Etsy Art & Culture | Off Book | PBS Arts

America has a long tradition of handmade arts and crafts. In the manufacturing age, however, much of this work was overshadowed by the homogenizing force of retail culture. But the passion for handmade arts didn't disappear, and persisted through the years in local craft fairs. Now in the age of the internet, these local craft cultures and artists have found a unifying online community, Etsy, that provides a platform for communication and sales to appreciative fans and customers, as well as a medium to connect with each other and share ideas across the globe.

Featuring:

Vanessa Bertozzi, Director of Community & Education, Etsy
Alyssa Zygmunt, http://www.etsy.com/shop/BROOKLYNrehab
Allison Patrick, http://www.etsy.com/shop/zipper8lighting
Katherine Rasmussen, http://www.etsy.com/shop/reiter8

Music by:

Anitek: http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Anitek
Löhstana: http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Lohstana_(2)

Follow Off Book:

Twitter: @pbsoffbook
Tumblr: http://pbsarts.tumblr.com/

Produced by Kornhaber Brown: http://www.kornhaberbrown.com

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• etsy
• crafts
• crafting
• diy
• do it yourself
• homemade
• antiques
• craft fair
• handmade
• arts and crafts
• self made
• off book
• pbs arts
• pbs

[sweetieasylum]

I do wish etsy would stop publicly lying and deceiving people. While yes, the site contains many original artists and crafters selling handmade goods, etsy refuses to stop resellers and sweatshops from also selling wares on the website, even when given information proving the fact. They refuse to acknowledge when copyrighted material is being sold unless they are contacted by the owner of said copyright via *snail mail* and NOT email. If you speak out on etsy itself, you are muted.

[regretsy]

BUY HANDMADE!

[kbs1212]

Etsy doesn't care about handmade anymore, they only care about money. Money changes everything, and sadly all those imposters running the company are indirectly supporting sweatshops. Totally not that goody-goody image they put out to everyone.

[quizzicalsphinx]

Reseller.  Avoid.

[Hyperventilate]

@sweetieasylum Amen!

[Maynke]

Etsy makes 20 cents per listing, PER ITEM (so if your quantity is 100 of the same item, they make $20) + a small percentage of the final sale price. You have to relist after a few months if it has not sold, repaying the fee....Now imagine them getting rid of a reseller who is capable of listing 6,000 items, year after year. Now imagine that there are hundreds of resellers. Yeah. Exactly. BIG BUCKS LOST!!! They will never get rid of them!!

[Maynke]

@AriaStar: Hit the nail right on the head here. Few buyers want to take into consideration the time/costs of making something handmade, they just want it cheap. I hope to sell some of my stuff soon, but realize that to compete I have to write-off the time it takes to do it - which is why it will remain a hobby & not my gateway to fortune. Yeah, I could cut some of the details down, but I prefer quality over quantity - something I wonder if Etsy agrees with...

[AriaStar]

@2010mfluderx No, etsy loves resellers. Go check out the "Not remotely handmade" section of regretsy.com to see a bunch of resellers who've remained on the site untouched by etsy, making thousands upon thousands of sales. Flag them. See how your flag is ignored

[AriaStar]

@antfiresbetter It also results in buyers thinking real hand-crafters are charging too much. There is no way to hand-make an item for what sweatshops can, yet so many buyers expect us to work for sweatshop prices they see resellers selling for on etsy (while claiming to be hand-crafters).

[AriaStar]

Bull. Etsy loves the resellers who make them a lot of money. If you've got too few sales, Etsy will suspenr you for minor infractions (I violated a rule by posting my e-mail address that has my domain in it, which another Etsy staff member told me is okay, but still suspended). Yet resellers post their websites, in addition to RESELLING MASS-PRODUCED CRAP. Etsy is dishonest, and everyone who works there is a filthy rotten liar for claiming it's a place for "all things handmade."

[SherriSLC]

It's pretty strange that PBS filmed an Etsy commercial.