June has been buzzing with talk of crafty entrepreneurship. Where to begin? How about Sydney Stoyan's heart warming tale of her Etsy experience in the National Post? It is our favorite kind of story: buyer needs necklace, buyer finds Etsy, buyer meets seller, they start a friendship. Buyer goes on to form relationships with other sellers, and discovers the pleasure of the relationships and meaning that come from buying handmade. Describing her new found joy, she concludes by saying, "You simply cannot buy this kind of thing from Louis Vuitton." 

The Wall Street Journal published a piece recently describing how online selling has opened new doors for artists who want to make a living from their passions.  In a similar vein, Etsy features prominently in a cover story in the May issue of Entrepreneur's StartUps magazine. The article gives some good advice on pricing and marketing your creations online, as well as tips for real-world displays. It also provides insight on the relationship between art and commerce. The Boston Business Journal just ran a thoughtful story about the rise of Upcycling, a favorite practice of mine. The current issue of Crochet Today magazine has a great introductory piece about Etsy as well, featuring interviews with Matt and a few Etsy sellers. Express, an offshoot of the Washington Post, also ran a story detailing the challenges facing upstart handmade businesses. Steve Berger, CEO of the Craft & Hobby Association, was on ABC's Money Matters, talking about the recent boom in crafting (Americans spend $32 billion on craft supplies annually!). He spoke about what crafts are popular these days, and how the internet (and Etsy in particular) has influenced the recent growth and changed the crafting culture.

On the buyers' side of things, Etsy fan, Rob Walker, was interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, talking about his new book, Buying In (in which Etsy is mentioned). In the interview, he tells a short but amusing tale about a tie that he recently purchased on Etsy. Finally, the cultural media site artinfo.com recommends Etsy as a great place to begin collecting affordable art.

That's all for now, friends. Happy reading!