In the spirit of Thanksgiving and looking back at American history, we wanted to feature some buyers who have a real sense of perspective. The American Craft Council, while deeply informed by this history, has its finger on the pulse of the contemporary craft and folk art scene. We'd like to introduce Monica Hampton, Director of Education and Andrew Wagner, Editor-in-Chief, American Craft Magazine, American Craft Council.

Andrew and  I are colleagues at the The American Craft Council, a nonprofit educational organization that is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of contemporary American craft. When we were asked to be part of Etsy’s Featured Buyers series, we were excited because we explore — on a daily basis, through our magazine American Craft and through our roster of programs, symposia, and conferences — what American craft is today, who is doing it, why, and how.

When Mrs. Aileen Osborn Webb founded the The American Craft Council in 1943, craftsmen and people involved in the field recognized that they were — even then — in the midst of a revival in the interest in the crafts and in the increased activities in schools, art centers, exhibitions, in the hobby and do-it-yourself movement. When I read Mrs. Osborn Webb’s words, I feel as if I’m hearing about the revival of interest in the crafts today as witnessed by the amazing things that Andrew and I found on Etsy. Clearly, then as well as now, people are finding in craft a significant value for a wealth of reasons.

As Andrew and I sat down to select our favorite picks from the current roster of Etsy offerings, we tried to find objects that represented work from across all ranges of craft media; from metals, fiber & textiles to wood working, ceramics, and jewelry arts.  We came up with what we think is a fun group of things that speak to what the heart of American Craft is and can be: fun, fresh, expressive, simple, thoughtful and finished products that are all handmade.

It was hard work, culling through all the categories. So many of the pieces that we were drawn to are individual and unique and reflect an evolved process on the part of the maker. We find this very inspiring and exciting to see work that has a keen sense of functionality, but that also shows the relationship of the maker to their materials.

And very poignantly, Andrew and I felt that the objects we chose demonstrate a sense of the joy of making something by hand.

We hope you enjoy our picks, and we hope that you will support Etsy and the individual makers who choose to sell their work through Etsy by taking the BuyHandmade pledge.



This coffee table by NeilCollins is awesome. Great texture, super cool, inspired by architecture, funky looking, but it all comes together. We particularly love the collaboration aspect between a metal worker and the ceramic tile artist.



You can probably tell that the girl in the duo selected this one from the start, but my partner came around to this hair clip's beautiful simplicity. All of the pieces by gochemoche are thoughtful, finished and complete.



Sweet Pea in Red, indeed. We loved this pot and had to take a peek to see what other lovelies this maker had up their sleeve. We think KimWestad is one of our 'favorite sellers' for sure. As Andrew says "I'm always a fan of the clean look." I can just imagine picking it up — so tactile.



"I'm all for those" was the first thing Andrew said when we looked at these felted slippers. These are one of those things that we both had to admit to wanting for our very own. I'm such a fan of the german-esque felted slipper by superfay.



Teensy, they may be, these earrings are simple, but have a depth to them — maybe it's the color choice or just the palette in general...We both agree that what makes these work is that the maker is not trying to do too much with them. People often have such a hard time knowing when to stop. Not dandelionblu.


Solos' Murrine glass objects are definitely some of our favorites, but this red bowl might steal the show for us. We enjoyed the shape. It's non-typical, fun and it all works together well.


"Nice Stuff." We loved seeing larger furniture on Etsy — it was refreshing for us. This rocking chair by elemento, in particular was "totally rad" according to Andrew.



Ahh, the turquoise vase by redhotpottery. This item “had me at thumbnail image.” It just spoke to us both from the form to the color. We noticed, after gazing at it for a while, that there are lots of color variations even in that sea of blue.



We selected VeronicaButtons because we just loved this idea of someone still making buttons by hand. And ceramic buttons at that.



Delicious orangealicious ring by marstinia. So simple, such a great color.



We both dug this seller' Kelgwo's work so much...if pressed, we'd have to say that the white, 'open weave' dress was our favorite. Shape is simple, texture is not. The shape is also dependent on the texture.

And here it is — the open weave dress.



The Convexities of Life Ring by thenoisyplume. Simplicity principle. Simple but not to a fault.

Andrew Wagner is the editor-in-chief of American Craft magazine. Prior to coming to American Craft in late 2006, Wagner was the executive editor and founding/managing editor of Dwell magazine, pushing the boundaries of architecture and design journalism and helping the publication win the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) General Excellence Award in 2005.

Monica Hampton is the Director of Education for the American Craft Council. Prior to coming to the Council, Ms. Hampton worked in the field of design and design education at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Her background is in museum education, shaping educational opportunities and program partnerships in nontraditional learning environments. She has worked in a variety of cultural institutions including the Smithsonian Institution in both Washington, D.C. and in New York City to Sesame Workshop (formerly Children’s Television Workshop).