Wednesday, June 25, 2008

New Hippie Tams and Thoughts Post #1



Over the next few days I will present a small variety of tams I have listed recently...just to lighten up the posts with some pictures.
I have a million thoughts in my head these days. I always question myself if I should post them on my blog or just forget the whole blogging thing all together. Since I don't advertise my blog in the Etsy forums anymore, my readership seems to be far less now. This actually doesn't bother me since I have developed mixed feelings towards the whole Etsy community thing.
Etsy has changed since I had joined last year. It has grown, it has changed to a giant e-commerce site with big issues for its sellers. At least for the ones who really depend on selling and who have chosen crafting as their livlihood. Now more then ever an individual website, apart from any selling platform, is important to anyone who is serious about being an independent crafter/artist.
The sense of Etsy community has vanished for many of us, too, so we focus on our own little craft biz without bringing Etsy to our blogs. When I say we, then I mean those people who I had a good communication with over the 12 months on Etsy and who have disappeared from the forums.
I still sell there, I have good success with my listings, but it's due to my own efforts.
I don't have any negative feelings towards Etsy and its employees. I just don't have any illusions either. I had been on Ebay, loving it in 2002 when I started out selling, closing shops in 2007. It was not the same Ebay anymore.
I have closed my shop blumenkinder after I realized that it may be next to impossible to get any momentum going with yet another new little Etsy shop. Especially since kids clothes and hats are pretty much saturated in any venue. I am glad that I saw the signs of time and just included them in my main shop again. Sometimes patience is a virtue, sometimes waiting too long without any success is just plain stupid.

All tams are listed in my E-shop or website.

Thought #1:
Are you anxious about the down-spiraling US economy and up-spiraling consumer prices?
I have worried about it as I am effected each day, buying gas, food or supplies. For a while I had a fear of the unknown & uncontrollable in my heart. But while adapting it has also changed my consumer behavior a lot. I act more eco friendly now than before. Less driving, less buying without thinking, less wasting electricity and so on...this has actually kept our spending level at a reasonable amount. To me (German expat) it feels more and more like dealing with the European high-plateau energy prices now. Deja vu.
I got used to a convenient life-style here, but it's like they say you never forget how to ride a bike once you have mastered it once..
Been there, done that, I have survived on little money and will do so in the future. Energy is robbing the last resources of Mother Earth, if we want to use it, we will have to pay.

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