March is National Craft Month!

The hard work and dedication put forth by many Team Etsy Austin members in order to showcase Team wares at SXSW 2009 seemingly makes 'National Craft Month' just that much more apropos for our group! The members of our group, and all Etsy-ites for that matter, are linked by a love of all things hand-made; indeed, I'm sure that we would all agree that there is an immense satisfaction in procuring and producing items rendered by hand.

People have been 'crafting' since the dawn of humanity, but the identification of an actual 'arts and crafts movement' began in Europe and America during the Industrial Revolution, around 1860-1910. This movement was fueled by artists and craftspeople reacting against the 'soulless' mass production of the machine age and the eccentric and antiquated styles of Victorianism. Followers of the movement sought to emphasize the personal satisfaction gained from crafting and the better quality of goods produced by individuals rather than machines, and to eliminate humanity's subservience to machinery, both as worker and consumer. The aesthetic and principles of the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th century still holds true in the 21st century marketplace, as evidenced by the prodigious popularity of arts and crafts websites such as Etsy.

Below, I have featured a sample of some of the many arts and crafts, from a variety of disciplines, produced by our talented Team Etsy Austin members. Whether you are a crocheter, knitter, jeweler, artist, etc., I wish you successful crafting/arting and a very happy National Craft Month!!! ;-) xoxo, Holly@BowerbirdDesign

Information Source: Wikipedia

It's Official! Etsy Austin Street Team is Here!

I was recently invited to join an exciting new Street Team on Etsy called Etsy Austin. It was started by Beth Hempton of Snuggle Herd. It’s just in the beginning stages, but I’m super-excited to be a part of this team! If you live in or around the Austin area, and you sell on etsy, then convo Beth on Etsy or send her an e-mail.

Here’s what she sent me:

Hi there fellow Etsy Austinite!
Want to help promote fellow Austin artists while drawing positive attention to yourself? Want a group to bounce ideas off of & be inspired by? Want to meet some new artsy-fartsy friends? SO DO I!!! Let’s join forces.

I would like to start an Austin-only Etsy team. There are so many great artists & crafters here that I would love to meet. Please pass it on to any fellow Austin crafters you are in contact with. If you are interested in joining this brand-spankin’ new Etsy team, please reply.

Thanks for your time & I hope you’ll join me!
Best wishes,
Beth

–
Beth Hempton

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
———— The Snuggle Herd ————
.. handmade, upcycled t-shirt toys ..
…. & other earth-friendly kid stuff ….
—– www.snuggleherd.com ————
—– www.snuggleherd.etsy.com —–

So, after i joined our our Etsy Austin ning group, and became and Admin for it, I decided to create our logo and banner since i’m a graphic designer. Our REQUIRED Yahoo group will be our main form of communication. So be sure to sign up so you can be in the loop.

I love how it turned out!!! Simple, yet memorable. We also have an Etsy Austin Flickr Group. So if yuo wanna join us: Visit the temporary Team page, and scroll down to the bottom where it says Etsy Austin, and it’ll explain how to join! I am so excited to be a part of this team & I can’t wait to see what’s in store from the creatives living in & around the capitol of Texas!