It is a bit of utopia to meet up with other Etsy sellers to discuss this place we love. Many of us do this through our teams and Flickr groups, but occasionally we have the opportunity to meet face to face. On August 1st, seven of us from Central New York did just that. Organized by Jane Porter aka janetexcat at the studio she and her husband Rob maintain in Hamilton, NY, we sat drinking coffee and discussed everything from picking a catchy username and taking great pictures to the best practices of being seen in searches. Drawing from a 30-mile radius, those of us present immediately bonded over the challenges and triumphs of our Etsy shops.


We live in a very rural region making it logistically challenging to form a team, but the Porter Studio has become a hub of Etsy activity. Jane and Rob believe that “art education helps develop important processes of inquiry, creating, sharing, and community.” They are dedicated supporters of Etsy, wanting to “foster the individual’s creativity and help develop business and marketing skills for artists.” By opening their studio for these free discussions, they are doing just that — at a grassroots level in an area where many of us live miles apart.

This was the third in a series of informal Friday morning discussions designed to educate artists and artisans about the outlet Etsy gives us to sell outside the area. The first two focused on an introduction to selling and this last one was intended to be my story of finding success on Etsy when I could not find a market for my purses locally. As Dana aka danasaylordesigns said afterward, “we all learned something new and I hope to apply some of the tips to grow my business to full-time.”

We intend to keep the conversations, and coffee, flowing, as there are many other small businesses in the area that will benefit from finding an international market on Etsy. By gathering together, in person, we found a sisterhood in the grassroots mentality that is the heart of the Etsy philosophy.




Those of us present:
Betsy Busche Cross aka spongetta
Jane Porter aka janetexcat
Dana Saylor aka danasaylordesigns
Lisa Oristian aka kissingdog (Coming Soon)
Elizabeth Kinne aka rarefinn (Coming Soon)
Jeanne Angell aka lonesprucealpacas
Kitty Steward

Read more about what's going on with the Etsy in Action series.