EtsyPatrons Rock!

For a small Team, EtsyPatrons are an active bunch! Following is a recap of our current projects and activities:

Make Someone's Day! During MSD we encourage Etsians to Make Someone's Day by purchasing from a new seller and posting about it. We use a two pronged approach for this, our permanent "Five Sales or Less"thread in Promotions (here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5691842 ) where the items of shops that qualify are posted (we actually use this thread to find new shops for a number of our projects). Then we have the actual MSD thread where people are encouraged to talk about making someone's day, having their day made, what they've purchased, and general MSD experiences. Our Make Someone's Day Director is TheDaintyDragonfly.

Treasuries EtsyPatrons make awesome treasuries of new shops and help others to do the same in our ongoing Undiscovered Treasuries project. Once an EP treasury is up, we work to promote it and try to sell as many of the items as possible in an effort to gain visiblity and sales for new Etsy artists. Our Treasuries Director is VintageEmbellishment.

EP Blog If you're reading this, then you know our team blog is at http://etsypatrons.blogspot.com/ . We use our blog to promote whatever's going on with the team. Members are encouraged to come up with ideas and articles, and the blog does double duty as as our Team newsletter. We promote every new blog entry in the Etsy forums, we're on the Etsy Teams Blog Ring, and StumbleUpon.

Other Blogs We also blog for others, often in exchange for some kind of promotion for the team. We're currently on http://etsyaddicts.blogspot.com/ where we exchange an occasional article for a spot for our EP Mini. It's great exposure for a new shop, and we encourage our members to participate by writing an article about their favorite artists.

EtsyPatrons on Etsy We have a Team account on Etsy which you can see at http://etsypatrons.etsy.com/ . It lists all of our links and members, and we use it as a reference for potential members in addition to our team page. We select favorites from new sellers, which adds them to our EtsyMini. Our EtsyMini is then seen on our blog and across the web, on the blogs of our members as well as other Etsy themed sites.

EtsyPatrons Personal Shopper We have a new project just getting started called EtsyPatrons Personal Shopper. Some EP's are planning to help new Etsy buyers over the holidays who need help finding the perfect hardmade gift. Personal Shoppers will choose items based on the buyer's parameters and present them with a short list of items that meet their request. We're hoping to attract new buyers who might otherwise be overwhelmed by Etsy search. The service will be at no charge, and there will be no obligation to buy. We've had a ball testing this concept over the past couple of weeks and have discovered just how much fun it can be to be (and have!) a Personal Shopper!

Being a Patron Most Patrons choose a project that fits their idea of how best to help promote Etsy artists. Some members focus on artists with zero sales. Others like to help artists get "over the hump' of just a few sales. At least one member focuses on artists with special needs such as health issues. We all support each others projects where we can, and encourage members to come up with a project that they'd like to focus on. So if you're an Etsy buyer in search of a team, check out EtsyPatrons!

Come Help Us Make Someone's Day!

EP's Make Someone's Day is back! Please help us make the day of a new etsy seller by making a purchase and telling everyone about it here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5729860

We'd also love to hear from you if your day was made, or if you'd just like to participate by telling us about your first etsy sale!

If you'd like to find a new seller, check this EtsyPatrons thread of artists with five or less sales:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5691842

Vintage Embellishment's latest Undiscovered Treasury, pictured here, can be admired in its entirety at: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=17453

New Undiscovered Treasury

EP member bonghivestiti has created a fabulous new Undiscovered treasury entitled Undiscovered 11, The Mission Continues. It features work by Etsy artists who have yet to have their first sale.

Here's a peek, but to see the full treasury follow this link before it expires: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=58506

Our Favorites Get Great Press!

Our EtsyPatrons Mini, a small art gallery of our favorite new Etsy artists, has been popping up across the Web. We select pieces for our Mini from various sources including our Undiscovered Treasuries on Etsy and our "Five Sales or Less" thread in the Etsy Forums, here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5691842

Our lastest bit of exposure for these artists has come from one of our favorite Etsy shopping blogs, Etsy Addicts. The EA blog features one Etsy artist in each post, giving some hard-to-come-by exposure to great Etsy artists. In exchange for a write up of one of EP's favs (this time it's LotionsandPotions, http://lotionsandpotions.etsy.com/ ), our Mini also gets some front page exposure on this very popular Etsy shopping site.

So stop by, find some new favorites, and please leave a comment! http://etsyaddicts.blogspot.com/

Make Someone's Day!

"Remember YOUR first sale and how GREAT it felt? Chances are you did a victory dance and told your family or a close friend the great news. You were on a high the rest of the day! You have the power to help someone else feel that way...today! The challenge is this: Find a shop where someone has had no sales or a shop that has not had a sale in awhile. Buy an item you like and you've just made their day!"

These are the words that kicked off EtsyPatrons latest Make Someone's Day event here:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5718842&page=5

Conceived by our Team Member Phippsart, and kept alive by our Make Someone's Day Director TheDaintyDragonfly, Make Someone's Day is a chance to get a great handmade work and really have an impact on someone's fledgling business at the same time. Please come join us this weekend and help us Make Someone's Day!

Check out the accompanying Undiscovered Treasury titled "A Prince in A Flower Garden" by VintageEmbellishment here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=57508

Treasury of New Etsians

Check out this treasury of new artists by EP's Treasury Director, VintageEmbellishment. It's another gorgeous gallery of work that showcases the talents of Etsy's new artists, this one focusing on an amazing selection of sunsets and our feathered friends. Click here to see the full treasury before it expires!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=16593

And just in, another fabulous treasury called "All These and More" by MaisyH:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=16771

See them both and feel free to comment on the work of these great new Etsians!

Patrons New Member Treasuries

Thanks to our new Etsy Patrons member maisyh, we have two new treasuries on treasury west created from her list of shops that she feels have great work and need more exposure. The first is here: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=15223 , while the second is at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=15245 (created under her second shop name, mcnovelties).

And if you need a smile, take a look at a brand new Undiscovered treasury by Etsy Patrons Treasury Director VintageEmbellishment: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=15323

Please go check them out before they expire and enjoy the work of these wonderful artists!

One Patron's Introduction to Etsy

Like many new Etsians, I had been a buyer and seller on ebay for years when I came across Etsy in a newspaper article. I loved the concept immediately; typed in the url, and was impressed by the selection on the front page. I totally didn't get any of the "ways to shop", so I went straight to the search bar and typed in whatever it was I wanted at the time. The page appeared, lots of stuff completely unrelated to my original search, which I gaped at until I realized there were actually 992 such pages. I assumed I had done something wrong. Bewildered, I didn't buy anything. I didn't even sign up.

Not one to give up easily, I eventually found the forum and formed a connection to Etsy. I made my first purchase, and thankfully the seller was very patient as I navigated actually buying something off of Etsy for the first time. The piece turned out to be wonderful, and I bought a few more odds and ends as I poked around the site. I wanted to get more involved in the community as a buyer, but there didn't seem to be many opportunities for that. It finally occurred to me that in order to become more involved I would need to open a shop.

I got pushed into it one day when I searched in vain for an item I wanted. There weren't any, so I decided to try and make it myself. It came out pretty well, and a shop was born. But here's the thing: I am actually not all that interested in selling. The thrill for me is that someone actually likes something I made enough to pay money for it. I don't renew to get more visibility, and now that I've got a page or so of stuff listed I'm happy to have it just sit there while I'm off shopping. As a seller, I think I've spent under $10 on listing fees, including commissions on the few things I've sold.

I greatly respect the "serious" sellers, and many Patrons in fact are serious sellers, but I don't really want to be one. I am a Patron. I want to pour myself a glass of wine, admire interesting creative work, help a great undiscovered artist get some exposure, buy something occasionally and talk about it with a like-minded group.

I often wonder how many other sellers there are like me, really just buyers with a few listings who wanted to be more involved. And how many buyers are there who would love to "hang with the artists" but don't have the time or inclination to open a shop. If that sounds like you, now there's an alternative. Become a Patron. Pour yourself a glass of wine and join us in our pursuit of supporting Etsy Artists. It really is fun hanging with these talented artisans!

Undiscovered Animal Artists - New Treasury

As part of EP's Undiscovered Treasury Project, VintageEmbellishment (our new EP Treasury Director) has created a wonderful new treasury entitled "The Undiscovered Animals of Etsy". Here is a preview, but see the full treasury before it expires at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=14710

All of the artists are awaiting their first Etsy sale, so go have a look and if you see something you love... "Make Someone's Day"!