I take my business very seriously. Recently, as many people in the Hand Made world have painfully become aware, Etsy has made some choices that in my opinion are less than “transparent”. They featured what I consider to be a re-seller on their front page. They continue to support this choice through what they tout as validation of their practices. It has created huge amount of publicity for an already fat market…however, what has this done to the people like myself that try to make a living actually hand making their goods?
My creative process is always growing, it has a life of it’s own. From pouring resin to hand rolling polymer clay beads…I am always improving. I take joy in each of my creations. One day, they will meet the world in all of their sparkly, shiny glory. Until then, they humbly sit in their bags, awaiting new homes. I do my level best to showcase each piece through various web mediums. Currently, my viewership is small. I’ve only had one sale on Etsy. I’ve had a few sales on Tophatter, and let me tell you, that process is far less than pleasant. I’m looking forward to sharing my creations with the world through a new marketplace, with a new community.
Bethan Davies of The Craft Star (http://thecraftstar.com) has begun the arduous work of building that new community. Mainly found on Facebook at the moment (facebook.com/thecraftstar), she took her dream from a shadowy vision to a community of over 11,000 Hand Made and Supply artisans. We eagerly await the launch of the site, soon to come we’re promised. Yes, there has been some delay in the much awaited launch…however, perfection is worth patience.
As soon as my shop is up and ready, I’ll be converting to sell solely on The Craft Star. Please join me in supporting handmade.
Much love,
Dasi
xoxo
Just wanted to know if you still feel the same about Craft Star amidst all of their well-publicized issues regarding security and their apparent lack of concern over it. It appears to be very easy to accidentally log into someone else’s account. TCS claims “we currently do not store vulnerable information” so there’s NO issue. I beg to differ as do many others who have run screaming from the site. Their total lack of concern and the fact that when the issue is brought up to them, they delete you and ban you from their FB page. Burying their heads in the sand isn’t going to fix their very serious security issues.
I actually do feel the same. Bethan is working very hard with her team to get the site up and running. In my opinion, there is no concern over security, just a lot of misplaced panic. I haven’t seen a lack of concern from Bethan at all. In fact, I’ve seen a very responsive team of people working their behinds off to make something totally unique actually come to fruition. Everything takes time. May I ask, are you registered as a seller with The Craft Star?
Just to give people an alternative place to sell is http://www.craftnfarm.com. It is a new site and is no resellers, only for people in the US to sell but buyers can be anywhere, has auctions, swaps, stores, and want ads. It includes farm fresh produce and a section for people that have farm pets for sale. Vintage is very much welcomed as well as the small cottage crafter. If you have an APO/FPO address (military) you can also join as a sellers. They are offering a FREE one month Premiun membership to all who join up within the next two-three weeks. Prices are not up front but are invoiced every thirty days.
People just want to not compete with resellers and decided to start their own web site to keep what little we have flowing back into our own pockets and NOT to some Asian cheap made mass produced pockets.
I’ll definitely check that out, thanks! I’m just getting back into actually working again after a LONG family hiatus. So glad to be back.