Morna alerted me that one of my suzanis made it on Etsy Finds today. First time ever! Woo hoo!
Although vintage and supplies sellers pay the same amount to sell on Etsy, rarely do we get the attention the handmade sellers do. Even the search system defaults to handmade, excluding us from search results. The rationale was that the site was started to benefit artists and crafters and that vintage and supplies are pretty much just a nod of appreciation, categories that compliment the site but not the focus of the site.
This might seem reasonable, except that Etsy sees any alteration on an item as a handmade product. If you add a button to a thrift store jacket, you can list it as handmade. Plus, most people don't tag their things correctly, break all the rules of what is allowed and what isn't so that those of us who do follow the rules really end up at a disadvantage. It's frustrating.
Still, I appreciate being included in this selection and hope that it does send people on over to my store. Sales have been very slow so hopefully this will help a bit. The piece shown is a vintage suzani. Gorgeous hand stitching in the well recognized Uzbeki style in bright colors against a burgundy background. These embroideries are used on the walls and are made, even today, in towns all over Uzbekistan. My piece is probably from the 1970's.
Visit Etsy Finds to see the other wonderful work included today, too!
And, thanks, Morna, for the heads up!
I saw you in their finds this morning - congrats.
ReplyDeleteEven if it doesn't mean immediate sales - my shop got a big lift in the long run after getting into etsy finds nearly a year ago. Every little bit helps.