Tuesday, April 26, 2011

It's a Small World...

(do you have the awful song stuck in your head now???? Do ya, do ya, do ya???)

Sorry about that. Really, I didn't mean to do it, but I did it to myself so thought that I would share my pain with you. ;-)

I have to share with you a funny story - one of those "wow, that is really weird" kind of stories.

As many of you know, I work as a waitress. A couple of months ago, I started working at a breakfast bistro place here in town. I really like it a lot and it is the happiest I have been at a job in years. In the evenings, you will often find me in front of my computer plugging my shop online or on the couch in front of the tv, working on a new design or a special order.

A week or two ago, an old friend of mine (Tammy) contacted me and asked me to make my funky plaid bracelet in black, silver and gold. Of course I agreed - I love to make my designs in new color ways - so over the weekend, I worked it up and it turned out beautifully! I was thrilled with the end result. I finished it up last night, and let Tammy now that her piece was ready - and that I would be taking pictures of it today.

(Stick with me here - I promise that my apparent rambling will make sense by the end.)

This morning, I was getting ready for work - and decided to wear Tammy's piece in - because it was a really, really cool bracelet. Also - I will do this some times as a quality control measure - to make sure that my pieces will not fall apart easily. It also gives me a chance to look for any issues that may arise with it.

I went to work and had been there about 45 minutes, when 2 young ladies came in with a little girl. I greeted them at the door - and to my complete jaw-dropping astonishment, it was Tammy! Yes - the same Tammy that had ordered this bracelet. Yes - the same Tammy I had not seen in 20 years. Yes - that Tammy. She had no idea I worked there - this was simply a "we decided to go out for breakfast and we like to eat here" kind of thing. I am still in shock over this "small world" occurrence.

She was thrilled with the bracelet by the way - and took it home with her. Which means no pictures - but I will be making another one of these. =)

God works in mysterious ways.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Etsy, Etsy, Etsy...

*shakes head in sadness*

Etsy - I used to love you. Yes - I may not have ever had a ton of sales through you, but I did in fact love and respect you and all that you used to represent. I told so many people about you and the great and unique items that could be found on your site. I told strangers about you. I loved you and cared for you. I met new and wonderful people through you. Then like a romance going bad, you started making little changes that show me that the end of our love story is coming. And it makes me sad, very, very sad.

I have not given up on our love just yet. Oh no. But be aware that I see the signs coming. You can still change back into the site I used to love, although my hope diminishes by the day. You keep making changes that cause hundreds if not thousands of vendors and buyers beg you to change, and you quite simply, ignore them. I do not want you to become another EBay or Facebook because you are Etsy - and that is indeed a grand and glorious thing!

In the past six months, I have seen you change the thriving forum community on Etsy into a fond memory. Oh sure - they are still there - but they are a fragment of what the community once was because YOU disbanded them. You forced people to join teams for the same things that they used to do in the forums - only we reached a much larger audience through the forums. By doing this, you have made it much harder for customers to actually be able to find us. (Not that it was ever easy to find us through Etsy - but the old forums did make it easier.)

Then there was the whole privacy debacle that occurred recently. What would EVER possess you automatically "opt in" everyone so that their information would be shared on the site??? Why would you think that this would be a good thing? Why did you not notify everyone of this change ahead of time??? Whoever thought that this was a good decision, needs a serious time out in the corner to think about what he has done. I don't need another Facebook in my life - one is enough.

And then there are the front page listings I have seen of late. The one that really made me upset - and made me realize that my unique, handmade, original jewelry designs mean nothing to you - was the listing for "sawdust"(http://www.etsy.com/listing/68853679/throw-sawdust-instead-of-rose-petals?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_query=sawdust&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade). Yes - a listing for FRESH (because who wants stale) sawdust made it to the front page of Etsy. (You can throw it instead of rice at a wedding.) So for $2.99 + shipping and handling, you can own a 5x7" bag of sawdust. Now Etsy, I realize that I am MUCH more expensive than $2.99, but you know - I was really hurt by this betrayal. I put a lot more effort into my items than scooping some sawdust off the floor, so I do feel that I am worth more than $2.99 + s&h. And you felt that this was front page worthy??? Really. Well - that does make me feel pretty worthless to you - and makes me pretty darn angry.

I was thinking that maybe I would open another store called "Stuff in A Jar" or even "Sh*t in a Jar" and see what I could come up with that might be front page worthy. I have some dryer lint around here - I know I could get a jar or 2 of that pretty quickly. And I have some pretty unruly dust bunnies ("Just in time for Easter!") that I could wrangle up. (They are organic, free-range dust bunnies.) And I have plenty of dust around here as well. All of these would go nicely in a jar. I could even add glitter and sequins to them for that added touch.

Please Etsy, don't make me break up with you. I don't want too. Please don't make me. I want us to be happy and committed to each other and walk into the sunset hand-in-hand together. I want us to be "happily-ever-after." Please stop the suicidal mission that you seem to be on - one that is driving away vendors and buyers. We love what you once were...