy by accident — she was looking for a way to sell her jewelry to make some extra money so she could stay home with her daughters. She found the Trans-Canada Etsy Team while browsing through the forums.

[Photo by OrangeStarfishDesigns]

Just to the west of Saskatchewan, we find the province of Alberta and Orange Starfish Designs. Orange Starfish is in Beaumont, a bedroom community just outside of Edmonton. It is a wonderful family oriented town with both French and English speakers. This small town has experienced an incredible growth spurt along with much of the rest of Alberta. The church at the centre of town is the first visible landmark as you drive in from any direction.

Locally raised Elk meat is the most unique local food delicacy in the area. It is incredibly tasty and healthy, commonly eaten in steak form, but you can enjoy it in many of the same recipes that call for beef. Small towns like Beaumont do not have the customer base to support work at higher price points, so local fairs can be frustrating, but there are a couple shows each year. Luckily, Edmonton is close and has a number of fabulous art and craft venues. The Alberta Craft Council is a great resource.

[Photo by Kootsac]

Our last two stops land us on the west coast of Canada, in British Columbia. Revelstoke is home to Torrid Craft Affair. In the summer, Revelstoke has rivers and lakes one can enjoy during the beautifully warm season. It is an old city, but in the last 10 years there has been a complete revitalization of this town taking place, culminating in the grand opening of Revelstoke Mountain Resort, an amazing world class ski destination. Thus it lends itself to an active lifestyle and is rich in both arts and culture. Revelstoke provides inspiration for artists and crafters all around. Supplies can be difficult to come by locally, so internet shopping is an important venue for things of that nature. The town is young, hip and happening, and that definitely has an influence on the type of arts and crafts being produced in the area.

Kootsac is located in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia on Slocan Lake. On the other side of this incredible pristine lake is the Valhalla Mountain wilderness park. It's amazing and comforting thing to be able to look across this massive lake and see just wilderness — a great source of inspiration and a constant reminder of what we'll lose if we do not work together to preserve our environment. The Kootenay region has a very active arts community. There is a great appreciation for the arts here and people are very conscious of buying handmade. Almost every home you enter has the work of local artists on their walls and local pottery in their kitchens. Kootsac runs a very vibrant little market here in the summer where she also sells her textile art, clothing and t-shirts. The Trans-Canada Team was the first team Kootsac joined when she started on Etsy. It was natural for her to seek out a smaller group from within the larger Etsy community.

The Kootenays are well known for garlic. It grows very well here and local people use an abundance of it their food. There is nothing better than a big green salad from the garden, baked Brie, fresh baked baguette from the market and roasted garlic. The Hills Garlic Festival is the biggest local event of the year and people come from far and wide to enjoy this unique Kootenay culture festival where garlic, great music and artisans from the region are celebrated.

Big thanks to the Trans-Canada Etsy team for sharing a local perspective. Have a happy Canada Day on July 1!

The Trans-Canada Etsy Team currently has a Team shop, purchases made go to fund joint marketing efforts, and they have a Team blog, where you can read additional profiles of some of the Team members, find out about special events, sales and Team news. To find items created by members of the Team, search the tag ‘team Canada’ on Etsy.

Etsy World Tour: Canada with the Trans-Canada Team (Part One)

2008-06-23T11:17:00Z

The Trans-Canada Etsy Team was created out of a need for Canadian artisans to stay in contact, share resources, and develop group marketing opportunities. Team members benefit from having a solid sense of identity, as well as from having their different regional perspectives. On July 1, Canadians celebrate the day their country came together to become a nation. The Trans-Canada Etsy Team is excited to celebrate and introduce you to some of its Team members and regions. Dust off your atlas and follow along from East to West on a virtual road trip across Canada.

Beginning in the eastern most region of Canada, we find Enthral Designs, in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. This area is famous for its pastoral agricultural land and its proximity to the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world. The province of Nova Scotia is one of juxtapositions; civilized and kind towns clash with the soaring and wild cliffs of the ocean side; the calm of the valley contradicts the fickle nature of the coast. Annapolis Valley is home to a number of apple producers, and has become a local food attraction. Sea food is also locally available and a short drive to Digby will reward you with the best scallops you have ever tasted.

It seems that there are more artists and crafters crammed into this province than anywhere else in Canada. There are a number of local artist communities, and they will always point you in the right direction for supplies or advice. Craft shows are numerous and held throughout the year. A friend introduced Enthral Designs to Etsy a little less than two years ago, and she has been a member ever since. Once a member of Etsy, the Canadian crowd reached out to her and she joined The Trans-Canada Etsy Team.

[Photo by Ocbaby]

Travelling down to central Canada and Ontario, we find seller Ocbaby in Huntsville, which is part of a beautiful area called Muskoka. Muskoka is famous for its beauty, and filled with gorgeous lakes and forests. The perfect area for campers and nature enthusiasts, Muskoka is know as "cottage country" and is the summer home to a wide variety of people from all over the world. Huntsville has a strong artistic community. The main street features a bronze statue dedicated to artist and Canadian Icon Tom Thompson. Ontario is populated with many beautiful forests and maple syrup is a fabulous product from the area.

Ocbaby began her internet commerce adventure with her own website, and found Etsy by accident while browsing Modish. She found the Trans-Canada Team through the Etsy forums and was thrilled with the idea of a supportive group of Canadians working together to promote Etsy and each other. As she lives in a more rural area, there are very few fabric stores and none that carry fun fabric that she loves to use in her work. She enjoys hunting down sources on the internet and finding new bold prints and colours for her next creations.

[Photo by Minouette]

Just a little farther southwest, we find Toronto, home to Etsy sellers Minouette and Designed by RJ. Toronto is incredibly multicultural, with many little corners of the city that make you feel like you're stepping into a different country. This diversity has been depicted in the many community murals painted in the area, like the one above. Roncesvalles has long been home to a Polish community, as reflected in the restaurants, churches, bakeries and delis. More recently, it has become home to an influx of new Canadians from Somalia, who were attracted to the north area of the city. The southeast has a Portuguese neighborhood and to the east is a Korean neighborhood.

[Photo by Designed by RJ]

Being an artist or crafter in Toronto has many advantages. Inspiration can be found at museums, like the Royal Ontario Museum, art galleries and many cultural influences. There are great opportunities for art and crafting courses and a large community of artists in general, which encourages many shows throughout the year.

Keep your eyes on the Storque for Part 2 of this cultural, edible and handmade tour through Canada here in the Storque! Check the Teams pages for more information on Etsy Teams, like the Trans-Canada Team.

Gotta Travel On | Travel Showcase | Etsy World Tour

Etsy Finds: Tour the World with Shop Local

2008-06-20T10:11:00Z

Remember when you were little, giving the globe a spin with one finger poised to hone in on your next dream destination? Well, I'm back at it, in a way. I've been perusing Shop Local to see what's being made in other parts of the world. Some favorite recent "trips" included Buenos Aires, Argentina and New Zealand as a whole. (The related items below are my kiwi cross-country tour of sorts.)

Added bonus: while sitting in the midst of New York's hot and humid summer, I can imagine a chill in the air and the icy muted colors of a Southern Hemisphere winter. (How cold is it in New Zealand right now? I honestly have no idea, but that woolen peacoat sure looks cozy.)

...And the best part, I can even bring back a souvenir or two. My favorite find from this adventure would be this stuffed applique brooch with the embroidered owl by Toast. When it's actually time to break out my winter coat, I'm usually caught off guard by the weather with no time to dry clean, let alone accessorize, and just end up feeling blah. I think this puffy pin with its colorful striped fabric and cute animal motif would lend some needed summer fun to my cold weather gear.

For Etsy sellers, consider this your invitation to join the world tour. Be sure you list your location with your city, state or region and country, so shoppers can find you as they travel!

Need a daily fix of Etsy Finds? Sign up for the Etsy Finds e-mail! Conveniently delivered to your inbox on the daily!

Gotta Travel On | Travel Showcase | Etsy World Tour

Etsy World Tour: Bermuda with LusciousNaturals

2008-06-17T13:45:00Z

Bermuda is one of those places that you can visit one million and six times and never fail to meet wonderful, interesting people. The vast beauty that abounds throughout will also continuously amaze you.

On my third trip to the group of islands, I wanted to document the local art scene for my own reference and also to share with Etsy. The cruise ship I arrived on docked on the west end at King's Wharf, also known as the Royal Navy Dockyard. The Dockyard is home to several main art staples in Bermuda, spanning multiple disciplines.

The Bermuda Craft Market showcases Bermudian artisans who handcraft candles, ceramics, paintings, dolls, jewelry, miniatures, fiber arts, furniture, wicker, and more. I was hugely impressed with Llewellyn Emery, woodworking craftsman, who creates astounding bowls, lamp bases, jewelry boxes, candleholders, and more out of local cedar.

[Cedar crafts by Llewelyn Emery]

My next stop was the Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard. The Centre has a gallery/retail space as well as resident artists' studios, where you can observe them work and purchase their creations. The Centre opened its doors in 1984 and has always been a non-profit organization, born to foster and support local contemporary artists.

[Artist's studio at Bermuda Arts Centre]

Lynn Morrell is a Bermuda-born mixed media artist, concentrating in jewelry and textiles. Her husband David Morrell is also a jewelry designer ,and they showcase together, exclusively, at the Bermuda Arts Centre. The work of both Morrells is heavily influenced by nature, as is evidenced by the use of natural materials and the organic shapes that are repeated in the work.

[Jewelry by Lynn Morrell]

[Wall hanging by Lynn Morrell]

Other artists that are currently showing at the center include Suzie Lowe, Julie Hastings-Smith, Angela Gentleman, Jonah Jones, Vaughn Evans and more.

Finally, I stopped by the Dockyard Glassworks. The Glassworks is an amazing interactive studio shop environment, open since 1999, co-owned by Toni Johns and Wendy Avery (collective experience of 39 years working with glass!).

The glass blown at this studio is lead-free and colored with natural materials (metals, minerals, crushed pearls, etc.), odds and ends are reclaimed from the jewelry industry and recycled into the colorants used by the Glassworks.

There are currently seven artists working at the studio including Tony Johns, Peter Zimmerman, Chrissie Howarth, Yuki Toyoda, Alan Avery, and Damon Simons. The Glassworks specializes in both flamework (lampwork) and furnace blowing.

A position in apprenticeship program at Dockyard Glass is coveted by aspiring master glassblowers all over the world. Chrissie hails from the United Kingdom, Peter from the United States, and Yuki from Japan.

[Chrissie Howarth working a fluted bowl]

I picked up the cutest little frog by Damon, a beautiful necklace by Yuki, and a flower vase by Chrissie. I could have purchased the whole store, but that just would not have been practical!

[Pitcher and necklace by Yuki Toyoda]

If you ever visit Bermuda, make sure to explore the west end. For a small group of islands (with an area of 53.3 sq km), there is a rich collection of artisans and much to be experienced.

Further Reading:
Frommers Bermuda
Art Bermuda
Dock Glass

LusciousNaturals is a member of the Green and Clean Guild and purveyor of all natural bath & body products. For more interesting places, check out the other posts in our Etsy World Tour series.

Gotta Travel On | Travel Showcase | Etsy World Tour

Etsy World Tour: Unraveling the Traveler in Guatemala

2008-05-28T11:01:00Z

As part of our Etsy World Tour series, momerath shares her experiences traveling with her family in Guatemala. In a tiny town, she has a lesson with a local weaver, and she learns about differences in craft, economics and in mindsets.

This is a story about a lesson, and the lessons it taught me, which were not the ones I expected. It's a story about weaving, though no real weaving takes place. And at the end, I'm going to assert it's not about anything at all.

I met Francesca in 2005 in San Juan La Laguna, a Guatemalan village we'd chosen because the guidebook passed it over. I had arrived with my husband and our two-year-old by boat from across Lake Atitlan, fingers crossed that a little hotel we'd heard mentioned truly existed. It did, and it cost $4 a night. San Juan was a town of steep cobblestoned streets, wood smoke, traditional dress, teenagers on cell phones, and a pristine new library. Few vehicles rode through town, other than the occasional taxi truck. Women and children stopped to touch our daughter's gold-blond hair.

After a few days in the village, I asked our hotel owner about the possibility of getting a lesson on a backstrap loom. The backstrap is ubiquitous in Guatemala. I admire craft, and I wanted to see what the work felt like. He put me in contact with Francesca, a weaver. Single and in her 40s, Francesca lived with her mother and extended family in a mud-brick home up the hill. An hour's lesson? I asked. Certainly, she said. We arranged to meet the next day.

When I called at Francesca's house the next morning, she came out to meet me and said we would walk into the village to buy yarn. I confess I was a bit surprised, until I reflected: Was I thinking she had spare supplies just sitting around for people to play with?

After I'd paid for my colors – black, peach, purple, orange – we returned to her home, a mud-brick house with dirt floors and a courtyard sink. She led me to the courtyard, where we sat on stools against a wall. The wind fluttered a dirty tarp curtain hung across a corner, and I saw it concealed a metal bucket: the toilet.

The yarn was more like embroidery floss. And the first step, she said, was rolling it into balls. We spent nearly two hours rolling it, two strands together.

As we rolled, we talked as best we could with my clunky Spanish. It was delightful. We talked about our families, our homes, hairstyles, more. We asked each other questions about our local school systems. She voiced her opinions on Guatemalan politics. Her sister-in-law had a brother in Arizona. Her teenage nephew was a soccer-playing guitar player; my teenage sister was a soccer-playing drummer. I heard myself tell her we didn't live in New York City because the cost of living was too high. She nodded sympathetically.

I told her that I knit (I didn't know the verb, but I knew "yarn" and "needles" and got the idea across). She asked me, “Do you knit for a living?” My internal reaction: “What a silly question! Imagine someone trying to make a living off of knitting.” Immediately I tasted the irony in my mouth.

After two hours of rolling yarn, Francesca got out a big board with posts sticking out of it. I was puzzled: I thought we were going to use a backstrap loom. But no, this wasn't a loom; it was a whole other step before we could use the loom. I didn't quite understand what it was for, and I was beginning to think about my husband reading books to our toddler in the library, wondering when I'd return. Francesca showed me how to wind the yarn in and out among the posts. It required just enough concentration (for me) to make conversation impossible; if I even let my mind wander, I'd lose the pattern. It required keeping both arms up to guide the yarn, and rocking forward and back just enough to start a good, solid backache. I was wiggling on my hard wooden stool on the uneven ground. Man, man, man, what a lot of work.

Then Francesca told me: “That's all we will do today. Tomorrow you can come back and we will start with the loom.”

I was leaving town the next day. I wondered, did we misunderstand each other? I had only wanted an hour's lesson. She told me that in the last lesson she'd taught, a pair of German women had worked there every afternoon for five days to make one scarf. And her loom wouldn't be free to start my project till she finished that afternoon's weaving.

I told her I could not come back. Hoping to compromise, I asked if I could see her loom, maybe watch her work. She brought it out. Half finished was a turquoise cloth with an impossibly tight weave. The combs and spacers Francesca used were just sticks and other bits of wood, but with them she was weaving an intricate pattern of chevrons.

She put the belt around my hips and showed me the motions. After some minutes I finally understood what we were doing, pulling up one level of strings, then the other, but I couldn't push the strings close enough together, couldn't remember which stick to pull on next. We took a few photos of me wearing the loom. And I asked if I could purchase one of her weavings, one I'd admired the other day, a shawl with purple and orange stripes. My bedroom, I told her, was purple and orange.

She asked 25 quetzales for the lesson, and 40 quetzales for the shawl. One quetzal was about 13 cents. She wanted about $5 for a shawl she said was five days' work. I gave her 50 quetzales for it but wished immediately (and still wish) I'd given her much more.

And then I left. Dizzy, exhilarated, and humbled, I lay in bed and wrote for an hour, trying to figure out what I felt.

I'm still trying, I guess.

I had imagined that after my lesson I would brim with respect for the women sitting in courtyards day after day, every day, creating beauty through patient, slow, backaching work. But as with most travel, even what you think you know reveals itself as unexpected, as unfamiliar, as much more than you thought it would be.

Francesca took me through the work as it is, not as I imagined it to be. I had imagined we'd jump right into the picturesque part, the backstrap loom. I thought she'd have some practice piece around — on what? a spare loom? — that she could demonstrate on and then I could try a little, hour's up, thanks a lot. But weaving isn't like that. And neither was our lesson: Francesca spent time with me as part of her life, not as an exhibit in a living history museum.

Craft, to me, was leisure. Craft, to her, was work. I was humbled to recognize I hadn't considered the difference.

Her poverty and my privilege, her skill and my lack of skill – binaries unraveled in the web of conversation, bringing me this reminder: Nothing is ever as simple as we think it is.

It's a gift, to have your assumptions unraveled.

But that's just one thread in this telling. It's not “about” what it taught me. It's not: "Look, I had this moving experience on vacation and I grew from it as a person." It was not a complex world speaking to a simpler world, or a fleshed-out person speaking to a picture. It wasn't a tidy, closed package of a story. It wasn't a story at all. It wasn't “about” me; it wasn't “about” anything. It just was.

As Americans, we often behave as if we assume things are created for us and should cater to us. It's exhilarating, actually, to realize how busily and beautifully the world spins along without us.

We'd love to hear more about crafting traditions around the world; send your thoughts to the Storque's pitch box and make sure to include the words "Etsy World Tour"!

Etsy Finds: The Original African Monk Bag

2008-05-16T10:45:00Z

Whether it be a jaunt to the market or a journey to the shores of Zanzibar, you cannot go wrong with this lovely tote from jetsetting Etsy artist vwithoutb. A self-proclaimed world traveller, vwithoutb was inspired by the traditional monk's bags she found in Cambodia and Thailand; however, she decided to make it with the exquisite hand-dyed gara cloth she picked up in Sierra Leone in West Africa.

Wow, this gal really gets around!

Each bag is lined with a thin matching cotton liner, and has a small zip-pocket to put money and valuables, shown here in taupe with light pink highlights.

Find out more about far-flung places in our Etsy World Tour column.

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Etsy World Tour: Hungary, Where Traditional and Contemporary Crafts Meet

2008-05-08T18:07:00Z

In this edition of Etsy World Tour, vadjutka highlights a few of Hungary's diverse crafting traditions, both traditional and contemporary. Enjoy!

Gömör Pottery
Once upon a time, a few hundred years ago, peasants of a county called Gömör (which is now part of Slovakia) started to make a special kind of ceramic that could be used for cooking. Soon this area became the center for supplying households with nicely painted bowls and pans. Meanwhile, potters of Gömör county lived in small villages and did their everyday work: ploughing, feeding animals, etc. Making beautiful pottery was only a small slice of rural life. By the beginning of the 20th century, potters of Gömör found themselves competing with porcelain and saucepans made of iron. Unfortunately, mass production eventually won out over handmade ceramics and Gömör Pottery is now part of folk art history.

Zsolnay Porcelain
The world famous Zsolnay Porcelain was founded in 1853 to make both stoneware and porcelain. After a few years of difficulties, Zsolnay became world-known and reached its peak in the 1910s. Its signature look is called eosin: a unique greenish, iridescent metallic luster glaze that reminds me of the color of some flies. Jardinieres, wall plates, lamps, and jewelry were made using this glaze, all reflecting the spirit of Art Nouveau. After WWII, Zsolnay started to mass-produce some designs, but they did not stop making exclusive models with eosin technology adapted to porcelain. Currently, Zsolnay Porcelain is not just following trends, but leading them: they teamed up with the famous Hungarian fashion designer, Katti Zoob, who designs haute couture as well as pret-a-porter clothes. Here is a nice example:

(photo by drgnmastr)

Matyo Embroidery
I think every Hungarian woman (including me) has tried doing embroidery at least once in her life: embroidered clothes, tablecloths, etc. are quite common in Hungary. Many patterns are available, but the most famous is the colorful Matyo embroidery. Though it is very well-known — most Hungarians can only recall Matyo if asked about embroidery — it is made only in three small villages. Mezökövesd is the center of Matyo embroidery, where the ethnic group called Matyo lived. Although most of the embroiderers were originally peasants, the industrialization process at the turn of the 19th century resulted in a flourishing folk art scene, especially with embroidery. Below is a picture of the most famous pattern of Matyo Embroidery: a rose with red, green, blue and yellow.

(photo by hattyu)

Painted Eggs
Painting eggs for Easter is common throughout Eastern Europe: almost every nation and ethnic group has its own tradition of egg painting. Though most of Europe uses mostly one color for egg painting, Hungarians use the batik technique to paint the eggs multiple colors. Nowadays, men visit women on Easter Monday, and spray them with perfume: this represents attraction. In return for their efforts, men get a nicely painted egg. The original tradition was to spray the egg with clean water as a symbol of rebirth. A beautiful example:

(photo by hattyu)

Crafting Today
Almost twenty years after the political upheaval in Central-Eastern Europe, craft society (as well as civil society) has started to re-blossom in Hungary. Since the summer of 2006, Hungary has instituted an ongoing craft fair called WAMP (short for Sunday Art Market). It takes place every month, on a sunny (or rainy) Sunday in the heart of Budapest, Hungary's capital. Originating as a small market with around thirty artists, WAMP now has more than 300 registered artists and crafters. Lots of them are professional artists with university degrees, but there are plenty of crafters like me, coming from outside: geography teachers, sociologists or engineers.

Products are as varied as crafters themselves: from bags made of LPs, to earring made of LEGO toys, one can find everything. Since retro became very fashionable - once again - in these years, Matyo patterns have found their ways into mainstream fashion: one can find blouses, bags and wristlets decorated with specially designed Matyo patterns.

A cool wristlet:

(photo by vadjutka)

A retro outfit with traditional influences:

(photo by vadjtka)

A huge thanks to vadjutka for sharing her thoughts on both the traditions of crafting in Hungary, as well as her insight into today's crafting scene. We'd love to hear more about crafting traditions around the world; send your thoughts to the Storque's pitch box and make sure to include the words "Etsy World Tour"!

Cinco de Mayo!

2008-05-05T09:12:00Z

Apparently, Cinco de Mayo in Mexico is not such a big deal; it commemorates a Mexican victory over French colonial rule, but it's not the biggest holiday for Mexicans. However, in the US, people of Mexican descent and Mexicans living the States celebrate their heritage, and the 5th of May is known for being lively and full of color.

For many people, this means lots of beer and music and family fun, but for Etsy, it's an excuse to go on the hunt for some art and crafts from Mexico using Shop Local.

Check out ziazia's shop, with unique and whimsical bags full of detail:

rosiemusic offers prints of her fresh, original artwork:

titarubi uses traditional Mexican techniques from the Colonial era to create intricate silver jewelry:

Mexican patterns brighten up bellaandjune's bags. She makes jewelry too:

Birdies and flowers, in a new folk style, fill Geninne's shop:

And finally — though there are certainly more talented Mexico-based Etsy sellers I didn't have room to showcase here — gatomagico makes crazy little felt kitties:

Happy Cinco de Mayo and stay tuned for more Etsy World Tour posts! Give a shout-out in the comments below if you love Mexico! And vote in the California Crafters Club's contest here.

Etsy World Tour: Fes, Where Craft is a Way of Life

2008-03-28T11:22:00Z

This piece from ciaralovesyou is the first in a series of articles we're going to publish about handmade traditions around the world: The Etsy World Tour. It will be our featured series after next month's upcycling series.

When I pledged to Buy Handmade, I assumed that I'd be making my purchases at Etsy and the occasional local craft fair. But then I visited Fes in Morocco, where DIY is a way of life.

Over half of the population of Fes works in handicrafts (that’s 473,000 artisans!)* in mediums varying from fabric and leather to copper, clay and thread. Walking through the narrow, walled streets of the medina, which at times are just wide enough for one donkey to pass another, I passed shop after tiny shop, each displaying a different variation of local, handmade goods.

My first stop was a local textile studio, which produces thousands of woven shawls, tablecloths, curtains and more, all produced on looms driven by foot pedals and strung by hand. Like most of the people who work as crafters in Fes, the studio is a family-run business that's become successful the old fashioned way: producing gorgeous products with long hours of hard work.

Next it was on to the tannery. Leather making is one of the biggest industries in Fes, and it's all still done by hand. The leather is treated in lye, and then hand-dyed in all the colors of the rainbow. From where I stood, this looked like physically exhausting (and incredibly stinky) work. But the end results are fantastic: brightly colored shoes, bags, and belts.

Next stop: a gallery of handmade copper, silver and bronze plates. These dishes were so intricately designed that I thought they must have been machine-pressed. But the store owner showed us how they're produced: by making small dents in the metal with a hammer and chisel — some so small that they looked like needles. This particular shop is well-known throughout the world, as evidenced by the awards and plaques on the wall showing visitors like Ronald Reagan and a letter from Hillary Clinton testifying to the quality of the platter she took home. I was dying to take home one of my own, but due to the amount of time and painstaking labor it takes to produce one plate — often up to three weeks — these platters ($200 - $1,000) were WAY out of my price range.

Some of my favorite meals in Morocco were served in tagines, cone-shaped ceramic baking dishes that expertly combine the sweet and savory flavors of the country's cuisine. I stopped by the city's largest pottery factory just in time to see this man throwing a tagine.

Tagines are just one of the factory's specialties, which range from dishes and bowls to mugs, vases, coasters and tiles for walls and fountains. After they're thrown on a pottery wheel, the pieces are fired in this underground oven.

Then they're glazed in traditional Moroccan colors and designs, fired once more, and voila!

Seeing an entire community support itself with craft was an inspiration — it can be done! The town of Fes is proof of the value of unique handmade work, and validates the DIY philosophy.

Further Resources:
Etsy Sellers in Morocco
Video of the Fes tannery
*according to the Moroccan Tourist Bureau: http://www.visitmorocco.org

A big thanks to ciaralovesyou for submitting this piece to the Storque. We want to hear about handmade traditions from all over the world: submit your ideas so you too can be part of our Etsy World Tour Series!

Made with Love in Singapore

2007-10-04T07:45:00Z

I’ve lived in Singapore all my life, and I’ve always thought this tiny nook such a curious place of contrasts.

Our island is so tiny, it takes just 40 minutes to drive from one end to the other. Yet there’re 4.5 million (still growing!) people living comfortably here. People here come from all over. I spent my childhood happily running in and out of the houses of Chinese, Indians, Muslims, Iranians, Koreans, Americans and British; most kids grow up speaking at least three different languages fluently.

We’re workaholics, completely obsessed with cleanliness and efficiency. Yet most of us wouldn’t give up family-time for anything; we sit down together for meals nearly every day even at 10pm, and celebrate an endless stream of festivals and birthdays, stuffing our faces at barbeques or restaurants. The city is choc-a-bloc with modern skyscrapers and suited worker-bees scurrying in the streets. But just a couple of streets away is a jumble of small quaint coffeeshops (the ‘starbucks’ of old) which serve delicious food in rickety earthenware bowls to fine ladies in their chic stilettos. And business is great. People loosen their ties and wait more than an hour in the sweltering heat (it’s summer all year round here!) for their goodies.

Though our modern city looks sterile on the outside and, some say, ruled by a iron-clad fist (there’s been only one viable political party for the last twenty-odd years), there’s a quaint quality to where I live. Everyone calls all old ladies ‘aunty’ and all old men ‘uncle’. That’s right, everyone — even strangers, gangsters and robbers!

And does handmade fit into this city? Strangely enough, it does. In the decade or so there’s been an obvious growing acceptance and even embrace of the quirky, off-beat and handmade. Sure, it’s still a very much a niche market. But there’s now a growing band of designers, shopowners and activists raising awareness of handmade produce.

I find it encouraging that shops now keen on (and some even specialising in) these items just pop up overnight, whereas just a few years ago stores wouldn’t dream of selling handmade craft from local designers. There are now whole streets full of little quaint shops stocking these items that are popular with the with-it younger set. It’s been good enough that some local crafters have even branched out on their own. And recently, our first-ever permanent crafts-only market opened at the Red Dot Museum, where local crafters get to display their wares for one Sunday a month. No small feat in a place with a tiny consumer audience, and where most people are still too pragmatic to see the point in paying for the labour of love that goes into handmade craft!

I think this is a response to all that sterile, factory-made, cookie-cutter products we’ve grown up with. With our growing affluence, we now have the time (and money, honestly) to want to be different from everyone else. We’re more willing to take time to engage in a more personal transaction, to interact with a maker who is a *gasp* real person, to understand what her craft means to her. We are more hardworking shoppers now: a sterile department-store experience is not enough.

And of course, the Singaporean presence on Etsy is growing. There’s such a nice variety of us on here, and our community gets bigger by the day! We’ve recently come together to form a Team, with our own blog. We hope to meet up and organize events to increase the awareness of Etsy locally. Yes, this is normal and taken-for-granted in most other countries, and I guess we’re a little slow with our act. But now that we’ve started sending our little feelers creeping out into our community, I’m excited at the potential, and where it’ll lead us! It’ll be an uphill task getting people to see why buying handmade is so much better than buying factory-made, but I’m excited!

I’m so excited! Why?
Because I know that each handmade thing has a little piece of the artist’s heart crafted into it. And in each item I own, I see someone else’s love.

Further Resources:

Our first crafts-only bazaar:
MAAD bazaar

A smattering of shops that support local crafters:
http://www.eggthree.com
http://theasylum.com.sg
http://www.makisquarepatch.com
http://www.forestprints.com

The Singaporean Etsy Team blog:
http://www.singaporeetsy.blogspot.com

Cuba: My Point of View

2007-08-30T20:00:00Z

You could say that I grew up in a bubble. When you’re born and raised on an island (and this island happens to be Cuba), you have a completely different vision of the world than most people. When I was growing up, I thought that this island was the center of everything. If someone had told me that Cuba was the 8th continent, I would have believed it.

I must preface this story with the fact that I am not an expert on Cuban themes. I haven’t done any studies on the political system of the island or anything like that. However, I can talk about Cuba from my own personal experience, the same way you can talk about the country where you were born.

Have you ever had the experience of revisiting a place with fond childhood memories, only to find it much smaller than you previously imagined? That happened to me when I went back to Cuba after a seven year absence. In December of 2006, I traveled to my hometown of Holguin, Cuba with my children to introduce them to their many relatives. It took me a while to see Cuba for what it really is.

My Cuban childhood was hard. Coming from a very poor family with all kinds of problems, I immersed myself in a creative world, and I think it saved my life.

I strongly believe that anything creative has a curative quality. When I started the local art school at the age of twelve, I thought that I had arrived in paradise. I loved every day as an art student. We didn’t have many resources (I had a ceramic class where for years I never got to fire a single piece), but sometimes you learn more by not having anything. We had to force ourselves to be more creative to make up for the lack of materials.

What we did have in great amounts was a sense of humor that kept us motivated and connected to each other. I don’t remember a single day in art school when I didn’t laugh. Laughter has always been the greatest tool for Cuban people: when you get used to laughing (especially at yourself), you stop being afraid of the dark side of life.

I did the first part of my art studies in Holguin, a province on the east side of the island. When I was fifteen I decided to separate from my mom and four siblings to move to a the province of Camaguey with my boyfriend. Now, you might be thinking: you were ready to be independent at fifteen? Si, I was. I just knew that in order to develop my own world I had to go away from the environment I was in. My mom wasn’t surprised since she did the same thing when she was my age. She just said, “I trust you. If that’s what you think that you should do, go ahead. I support you 100%.”

It’s natural for people for those raised in poor countries to grow up more quickly: you have to think quickly in order to survive. When you are constantly going through extreme situations, you are obligated to develop faster. By the time I was fifteen I already felt like an adult. I was a pretty responsible girl and I graduated from the art school in Camaguey as planned. By the time I was nineteen I was already teaching art, and I really enjoyed having my own students to inspire, the same way I found inspiration in the world around us. However, my ultimate dream was to move to Havana, and although I didn’t get into art school there, I did eventually relocate. It’s a place I truly love, even today.

I left the island for the first time when I was 23. I went to Italy (Genova) for my first solo show out of Cuba. The show was organized by a group of Italian artists who I met in Havana. This trip was a turning point in my life. It was my first time on an airplane, my first time in an airport with luxurious restrooms, my first time seeing snow and my first time seeing so many people together that weren’t Cubans. I had no idea how to dress for the winter since it’s always summer in Cuba. I took with me this leather coat that my neighbor sold to me for twenty five dollars– a fortune to me! It was like five sizes too big for me, plus it was a men’s coat. When I arrived in the airport in Milan my friends didn’t recognize me. They thought that it was a joke!

My time in Italy started changing my ideas about the world. When I went back to the island I saw everything differently. I saw all the limitations that people were used to, like the lack of internet access and all the headaches and bureaucracy involved in travel.

In the meantime, I continued to travel and show my work. However, it wasn’t until I met my husband and I moved to the U.S. that I truly developed a deeper understanding of my home country. I had to learn that I wasn’t simply defined as a Cuban, or just an artist, but also as another person on this planet, part of a larger community of people. I learned to have my own ideas, how to disagree and how to do what I thought was right without having to ask for permission. I had children, and I kept developing my career as an artist. In April of 2007 I even opened my own little store on Etsy! If someone had told me that I was going to do this ten years before I would have laughed at the very idea.

As I write this, I think about how much I have learned in the last seven years. I love my country and I am still very connected to it through my friends and relatives. However, the more I understand the world, the more I think that Cuba has the potential to have a real connection with it.

Many other artists on the island feel the same way. When Cuba become a point of interest for the art world in Europe in the 1990’s, America and Asia, many Cuban artists had the possibility to travel and develop their artistic careers, and they came back with a different understanding of the world and a desire to plant the seeds of change.

Ultimately, Cuban people are not naïve. They want changes, but they don’t want changes imposed upon them. They don’t want the island to suffer the same chaos that the other post-communist countries in Europe had to go through. Cuban people are very well-educated, patient and analytical, and I am sure that this will help the future of the island. One day soon Castro will die and this will mark a new chapter in Cuba’s history. Cuba is already changing and I serve as a prime example. I don’t live in Cuba anymore, but this island will always be part of who I am.

Elsa Mora
Los Angeles, CA 2007

Notes on photos:
#1 “Etsy representative in open dialogue with Castro about future of the island.”
#2: "Doctor and nurse from Etsy take a close look at Cuba’s heart."
Both photos were taken using #1 a little bunny that I purchased on Etsy from detailsstore and #2 two amigurumis that I also purchased on Etsy from raewadolly. The miniature Castro doll is from my own collection, I got it in Madrid many years ago.

Etsy Down Under: Where Women Glow and Men Plunder

2007-08-29T20:00:00Z

"Etsy?… Um, what’s Etsy?"

I’m sure this response is hard to comprehend for North Americans, where it seems (to this international seller, at least!) that Etsy is pretty much a household name. Unfortunately, most Australians are still unaware that the wonderful world of Etsy exists.

Australia is home to a great wealth of creative and artistic talent. Australians are fans of traditional crafts, with interests as varied as spinning and carving with our many natural resources, to more cutting-edge fashion, illustration and graphic design. Most people have access to quality art and craft supply shops, community-based education programs and workshops, and for the more serious artists and designers, local markets, galleries and "handmade" or independent shops to retail their products.

Not only do we have a population of talented crafters, we also have a population that appreciates these products.

Lucky for the people of Australia, the Australian Street Team D.U.S.T (Down Under Street Team) is getting out there to spread the Etsy gospel. To those who haven't already discovered it, Etsy will be of great benefit to both buyers and sellers in Australia, providing an affordable, fun and easy way to shop and sell. There are regular meetings planned for the Street Team in most capital cities, where we will discuss and implement ideas to promote Etsy on a local and national level. I‘m sure in the coming months our hard work will start to show. The next meeting of the Sydney Street Team D.U.S.T will be held at howlindoggie.etsy.com’s studio in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone and checking out a fellow Etsian’s studio!

The Street Team has not only been a great way to help promote Etsy, it has also connected many talented people who would otherwise have been unlikely to meet. (That said, I managed to meet my boyfriend‘s "step-mum," mcart.etsy.com, on Etsy before meeting her in real life!). For me, meeting people has been one of the greatest results of my experience on Etsy. Meeting so many creative people in similar situations, facing the same hopes and challenges, has really helped me to stay motivated and inspired.

Etsy has also introduced me to many talented artists and designers across the globe. I have been inspired by and become involved in international projects I never would have been aware of if it wasn’t for this global porthole. I have found the Etsy community to be wonderfully diverse in personality, yet always friendly and supportive. I always love to read simonewalsh’s calm, balanced thoughts in the forums as well as cubistliterature’s obscure question threads and the responses they receive. For me, this is a great environment to build ideas and sell my products.

As an international seller, having the global exposure Etsy provides has been really beneficial, not to mention exciting! I have been able to connect with buyers in places I never imagined possible. My handbags now live happily in Singapore, the UK and several US cities, including New York and Los Angeles. For a young Sydney-based designer, this is more than I ever could have hoped for in my first year of business!

As much as I love selling on Etsy, I also love buying. Receiving packages which have traveled from the other side of the world is always so thrilling! I love the international stamps, individual packaging and little note from the seller that makes each purchase extra special.

Etsy has opened my eyes to so many possibilities, and with the help of the other wonderful Australian sellers on Etsy I would like to share Etsy with as many Australians as possible. I hope that they too will become part of this talented community and share the excitement of the wonderful world of Etsy.

See howlindoggie.etsy.com's blog post about the Down Under Etsy team's meetup.