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Featured Etsy Team: Military Brats
Story by daniellexo, EtsyTeams, sarawearsskirts
Published on July 30, 2008 in Spotlight 		Photo by Anda and the Military Brats

We here at Etsy have been impressed by the activity of Teams — those pro-active groups of sellers who get together to brainstorm and act on marketing ideas for their shops. This week we'd like to introduce you to the Military Brats Etsy Team — a collection of Etsy sellers that share the unique background of growing up in a military family.  Together these sellers promote and support each other and Etsy. This Team will be one-year-old this week, and we want this article to be our Happy Birthday card to them.  Thank you Military Brats, for all you do! 


Family photograph: oceankisses sitting next to her Air Force Dad in 1960.

Can you tell us a bit about your Etsy Team? What's the glue that holds your Team together — location, craft, etc.?

The Military Brats Etsy Team membership is a group of individuals who had the unique childhood of growing up in a military family in which one or both parents were career Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, or Coast Guard.  We have a few members who are also military spouses.  We are a global Team, however most of our members are on the U.S. mainland.
   
Often thought of as a sub-culture, military children grew up in a completely different way than other kids. Our focus was on our military parent's career and their needs rather than our own.  Most of us moved every year or two, which was difficult for some and run-of-the-mill for others.  We’ve lived in foreign lands, learning to embrace other cultures, but also forming our deep love and patriotic passion for the U.S.A.     

No one really knows where or when the term Military Brat originated.  Most people who grew up military embrace the term, realizing that we were really just the opposite of a "brat." The people who understand us are the ones who experienced this way of life. Therefore, when I asked if there were any military brats on Etsy on the forums one day, I received an emotional “YES!”, and so a Team was born.     


Locobead's Mom and Dad dancing in 1952.

What does your Team do to help each other?
 
We keep a Team Forum going all of the time and we have a Google discussion site.  In those arenas, we are able to share our business ideas, promotion ideas, stories from our lives, get support from each other, learn new computer skills, discuss our art, and connect for Team activities.

 
RibbonalityBySushi's parents.

How does your Team promote Etsy and each other's shops?

Our Team promotes Etsy and one another's shops mostly through promotions and Team activities in the Etsy forums.  Some members are active at craft fairs, flea markets, other internet sites, blogs, and farmers markets.  We currently have an idea floating around to create a Team postcard that we can use to promote Etsy and our shops.  We are also checking into advertising in military newspapers.

Every month we promote a Team member by having a “Featured Brat Promotion”, in which the shop owner answers interview questions designed to help the rest of the Team get to know them.  Our Featured Brat is chosen alphabetically.  The interview is posted in the Etsy forums along with the featured artist’s Etsy shop address.  Our Team members visit the forum and help promote that artist’s crafts, usually by selecting one or two items that they love.  The Featured Brat is also promoted at one of our Team member’s blog sites and in a special Etsy Treasury.

We also promote one another by linking our Team member’s shop items to items in our own shop....kind of a “THIS would go great with THIS!.” Also, many of our members are great at getting Team Treasuries.
 
karencaseysmith's contribution to a past Military Brat dandelion promotion.

Tell us a bit about a current or past Team event or promotion.

Other than the obvious holidays we promote such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Christmas, we also use Veteran’s Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, and other notable military themed events to base our promotions and Team activities around.
    
For instance, April is the month of the Military Child. To celebrate, I encouraged our members to create a “dandelion themed craft” because the dandelion is the official flower of the military brat.  We posted our entries in the Etsy forums and invited all Etsy shop owners and visitors to vote for their favorite entry.
 


Terryann in Japan in 1963

What's your favorite part of the Team program?

My favorite part of Etsy Teams is being able to connect with like-minded Etsy shop owners to share ideas and help promote each other. More than half of all my shop sales have been to fellow Team members! To find our shops, put our Team tag in your Etsy Search Engine: Military Brat Team.
 
Does your team have an exciting promotion, event or announcement to share?

On August 1st, the Military Brats Etsy Team will be celebrating our one-year birthday on Etsy.  In preparation, we have done a Team birthday gift swap and we'll be meeting in an Etsy chat room on August 2nd to share what we received with the rest of the Team.  We will also be posting a special birthday promotion in the Etsy forums August 1-3 and there will be some great sales for the promotion.  On August 3rd, I will be announcing the theme for our September Team Challenge.

Thanks to Patti aka oceankisses who collected these answers and is one of the leaders of the Military Brats Etsy Team! You can find out more about joining their team by contacting oceankisses.

Check out the past Featured Etsy Teams here! 

Tags Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, EtsyTeams, Etsy Teams, Featured Team, Marines, Military Brats, Navy
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34 comments     Login to add your own!

July 30, 2008 at 5:14 p.m. haveart

Happy Birthday!

July 30, 2008 at 5:15 p.m. TristaBell

Hello Etsy! Happy Birthday to Military Brats Etsy Team:) I haven't been a member long, BUT I am very proud to belong to this group of wonderful people and artists. Congrats on being a featured team and the wonderful photos shared by the members.

From A Military brat,
Stephanie

July 30, 2008 at 5:17 p.m. Odannysgirl

Great insight into our bratty team. I love the photos submitted by the team! Thank you admin for pluggin' our brand spankin' new blog in the article also.

July 30, 2008 at 5:23 p.m. CreationsAnew

Wowza...fantastic. I love being a brat!

July 30, 2008 at 5:31 p.m. haveart

Hi Everyone -
I just emailed Oceankisses to learn more about joining the group.
Another Military Brat on Etsy!!! :)

July 30, 2008 at 5:35 p.m. badcatjewelry

Congratulations Brats! I'm a homefronter raising a brat who just stood on his bed and peed on it for fun.

July 30, 2008 at 5:36 p.m. AngeeArt

What a great article. Thanks to all involved for their hard work and considerate natures. I'm proud to be part of such a "real" group of people.

July 30, 2008 at 5:44 p.m. jessicajane

happy 1 yr birthday brats. haha, I am not a military brat, but a spouse, and will have some brats of my own someday!

July 30, 2008 at 6:19 p.m. bamdesigns

YAY Brats- happy 1st birthday

July 30, 2008 at 7:01 p.m. RibbonalityBySushi

Thank you Etsy for featuring our bratty team! Thanks for posting our brand spankin' new blog too! Hugs!

July 30, 2008 at 7:04 p.m. terryann

Happy Birthday! yippee!
Thanks so much for such a great article!

July 30, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. crazy4jewels

Congrats, military brats! I am raising two military brats of my own:)

July 30, 2008 at 7:38 p.m. 3tinyleopards

wow I did not know that April is the month of the military child, I love that. My husband is a Marine and we are raising 3 military brats of our own.
Love this article!!
Happy 1 Year on Etsy, and heres to many more successful years

July 30, 2008 at 9:36 p.m. lavenderlizard

Wow -- that year went by so quickly! I remember clearly when I came across Patti's (oceankisses) forum post about military brats. She and I connected so quickly because I live now near the AF base where she was born (also my father was stationed at that base 50 years ago). Then I found out that Ruth's (rhradcliffedesigns/elephantdreams) dad was my dad's commanding officer (cough) 35 years ago when we lived in Bolivia! What an incredibly small world!
I'm so happy to see the growth of our little team and here's to many more!
~Liz
Proud USAF Brat!

July 30, 2008 at 9:42 p.m. LocoBead

Happy Birthday, Brats!!! I wouldn't trade my experiences growing up all over the world for anything. It was one adventure after another.
-Judy
(another) Proud USAF Brat

July 30, 2008 at 10:10 p.m. Anhoki

I love this article. Thank you SO much Ocean... for adding me to the treasury. (((BRATS)))

July 30, 2008 at 10:35 p.m. karencaseysmith

Happy Birthday, Brats! This is a wonderful article, and a wonderful group! Thanks to all!

July 31, 2008 at 3:34 a.m. GypsyRabbit

Don't forget to include people who are currently serving and on Etsy! I know they're a minority, but they're certainly here (and I used to be one!).

July 31, 2008 at 5:12 a.m. ForYourJourney

Wonderful family photos! It brings back memories of my First Communion in Scotland while Dad was serving in the Navy.

Happy Birthday!

July 31, 2008 at 7:23 a.m. BeccasBeadCreations

Happy first birthday! I'm so excited to be a member of this team. Great Article!

July 31, 2008 at 8:31 a.m. PoohBearEWU

Happy first birthday brats!!! I'm loving being a part of the team. I love the family pictures. Great job!

July 31, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. sandcookies

Although not raised a MB myself - since I grew up in Hawaii all of my friends were:) Then I married someone in the military - so I guess my kids are MBs:) Thank you for sharing your family photos! They really touch anyone who has experienced the military life:)!!! Happy Birthday!

July 31, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. glassdancer

GO BRATS!!!!! Terry ann is adorable!!!

July 31, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. soapbuddy

Great job!

July 31, 2008 at 8:12 p.m. SuzeesJubileeZ

Wow Im a military brat or was one and never even knew about this team. I didn't know about the dandelion thing either. Thanks for reporting this.

July 31, 2008 at 9:29 p.m. ButterflyBrain

I'm so happy and proud to be a military brat! Wonderful article - thank you!

July 31, 2008 at 10:05 p.m. Oceankisses

Great birthday gift to our team, Etsy!
Thank you so much!

Aug. 1, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. caelum

Happy birthday Brats!

Aug. 4, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. oceanavesilks

Happy Birthday, Brats! Great article, oceankisses!

Aug. 4, 2008 at 3:13 p.m. MistyRidgeBeads

Hugs and Happy Birthday Brats!

Aug. 4, 2008 at 8:46 p.m. oldglorysoldier

Happy Birthday Brats! It is nice to see a group representing Military Brats!

*****Proud Army Brat and Spouse*****
Tina

Aug. 9, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. craftmanor

Hi!

Growing up a military brat myself, I am really glad to see this team. I never new it existed. And as a brat who spent most of her "career" growing up in other countries, I truly did experience "another culture" of living. And true to her word, the brat is a term of endearment to me, and we definitely were anything but brats! If any of you have not ever had the chance to watch the documentary "Brats - Our Journey Home", it is highly recommended. Happy Birthday to all!

Alice
another Air Force Brat :)

Aug. 9, 2008 at 5:12 p.m. raelenecrown1

congrats

April 5, 2009 at 12:17 a.m. p38flygirl

Hi,
I have been searching and reading about the different new shops..I am very new, with only 2 sales..I have a lot to learn about marketing and also finding my niche..I need to find what I need to be doing to become a better store.I am open for suggestions.thanks to all...Diane

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