Search results (title) for: "birthday"

Happy Birthday, Storque!

2008-09-02T12:11:00Z

Wow! Can you believe that it's already been a whole year since we welcomed Etsians to The Storque blog?

We've come a long way in the past year: celebrating the aesthetic, talent and lifestyle behind the handmade movement in both video and stories, cultivating an ethical dialogue on going green, producing how-tos for running your own business and being an indiepreneur, keeping track of our amazing Etsy Teams, crafty tutorials from the Etsy Labs, as well as reporting Etsy news ... the list goes on! We also want to extend a sincere thank you to all the authors and guest contributors who have shared their special stories with us in the past year.

In honor of our anniversary, this week we will be reposting some of the articles we feel represent the very best of The Storque, including many old favorites that you may not have seen. Prepare to get re-acquainted with The Storque — the best is yet to come!

Happy Birthday, Storque! And thanks for reading!

Check out some of our all-time favorite articles, which we're tagging "Best Of The Storque" this week in honor of the Storque's first birthday!

Handmade Kids: Birthday Parties

2008-08-02T23:06:00Z

If you are throwing a birthday party, make it eco-friendly and spark the creative artist in all of your guests — it's simple and fun! Creating an eco-friendly party will also give you the opportunity to teach your child about caring for the planet, too. Everyone wins: you get to help the environment and your pocketbook.

Invitations:
If you don't have time, there are lots of Etsy sellers that have great kids invitiations, like createdbykaren, BeMyGuestInvitations, and kkbabyboutique. People will appreciate the personal touch of a handcrafted invitation or thank you note. I certainly would!

This princess crown invitation is so precious; it has ribbons on either side to turn it into an actual crown.

Party Favors:
Party favors or goodie bags can be a hideous waste, often times loaded with plastic mass produced junk that will likely end up in the landfill. Why not give really thoughtful gifts that will last beyond the party? But, really, how is a busy working mom going to pull this off?

For the little guys, try the all-in-one handmade jumbo crayons that come in their own re-usable bags, sold by ButterflyBrain.

They are perfect for the kids' chubby little fingers.

Make small cloth bags, fused plastic bags (see the Etsy how-to) or buy other reusable bags from an Etsy seller. Kristysbagz and OleBagLady both have great cloth bags for boys and girls. Let the birthday boy or birthday girl get on Etsy and pick the fabric with you. You might want to monogram or screenprint the bag with each guests’ initials, or if you don't have time, find an Etsy seller to do it for you.

Bag by OleBagLady.

Fill your handmade goodie bag with a traditional game or one of these handmade items:

Race Car by WoodChesters.

Handmade wooden blocks, cars or trucks sold by sellers like McCoyToys, SantaWoodShop, and JimboToys.

Pirate Cookies by ASugarAffair.

Homemade cookies by sellers like mandalarain, whimsyandspice, or ASugarAffair.

Mini Coloring Book by lizphiz.

Coloring books by EyePopArt, DesignedByNatureShop, or lizphiz.

Wildflower Seed Card sold by TheBumbleBeeStudio.

Or how about a packet of seeds to take home and plant? Some Etsy sellers that sell seeds include, TheBumbleBeeStudio, Hippychic59, and greenthing.

Decorations:
Banners: Creating your own designs and themes is a fun way to spend quality time with your upcoming birthday boy or girl. First, let's look at birthday party banners. We love this banner by crafymommy who makes custom order banners so you can add your childs name and pick the colors. A beautiful handmade way to welcome your little guests.

Table: Instead of a tablecloth, find an old sheet and buy some non-toxic markers. When the kids arrive, get them to decorate the cloth with drawings or birthday messages to your child. It’s something you can use again for special occasions throughout the year.

If that doesn't work for you, check out chalkynoodles' oil cloth tablecloths that can be used over and over again. She has lots of patterned fabrics to choose from. Try using cloth napkins. They don’t have to match, and the odd ones can look more colorful and fun.

Pinatas: This is a favorite in our household and it never fails to be a crowd pleaser with the kids. Etsy has lots of sellers who make pinatas; Birchangel is just one who custom makes beautiful pinatas that can be used as decorations as well.

Activities:
I’ve hosted 16 birthday parties for my 3 kids! Only for the last one did I delve into the world of crafting. I set the theme of butterflies based on the only craft activity I could competently participate in — coffee filter butterflies.

Artwork by Caroline (daughter of Megsestoril)

We used coffee filters for the wings, connected by wooden clothes pins and pipe cleaners for the antennae. The children painted the wings and decorated them however they wanted. I’m still cleaning up the glitter five months later, but in the end we had a kitchen full of beautiful butterflies and one very happy birthday girl.

Registry:
Encourage your guests to buy handmade. Create a registry or wish list of eco-friendly gifts that your child would appreciate such as wood toys, handmade dolls, lunch boxes, klean kanteen bottles, etc.

Personalized Lunch Box by MommaOh.

For more eco-posts, check out our Earth Tones series. If you have any other ideas for crafty, eco-friendly birthday parties please add your ideas in the comments below!

Handmade Kids Series | Special Kids Showcase | Baby Gift Guide | Children Gift Guide

Old School Etsians: AlisonRose

2008-06-18T13:30:00Z

Alison and Nicolaus aka AlisonRose are Old School Etsians — one of the first shops on Etsy that is still active. They joined on June 19, 2005. We checked in to see how they're doing in honor of Etsy's 3rd Birthday.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
'Alison Rose' is made up of myself, Alison, and my boyfriend, Nicholas. We are a small Columbus-based company specializing in the design and creation of both one-of-a-kind and screen-printed handbags and T-shirts. 'Alison Rose' was born from the combination of both of our interests: fashion design and printmaking.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
We first heard of Etsy at Renegade Craft Fair in New York through Leah Kramer of Craftster.org fame. It's been really exciting to see how much it's grown since then!

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I consider what we were making in the beginning very similar to what we do now, handmade and hand-screened. We used to print the t-shirts in our living room and now we have an entire basement studio. The process has just evolved.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
I think we'll always be a part of Etsy.

What have you learned about selling?
It's important to have confidence in your work.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
A customer gallery might be a great way to make the customers a bigger part of the site. I think Etsy has evolved so much that I can't wait to see what it becomes in the future!

Are you an Old School Etsian? Leave your memories of the early days in the comments!

Old School Etsians: mmmfiber

2008-06-18T11:00:00Z

Etsians are what make our world go 'round over here at the Etsy Labs offices. The site has now been up for 3 years and we want to give a shout-out to some of our first sellers. mmmfiber is member number 113 (and the actual 1st Etsian is 96 since Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 and 1-92 were test data). She creates deliciously cozy woolen items.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
My name is Adrienne Shaffer, I live in beautiful Portland, OR and my company is Mmm…Fiber!
I make knit, crocheted and needle felted accessories such as scarves, scarflettes, brooches, hairpins, shawls and more. I love fun fibers and bright colors, which I think definitely comes through when you visit my shop.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I joined Etsy the day after it opened. I had begun selling scarflettes in an eBay store a few months before with some success, but felt as though my hard work was getting lost in the sea of inexpensive, mass-produced goods that are the staple there. Not having the capital to build my own website, finding Etsy, for me, was the perfect fit. Being one of the first sellers was fun. All of us were learning and growing together, trying to find our place in the crazy handmade world. I remember obsessively watching the “top sellers” and “top items” lists and was a little sad to see them go, but I think in the long run it was a good thing for me not to worry so much about rankings and just focus on my work. I do really hope that Pounce (or some other app) can feature a purely random items generator, as the “random” page is one of the things I miss the most about Version 1.

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I started out selling only basic crocheted scarflettes and they are still one of my top items, but have since branched out with many new scarf and scarflette designs, wraps, shawls and capelets, and also discovered a love for needle felting.

Do you have an anecdote that crystallizes how you feel about the Community on Etsy?
Not really an anecdote, but just a general observation about how really wonderful and amazing the Etsy community, and the general crafting community, has been. I’m a bit of a shy lass, and was very nervous about selling my creations and competing with other more established crafters. What I found was a warm and accepting extended family, best exemplified in our PDX Street Team. Our Etsy shops brought us together, but we have since forged a very strong bond of support, respect and the desire to help each other succeed. It’s incredible.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Etsy is still the perfect venue for someone like me. I have a full time job and not a lot of time to build, maintain and drive traffic to my own separate site. Etsy’s format has worked well for me and I do see myself sticking around for quite a while.

What have you learned about selling?
I’m not much for market research, trend watching and the like. I tend to make what I enjoy making and hope that others will like it as well. I think if you are confident in your work and believe in what you are doing, that will shine through and is something that buyers of handmade really look for.

Good customer service is the key. Take care of your customers with friendly communication, quality work, reliable shipping and good follow-up and they will keep coming back to you.

It is incredibly important to focus on the business and marketing side of the equation, which I know is hard for some people. Do one little thing to market your shop every day, even if it is something as simple as wearing one of your items to the grocery store or post office.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
When I opened my shop, I had no idea that Etsy would grow like it has! It’s been an incredible ride. The growing pains have been many, but so have the great leaps forward. I think the Admin team has risen to the challenge and are doing an awesome job taming the wild beast! I’m always amazed at the new things the engineers and others come up with, so I leave the vision and innovation in your capable hands. Everything I could ask for in the way of improvements has happened or is in the works, so, thanks!!

Read our other Old School Etsian pieces.
See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!

Etsy Find: Happy Birthday, Etsy!

2008-06-18T10:09:00Z

Today, June 18, 2008, marks Etsy's third birthday! What better way to celebrate our little milestone than this totally awesome birthday card by FranticMeerkat, featuring a ridiculous 19th century illustration of a giant ball with stars and a tiger wearing a brightly colored party hat? There are tons of handmade birthday greetings, decorations, party dresses, streamers, birthday candles and anything else you could need for one great birthday bash on Etsy, but this one takes the cake.

Happy Birthday, Etsy, and many more!

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See which other Etsians have birthdays today with the Birthdays site feature.

Old School Etsians: ChristineRenee

2008-06-17T12:10:00Z

Etsy turns 3 years old on June 18, 2008. We decided it was the perfect time to contact some of our "Elder Etsians" and pay them a little tribute. ChristineRenee of Chicago, Illinois joined Etsy on June 18, 2005, and clocks in as the fifth person to join Etsy. And as you can see if you click through and see her shop's url, her user id is number 100. Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 (1-92 were test data). It's your moment to shine, ChristineRenee!

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
My name is ChristineRenee and I make a hodge podge of stuff — mostly with recycled materials. But I am best known for my Zombie Escape Plan Journals, which were inspired by a crazy, late-night thread in the Etc. forum. (See, hanging out in the forums does pay off sometimes.) I also make buttons, magnets, pocket mirrors, patches... and whatever else pops into my head.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I remember signing up for Etsy on a whim, thinking it was just something fun to do that wasn't going to cost me anything (there weren't any fees back then!) and being surprised a few days later when someone actually bought one of my button sets. I was hooked!

It is amazing to think of how much Etsy has changed since then. I remember when there were only a few hundred items in each category and looking at each and every one of them in one evening was possible. (I dare anyone to try that now!)

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
When I started out on Etsy I was just making buttons. I had one 1-inch button machine and that was it. Now I have a whole arsenal of crafty machinery to make buttons, magnets and pocket mirrors in three different sizes and spiral-bound notebooks.

I've also started doing more gocco printing lately. I had my Print Gocco long before Etsy was born and hadn't used it in years. But all the great gocco art here inspired me to get back into it again. And I recently opened a second shop — ChristineRenee2 — for my original collage art.

I love that I can come up with an idea and test it out on Etsy to see if people like it before investing a lot of time into it. (I get A LOT of ideas, and believe me, they aren't all good!)

Do you have an anecdote that crystallizes how you think about the Community on Etsy?
Last year I had the opportunity to meet a lot of fellow Etsians at Renegade Chicago. And I realized that after admiring their work here and getting to know them in the forums I had built them up in my mind to be mini celebrities. So meeting them and putting faces with names was a major thrill. I was way more excited about meeting Stellaloella in person than I would have been to meet someone like Johnny Depp or Oprah.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Definitely! I can't imagine my life without Etsy. I even left my job in October 2006 thanks to Etsy. (My shop here isn't my sole means of support, but it was a major factor in my decision.)

Who knows what life will bring, but I see myself always having a shop here, even if it's just as a hobby.

Anyway, I HAVE to stick with it, because the longer I'm here, the cooler it is to say that I've been here since day one.

What have you learned about selling?
I have learned that repeat customers are golden and keeping them happy is priority number one. If you can do that, then you will build a steady customer base that will keep growing as they tell their friends about you.

But it won't happen overnight.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
I simply want Etsy to continue to grow and be successful without losing its soul.

momentofstars was the very first Etsian. You can read her Old School Etsian piece here.
See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!

Etsy Finds: Birthdays and Candles

2008-06-17T10:33:00Z

Birthday season is upon us here at Etsy.* If you know a lot of summer babies like me, you're going to need good little gifts for co-workers, friends, and even yourself. Since candles (along with bath stuff) seem to be the ultimate gift for women — from those you don't know that well to your BFF, may I suggest the humble tea light?

My problem with candles in the past is that I've been "afraid" to use them — like I'm wasting them. The beauty of tea lights is that if your gift recipient happens to be similarly afflicted and receives a huge pile of tea lights along with her holder, she'll feel a sense of abundance that frees her to let 'em burn!

I've recently discovered soy candles, which burn much longer than whatever the other kind are made out of, don't smoke, and even the unscented ones have a nice, warm, natural smell. Go ahead and get a pack of, like, 100 so there's plenty for you and your gift recipients. I've noticed that some candle makers are offering clear plastic holders, which I think is lovely!

*Etsy's 3 year anniversary is on June 18, 2007.

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Old School Etsians: momentofstars

2008-06-16T13:00:00Z

Etsy turns 3 years old on June 18, 2008. We decided it was the perfect time to contact some of our "Elder Etsians" and pay them a little tribute. momentofstars was the first official Etsian. She joined Etsy on June 18, 2005, and as you can see if you click through and see her shop's url, her user id is number 96. Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 (1-92 were test data). It's your moment to shine, momentofstars!

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
Hi, I'm Fawne DeRosia aka momentofstars and I'm an artist, wife, and mommy living in a small town in central Georgia. I spend most of my time taking care of my family and working at the local arts council. In my spare time I paint, draw, make linocuts and zines and just try to keep busy creatively. I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades. I'm always buying supplies for new things I want to learn, so I have unfinished projects stashed all over the place. I've tried needle felting, sewing, jewelry making, crochet, and knitting.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I remember first hearing about Etsy! I remember attending the first ICE event in Atlanta and loving every second of it. Etsy was on the give-away bag and I just had to know all about it. The next day I logged on and created my store. I made my first sale just days later.

[My studio's located in an almost finished guestroom in our basement. I've set up a small desk so my five year old can work beside me. Her name is Mazzy and she says she wants to be an artist when she grows up. ]

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I started out painting cute critters onto little wood plaques, then I moved on to little collages and oil paintings and now I'm working on making a lot of linocut prints. I think I'm much more confident in my style and ability and I hope it shows.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Definitely. Now that my daughter is in school, I'm working on making my Etsy shop better. Before I kept it casual and updated the products at random times. Nowadays I'm trying to update at least once a week and keeping track of my projects on my blog so customers can see what I'm working on at that time.

What have you learned about selling?
It's the little things that are important, like packaging and including a little thank you note with your sold items. People really appreciate that! Also, selling is a bit of a rollercoaster: sales can be up up up one week then down the next.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
Just keep on keeping on! I love seeing new features on Etsy and I especially love seeing new hearts for my shop (hint hint)!

See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!

News from the Etsy Labs: 6/16 Craft Night

2008-06-11T12:59:00Z

Have plans on Monday night? Well, you do now! Dust off your crafty pants and come join us for our weekly Craft Night at the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. Each craft night is also broadcast live in the Treehouse room of the Virtual Labs. All demos will be shown both in the Labs in Brooklyn and in the Treehouse online.

Craft Night occurs every Monday from 4-8pm at 325 Gold Street, 3rd floor in Brooklyn, New York. Each week the Etsy Labs organize a skill-sharing project. We provide supplies, tools, snacks, and know-how. Participants are also welcome to bring their own project to work on independently. Craft night is a time to make things, learn new skills, and hang out.

This week's craft night falls just two days before Etsy's third birthday. In honor of our big day, we will be making birthday cards and recycled envelopes during our Monday, June 16 craft night. We will demonstrate a sampling of tips and tricks on folding your own envelopes, Gocco printing, and collage techniques. Come craft with us and make cards for all the upcoming summer birthdays in your life. Or, get started on that birthday card line for your Etsy shop!

If you are joining us virtually for Craft Night this week and would like to craft along with us, you'll need a few supplies: paper, scissors, thread, pens, glue, and any other embellishments you would like to use.

Would you like to lead a craft night project? Send your ideas to labs@etsy.com with "Craft Night idea" as the subject line.

Have you participated in Craft Night? Share your photos with the Etsy Labs Show and Tell Flickr group!

See you Monday!

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Keep an eye on the Storque Events calendar for future updates from the Etsy Labs.

Want to learn more about the Labs? Check out our FAQs. Want to receive email updates? Join our Etsy Labs mailing list.

Etsy Finds: My Birthday Wish List

2008-05-21T09:01:00Z

Yesterday all the birthday presents (*cough* May26) I bought for myself came in the mail at once.

The bag I featured last week by moop, the feathered hairclip from FeatherWitch (see below), the bracelet by etcetrix I selfishly did not tell anyone about because I was afraid someone else would buy it first, the dresses by courtneycourtney I bought for the bun (because a well-dressed child is another gift I like to give myself).....and now I absolutely have birthday fever. Friends, I am just hungry. My eyes are gleaming with a shopper's lust and I am forwarding all my favorites to my friends and family. Here's what I'm forcing my loved ones to buy me this week:

funky texture cushion

As a pillow addict, I am always looking to add to my rotating gallery of sofa artwork. I think I saw this pillow (made from a recycled woven curtain) in the Treasury last week, and have been coveting it ever since. By jenhalldesigns, $35.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Mushroom folk (fly agaric toadstood) print

Botanical illustration-style print from my current Etsy art favorite. By Champignons, $20.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Free Bird

My coworker Michelle discovered FeatherWitch practically a year ago, but I've only just recently decided to hang feathers from my hair and ears and clothing — just in time for it to be totally inconvenient when carrying a four-month old around. But I'm willing to pry feathers from gooey little hands, for the sake of spring fashion. $30.

I just got my hairclip from FeatherWitch in the mail yesterday and it is a-mazing. Highly recommended!!

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Original Folk Art watercolor painting

This original watercolor comes already framed! By EmmyCat, $90.

This piece was suggested to me by heatherknitz and set me off on a hunt for more Pennsylvania Dutch-inspired finds, so look for more of that soon.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Gourd and Pine Needle Luminary/ Incense Holder

Something I never thought of before I found it (with the help of a suggestion from fairyfelts), beautiful gourd-meets-pine-needle vessels. By fallentreebaskets, $35.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Grow with Me Vintage Pillowcase Dress (Peacocks and Flowers) 18m-6yr

I learned to make this style of dress for my daughter, and then reality set in and I realized I probably would not have any extra time until she's 20. So...now I have my eye on a few made from vintage embroidered pillowcases by sewfinebabyboutique, $25.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

POD necklace - light blue and yellow

Beads and knots and bright colors. By moxiedesigns, $28.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

4 oz Sugar Scrub with Organic Sugar - You Choose Scent

You could use another good homemade sugar scrub. Trust me, you could. And RightAsRainCreations mixes them up in about one billion different scents, so you probably can find your favorite here. $6.50 (Yes, really).

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

Juliet- Cotton Dress Made to Order

As soon as I can successfully make it to the gym for three weeks straight without excuses, this dress is mine. By abibansaldesign, $96.

View item | View Shop | Add to Etsy Favorites

See who else has a birthday today!

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Etsy Gossip #5

2008-05-02T18:38:00Z

In pleasant news...More Birthdays! Happy bday to Jared yesterday. Happy Birthday, Adam, Julie and Rob White today!

Etsy HQ has a new pet: a huge octopus named Otis has unexpectedly taken over the Storque. This may sound ominous, but he's really quite cuddly.

Deelind, his former mama.

An undisclosed female Etsy admin was mistaken for a nun on the subway platform this morning.

We found out that Bre is a cyborg.

Honestly, this doesn't come as much of a surprise, considering his deep communicado with the internets.

Rob has been wearing plaid pants all week. All the guitar playing in Nashville has gone to his head... where the music trasformed into four bold colors, aligned to cross-cross each other in a perpendicular pattern, and then expressed theyselves on his trousers.

And finally, Vanessa is has another mysterius illness, and she fears she may be slowly going insane. (Thus this post.) However, her spirits were lifted by a surprise bridal shower/crafting night where we made cute pins and gocco thank you cards. (Thanks, friends!)

Happy Birthday, Jared!

2008-05-01T23:18:00Z

We didn't forget! We love you Jared! Happy May Day Birthday to our artful, elegant, warm, nature-loving, desert-dwelling, peaceful, Etsy Flash Guru! Jared, you are truly Albuquerque's most beautiful gem and we wish we saw more of you in Brooklyn!

Below are some Etsians who share Jared's Bday. I found these through the Birthday browser. (You can find it on the Buy page!)

Etsy Gossip #4

2008-04-14T19:51:00Z

325 Gold Street has been scandalized by some inappropriate action (as in "action") on the rooftop. It's not anyone from Etsy, even though the landlord thinks it is, because we are a clean-cut bunch and that's a fact.

Waffles made a return to the scene and then ran for the hills when outnumbered by Bre's pancakes.

Rumor has it that Yana Gorbulsky aka Supayana has promised to flash her skivvies at the Etsy Labs on April 19.

Sinohe, Etsy's new accountant and Bronx native, is a RED SOX FAN!!!

In other news, Rob got the shock of his 28 year old life! We gave him a very unique, handmade surprise: somethin' special in a box as well as your entire set of co-workers wearing masks of your face. 'Ello Creepy Happy Birthday.

Youtube | Blip.tv | Subscribe in iTunes

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Etsy Finds: Happy Birthday, Jack Kerouac

2008-03-12T11:44:00Z

March 12, 1922 - Jack Kerouac’s birthday. My mom tried hard to be Jack, or at least like Jack: hitching to the 500, smoking in black, devoting weeks to Stan Getz. This cool box by hadmatter captures some On the Road spirit for me: rail yards, maps and possibility.

Happy Birthday, Jack. You certainly impacted my life!

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Happy Birthday, But Once Every Four Years!

2008-02-29T01:49:00Z

Happy Birthday, leap year babies!

If you want to see which Etsians are celebrating a birthday today, check out this Etsy feature.

Happy February 29th to everyone!

Happy Birthday Etsy Labs!

2008-02-01T17:56:00Z

Today, the Etsy Labs turns 1 year old!!!!

In one year we have grown from a vision into a reality and feel so lucky to be able to help sellers make a living making things. Each of us that help make the Labs a reality came straight from "Etsy sellerland." We hope to continue to give back everything we learned by sharing advice for becoming a successful seller, and to also be a voice and advocate for seller needs and ideas! It has been a long road balancing a physical and virtual workspace, and we could have never done it without all of your help and participation throughout the past year.

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to come to the Labs to say hello or for a class, event, or workshop. An even bigger thank you to those of you that have stopped in and continue to participate in our online Virtual Labs workshops. We hope to see much more of you and are planning big things for the Virtual Labs in the coming year.

If you have any questions about Etsy Labs or are just curious and want to learn more, please swallow up this FAQ's about the Labs article!

xoxo,

Mary, Julie, Christine, Anda, Pete, Danielle, and Michelle

Etsy Pets: Puti

2007-10-04T07:06:00Z

We love Kirstenlovesdinner maybe even more than she loves her dinner! She and Puti, her adorable Etsy enthusiast dog, must be some of the biggest fans our Etsy Labs merch has seen this side of the moon! We are continually laughing and awwwwwwing over Puti who is making appearances all over our feedback appreciation photos.

These two look like they are joined at the hip...and we sure do love each new photo we get of this notorious Etsy partners in crime! Woof!

Rumor has it today is Kirstenlovesdinner's Birthday, so go wish her some birthday lovin!

Here's how you do a "customer appreciation photo": when you're leaving feedback on your transaction, you can browse for a jpg. So take a photo of your new item in action!

Happy Birthday Etsians!

2007-09-07T18:09:00Z

From this day forward, we want to help you celebrate one of the most important days of the year... your birthday! So we created a Happy Birthday Etsians page – out of warm and fuzzy thoughts – just for you. Feel free to help us celebrate an Etsian's birthday today by visiting their shop.

Interestingly, after graphing the birthdays for all registered Estians, we discovered that the most number of people share a birthday on February 14th, Valentine's Day (you can see the spike in the graph above). No wonder there's so much love at Etsy!

We can all thank a new member of our Visualization team, Drew Trujillo for this wonderful new application. Affectionately known as Dr. Woohoo by his friends and peers, Drew brings an interesting eye for pattern and complexity to Etsy. He's made some very interesting discoveries about the Etsy marketplace that we can't wait to share with you. In case you're curious, Drew's birthday is November 24, plenty of time to find him something nice from Etsy! ;)

Etsy's 2nd Birthday Party

2007-06-15T16:20:00Z

Thank you for coming to our Two Year anniversary party, live from the Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, New York.

We had a live streaming audio and webcam feed from one of the rooms hosted in our Workshop application. A great time was had by all.

We love you and happy birthday Etsy!