Estudio Martita: December Holiday Shows in San Francisco

CCCOE member Estudio Martita will be at several shows in December, just in time for your holiday shopping! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ event: FOGBELT STUDIO 17th annual Holiday Arts & Crafts Sale where: 2528 25th Avenue, between Ulloa & Vicente, San Francisco (its a house that is transformed into what looks like Santa's Workshop! when: December 4, Friday 12 noon - 8 pm December 5, Saturday 10 am - 6 pm December 6, Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm Lots of goodies to eat and door prizes to win! I will be one of 30 artists and craftspeople showing their work. I will not be there every day but my work will be displayed for all to see! Just ask Kathy Dybeck ( the owner and cash, check and credit card taking person) where to find my work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you can't make it to the Sunset District, then perhaps the Mission works better for you. Here's another option. event: Cruceros - arts bazaar at Studio 24 where: Studio 24 2857 24th Street @ Bryant San Francisco 415-826-8009 when: December 4, Friday 3 to 8pm December 5, Saturday 3 to 8pm December 6, Sunday 1 to 6pm Refreshments will be served: hot chocolate (YUMM!!!) and fresh empanadas. There will also be a craft making table set up and taught by a local artisan. A fabulous group of artists will be showing traditional and contemporary latino themed gift items to wow your loved ones with!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ weekend of December 12th and 13th event: The Under 100 'H' Sale where: Root Division Gallery 3175 17th Street (at S. Van Ness) San Francisco, CA 94110 415.863.766 www.rootdivision.org when: December 12th 7 to 10pm Unique drawings, paintings & photographs, handmade jewelry, fairtrade clothing, knitwear made from recycled yarn, and much more! And here's the best part: no one item will be over $100. We're taking the heartache out of holiday gift giving. Root Division says,"So come by, grab a cheap cocktail, listen to some beats, and be inspired to buy yourself something! And, if you really want to, we'll let you take care of everyone else on that list too." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ weekend of December 12th and 13th event: ART FOR THE HOLIDAYS - from the wonderful artists at 1890 Bryant St. where: 1890 Bryant St. @ Mariposa San Francisco CA for more info. contact: estudiomartita@gmail.com when: Sunday December 13th 2 to 7pm Small paintings, calendars, fabulous jewelry, home accessories, pottery - work that appeals to everyone from hipster to Granny or the hipster Granny! Lots of treaties to snack on and some hot cider to warm your soul. We have it all! Come by, meet and greet the artists and do your holiday shopping! We'd love to have you there!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ weekend of December 19th and 20th event: HOLIDAZE at the SF MOMA Artist's Gallery: celebrating Bay Area Arts and Crafts where: SF MOMA Artist's Gallery Building A Fort Mason Center San Francisco CA more info contact Camille Verboort: cverboort@sfmoma.org when: December 19th, Saturday, 11:30 to 5:30pm Camille Verboort from the SFMOMA Museum Store states: This holiday season the Artist's Gallery will feature affordable art by more than a dozen artists as well as a fair showcasing high-quality crafts from a variety of local artisans. Support your local crafts people!" parking is available ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So that's it for now. Hope you can stop by one of these dates to view my work and do some holiday gift shopping. REMEMBER: buy Indie, buy local and support your local artisans!!

DIY Holiday Gift Class in West Los Angeles

CCCOE member Corrie Sullivan is teaching two holiday gift classes in December - see her flyer and announcement below! There is a class on December 4th and one on December 12. Please contact Corrie with any questions. The Holidays are fast apporaching and I hope this year to support all things handmade! I encourage you to buy handmade and make your own gifts this year. Everyone loves to receive something original and handmade so I am teaching a DIY Holiday Gift Class. It will take place at my home in West Los Angeles. December 12th from 10am until 1pm. $40 for the class (this includes enough materials to make at least 2 gifts and complete instructions and tutorial). The class has a fun relaxed atmosphere where you get to meet new people and share ideas and inspiration-please feel free to invite your friends. RSVP to corriesullivan[at!]gmail.com to reserve your spot-$20 deposit needed in advance to secure your spot (paypal: corriesullivan[at!]o2.ie or check). You will learn how to make 3 different gifts. Make one gift of your choice during the class and take home materials to make the other gifts at home. See below for photos of gift ideas. 1. 2010 Calendar - applique letters 2. Rosettes 3. ric- rac picture frame!

Hip Handmaids Show December 5th

CCCOE members Muse Silk Paintings, Amy May Design, and Penrose Designs are selling at the Hip Handmaids Show in Burbank on Debember 5th. Show hours are 9am - 6pm at the Little White Chapel, 1711 N. Avon St, Burbank, CA 91505. Visit the Hip Handmaids website for more info.

Ocean Avenue Silks - Orange County Museum of Art and Beyond!

Becke of Ocean Avenue Silks was kind enough to share her story of having her scarves featured at the Orange County Museum of Art. Thank you Becke for sharing your inspirational story with us! The Orange County Museum of Art wrapped up their exhibit, Illuminations, on September 13th. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to have my Georgia O'Keeffe inspired scarves in their gift shop during the exhibit. I really appreciate all the support from my team members that walked me through the design process and all the little details that went into getting my scarves prepared for the museum gift shop. During the four months of the exhibit, there were two CCCOE meet ups, and it was so much fun to get together with my team mates! The first one included Marilyn of CigarBoxBeads, Nan of NansGlam, and Lauren of TheChainMailleLady. I had already been down to the museum a few times without incident, but with Marilyn in the car, we did get lost on the way there and had trouble getting on the freeway on the way back! (We have been lost together a few times now!) The second get together included Elsiee from Namaste Designs, Rose of MyFriendRoze, Amanda of AmandaKLockrowJewels, Jullee of SurfandSand, and Linda of Whimsicals. Both meet ups included a great lunch at The Cheesecake Factory after viewing the exhibit. Thank you all for sharing this experience with me! Right after the exhibit ended, I received an email from the gift shop manager that they only had 5 scarves left (of about 54), and complimenting me on the quality of my scarves, and my professionalism. And...(drum roll please!) they asked me to create a few new scarves for their upcoming exhibit of Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park Series! As the OCMA exhibit was ending, I was contacted by The Whitney Museum of Modern American Art in New York City(!!!) about carrying one of my scarves in their gift shop during their O'Keeffe exhibit, Abstractions that began on September 17th. On a funny note, Marguerite of BellaBeadsOriginals convo'd me about the upcoming Whitney exhibit, and I was looking for someone to contact, but the very next day they contacted me!!! The Whitney started with only 6 scarves, but I thought sales were going well when a woman I follow on Twitter posted that she had purchased one of them! They ordered another dozen a few weeks ago, and I am holding another dozen to be shipped sometime this month. This has really been an amazing experience for me, and I feel lucky to have the support of the CCCOE team behind me. When I first started selling my scarves online, I read an article about promoting that said it was as important to promote others as it is to promote yourself. Another team member told me I would succeed because I had "good karma" from trying to help others succeed, which I just love and really took to heart in how I run my business. I hope I can give back as much as the team members have given me!

Congratulations September Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to our challenge winners for September! The theme was "Halloween". FIRST PLACE: Halloween Spirited Sweater Cozy by Annie K Designs SECOND PLACE: Blood Orange Vintage Emerald Cut Crystal Necklace by Falling Star Lane THIRD PLACE - TIE: Halloween Spiders Lair Necklace by Whimsicals THIRD PLACE - TIE: Chocolate is the Best Treat Ever - theobromine molecule necklace by Molecular Muse

Call for Vendors - Red Rabbit Workshop

CCCOE memberfloresflorestanis is helping to organize two Southern California shows in December: We are holding our second annual holiday show at Descanso Gardens on Sunday December 6th and our first Orange County show the following weekend on Sunday December 13th in Irvine. Each show will feature 30+ vendors selling all sorts of wonderful handmade items. Plus we will be having lots of fun free workshops all day including upcycled soda can pins and broken glass ornaments. Tables are $75 plus a commission on sales (15% for the Descanso Gardens show and 10% for the OC show.) We always have a wonderful mix of media and a lovely, nice, nice group of vendors. We've had lots of Etsy sellers at our two previous shows and would love to have even more! We've still got tables left! Here's our website for more details and for applications: http://redrabbitworkshop.com

October Member Announcements

LuckyZelda will be at the 28th Annual Village Venture Arts & Crafts Faire. Satuday, October 24th 9am-5pm Rain or Shine 205 Yale Ave., Claremont CA 91711 www.claremontchamber.org From Denise of InMyBlueRoom: Hello friends as some of you know, my Mom is a Breast Cancer survivor. After losing my Dad when he was only 49 years old to lung cancer, I was devastated to find my Mom might meet the same fate. Luckily, since there is so much research and support out there, my Mom has survived with only a partial mastectomy, and is cancer free after 3 years. She truly inspired my love of crafting, and this is just a little way I have to give back. Since October is breast cancer awareness month I will be having a fundraiser in my store (Pavilions Market). I usually make and sell all of my own items at little shop we set up in the store, but I was hoping some of my friends here at CCCOE would be willing to help and donate extra items to make it extra special! Here is how it works: -Convo me with a link to the item you will be donating and what the retail is, for when we sell it at the boutique -I will purchase the item from your shop and can pay up to $3.00 for shipping, please adjust your listing accordingly -Please include when you mail the item any business cards you want us to put at the table to promote your shop -If you would like a tax receipt for your donation I would be happy to mail you one upon request after the boutique -I promise to leave positive feedback for all donations -Items not sold will be held for next years fundraiser. DEADLINE TO RECEIVE ITEMS OCTOBER 29TH, Boutique will be over Halloween weekend. Probably too late for Halloween related items.....Pink themed, Fall themed, even Christmas stuff is all welcome If you have questions feel free to convo me, and thank you Denise inmyblueroom.etsy.com PrairiePrimitives will have a booth at several shows in October! First is the Lodi Street Faire on Sunday, Oct. 4th. Our booth is #151 and will be on School Street, probably near the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (yumm!!). We have a white canopy, and we often use a VERY large American flag as a wall in the booth, so you can look for that! The official hours of this event are 8am to 4pm, however it's a street faire with free admission, so if you've got insomnia (or are just an early riser), you can shop earlier! We should be there by 6:30am at the latest. :-) Next is a Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 17th at the Green Acres Landscape Nursery in Roseville. The address is 901 Galleria Blvd., and is near the mall (they're across from the huge electric substation, or you can look for their sign, since the business is set well back from the road!). The hours are 10am to 5pm, and you can enjoy live music, free BBQ, pumpkin decorating, and apple tasting, in addition to the art show! The very next day, Sunday, Oct. 18th, I will be at the California Country Folk Art Fair in Los Altos. This event is held at 51 South San Antonio Road, with convenient access from both 101 and 280 (it's in the same area as the police station, library, etc.). Hours are 9am to 4pm and there is no admission fee. Steph from heartsandlaserbeams is the indie craft blogger for the oc weekly and always accepting interest emails for future gettin' made features - here's a link to my posts so folks can see what they're like: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/gettin_made/ thanks so much! folks that would like to be featured should email me at heartsandlaserbeams@gmail.com Howl At The Moon Gifts wants to wish all of you a very special Happy "HOWLoween" in October. Please pass the word that Howl At The Moon Gifts is featuring a few unique treats for your special tricksters and ghouls trekking out for under the moon on All Hallows Night. "Trick or Treat?" Well...I decided to be proactive to avoid being the victim of any unexpected tricks this "HOWLoween" I am announcing that all Howl At Moon Gifts customers are going to be given a very special treat. In the month of October, all Howl At The Moon Gifts orders with merchandise totals equal to or greater than $25.00 will receive a 100% refund of their paid Shipping charges upon their receipt of their shipment and posting of feedback on their purchase. Limit one refund per each order and merchandise totals for multiple orders can not be combined to meet the $25.00 minimum to qualify for refund. howlatthemoongifts.etsy.com

Pacific Coast Fog Fest in Pacifica

Alyssa of Allie's Adornments and Dyanne of 2Dy4 will be vending at Fogfest next weekend. If you are in the area stop by and support them! 23rd Annual Pacific Coast Fog Fest in Pacifica Saturday, September 26, 2009 - Sunday, September 27, 2009 (10am - 6pm) Palmetto Ave Pacifica - Palmetto Ave at Santa Maria, Pacifica, CA, 94044

Congratulations August Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to our winners in the August "Back to School" challenge! 1st place: BFF Friendship Necklaces, Science Style by molecularmuse 2nd place: Quilted Pencil or Art Roll by spacestitch 3rd place: Custom Computer Sleeve by HaydenJ Honorable Mention: Chalkboard Button Badge Set by Knittergirl All of the entries were fabulous - thanks to all who participated in the challenge!

News from Mama's Magic Studio

I'm delighted to announce that Mama's Magic Studio's handmade knitting needles were featured in the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits magazine. For pictures and more info, you can see my blog post here.

Congratulations July Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to the July "California Girls" challenge winners! FIRST PLACE Cali Couture Brass Bracelet by nansglam SECOND PLACE - TIE Le Blanc Earrings by distinque Sea Bliss Twisted Sterling and Stone Jasper Pendant and Moonstone Accents by go2girl THIRD PLACE Marine Street Beach Soap by PacificParadiseSoap

August Member Announcements

Open House for Penrose Designs on Saturdays August 1, 8 and 15, 2009 - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Mission Viejo. Contact tmpenrose for the address. To see what will be for sale, check out my shop. Everyone receives a free gift, just for showing up. There is also a drawing to win an hour massage at BodyPro Chiropractic. Each item purchased gives you an entry into the drawing. Drawing ends August 15th at 5:00 p.m. The lucky winner will be notified by e-mail and/or phone call. We look forward to seeing you there! Cathi of beadbrains.etsy.com shares with us: I'm going to be artist in residence at the cool craft facility, Hands on 3rd, in Los Angeles. I'll have my torch on most days so I'll be in the window making beads as well as making jewelry and doing macramé and basically anything I feel like doing. I'll also have some classes scheduled in Precious Metal Clay, Glass Bead Making and Macramé. We're having a reception on August 7th, from 6:30-9:00pm. Come on down. I start Saturday, Augst 1st. Check out Hands on 3rd for class info and thanks for your time! New cccoe member Matthew Ronan just built an etsy page with a beautiful assortment of hand made, one of a kind, wood burnt driftwood items. See some of his USB flash drives, jewelry,and home decor items on the internet at MatthewRonan.etsy.com or in person at the Indie Mart in San Francisco on August 16th!! From Terry at Howl At The Moon Gifts: During the month of August, I am going to be designing a new line of steel rings, pendants, and bracelets for ladies and men. This is becoming very big in the EU because there are so many innovative things you can do with steel, which you can not do with other precious metals. The luster lasts a lifetime, etching is crystal clear, you can colorize steel, and the raw material costs are significantly lower which can be passed on to my clientele. I have received a lot of email about this new craze and I have some great ideas up my sleeve that you might not ever have seen so check out Howl At The Moon Gifts in late August for the unveiling of a new line of steel jewelry. And do not fret, I will also do a significant amount of casting in the same timeframe to replenish and/or replace many of my silver creations that I sold this last year. CCCOE member corriesullivan shares with us: "'m excited to let you know about the first embroidery classes I will be teaching on August 8th and August 15th. These classes are open to everyone from all skill levels and will be fun and interactive. I have a degree in textile design and embroidery and look forward to sharing with you my love and passion for textile design." See her flyer below for details. peacefu1 and ShiningLightJewelry are participating in the Folsom Thursday Night Market in Folsom, CA. The market is in old town Folsom on Sutter Street. Look for them in the center of the street between Decatur and Wool St. on August 13th. InMyBlueRoom is having a meet up in Orange County area on 8/12/09. You are all invited to come make mini books which we will resell at my store (my grocery store that is!) and donate all proceeds to MDA. We will snack on goodies and it's all free. CCCOE member can even add their moo tags or business cards to their books for a little extra promo. Please see my website for details. Thanks to everyone for sharing your news with us! CCCOE members who would like their events listed in next month's member announcements please convo your information to shellmitchell. September announcements will be posted during the week after Labor Day.

Music Guild Donations Info

Dear CCCOE members, I was able to get a hold of The Music Guild regarding their donation protocol. Since we would like to donate as the California Crafters Club of Etsy, we can send one check on our behalf in honor of Robert. With your permission, I will enclose your name so you can be recognized for your donation. If you would like a receipt for a tax deduction, please also give your address so you can be mailed a receipt. All of this information will be enclosed with the check. If you would like to be a part of the CCCOE donation pool in honor of Robert, please send PayPal money to bdurkin[at]linfield[dot]edu by Aug 4th (one week). I will then collect the money and names, and mail one check to the Guild. Any fees charge by PayPal I will compensate for. Feel free to contact me with questions. Thanks, Brie http://www.beegrl88.etsy.com

CCCOE hits the front page!

In case you missed it this morning here is the beautiful Etsy curated front page featuring all items from our members! Congrats to all who were featured!

Summer of Independence Challenge Winners!

Congratulations to our "Summer of Independence" challenge winners! First Place TIE: Fireworks in the Night Sky by Tresijas Soldier/Officer Silhouette Fused Glass Hanging Tile by Navarro Creations Second Place: Patriotic Owl Ipod Touch Case by EvelynX Third Place TIE: Sunny Skies Ahead Necklace by Sora Designs Old Fashioned Fourth of July Hoot Owl by buttercupbloom

July Member Announcements

Raven Hanna, aka molecularmuse, will be selling her molecule jewelry at the Crucible's Fire Arts Festival in Oakland on Friday July 17. For more information: click here peacefu1 and ShiningLightJewelry are participating in the Folsom Thursday Night Market in Folsom, CA. The market is in old town Folsom on Sutter Street. Look for them in the center of the street between Decatur and Wool St. June 18th, June 25th, July 9th, July 16th, July 30th, and August 13th. CCCOE member floresflorestanis is helping to put together the Red Rabbit Arts & Crafts Market which will be held Sunday July 19th at the Los Angeles Arboretum. This show will feature all handmade items by artists, craftspeople, crafters and designers. Visit redrabbitworkshop.comfor more info. TheChainmailleLady will be at PASADENA BEAD & DESIGN SHOW July 30th - August 2nd The Pasadena Hilton 168 S. Los Robles Ave. Pasadena California In addition to selling her work she will also be teaching classes in chainmaille. Please visit the website for more information. CCCOE member corriesullivanshares with us: "'m excited to let you know about the first embroidery classes I will be teaching on August 8th and August 15th. These classes are open to everyone from all skill levels and will be fun and interactive. I have a degree in textile design and embroidery and look forward to sharing with you my love and passion for textile design." See her flyer below for details. CCCOE members who would like their events listed in next month's member announcements please convo your information to shellmitchell.

Family Celebrations

Congratulations to our May "Family Celebrations" challenge winners! 1st place: Wedding Vase by Maidofclay 2nd place: Neptunes Bridal Cuff by nansglam 3rd place (tie): The SLAVKO Permanent Peace Crane by localcolorist 3rd place (tie): Get Organized Daddy-o by Tresijas There is still time to get your entry for the June "Summer of Independence" challenge. Post your entry here by midnight June 30th. Good luck!

June Member Announcements

peacefu1 and ShiningLightJewelry are participating in the Folsom Thursday Night Market in Folsom, CA. The market is in old town Folsom on Sutter Street. Look for them in the center of the street between Decatur and Wool St. June 18th, June 25th, July 9th, July 16th, July 30th, and August 13th. TheChainmailleLady will be at two shows July and August: INT'L GEM & JEWELRY SHOW July 3, 4, 5, 2009 Pasadena Convention Center (Main Building) 300 East Green Street Pasadena, California Visit the website for more information. PASADENA BEAD & DESIGN SHOW July 30th - August 2nd The Pasadena Hilton 168 S. Los Robles Ave. Pasadena California In addition to selling her work she will also be teaching classes in chainmaille. Please visit the website for more information. ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART Ocean Avenue Silks has created an exclusive line of scarves for the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the Orange County Museum of Art. For the duration of the exhibit they are available only at the museum and their online gift shop. The exhibit is called Illuminations and runs through September 6th. Information on the exhibit can be found on the museum's website. CCCOE member corriesullivanshares with us: "'m excited to let you know about the first embroidery classes I will be teaching on August 8th and August 15th. These classes are open to everyone from all skill levels and will be fun and interactive. I have a degree in textile design and embroidery and look forward to sharing with you my love and passion for textile design." See her flyer below for details. CCCOE member floresflorestanis is helping to put together the Red Rabbit Arts & Crafts Market which will be held Sunday July 19th at the Los Angeles Arboretum. This show will feature all handmade items by artists, craftspeople, crafters and designers. Visit redrabbitworkshop.comfor more info. CCCOE members who would like their events listed in next month's member announcements please convo your information to shellmitchell.

San Francisco Meeting with Etsy's Maria (by Savor)

Savor graciously allowed CCCOE to post her notes from the June 9 meeting with Etsy's CEO: Thanks to a heads-up from Brenda at Phydeaux Designs we got news of an Etsy meetup June 9 in San Francisco! I left work an hour early and Mike and I headed over to a very cool cafe (Crossroads) next to the Embarcadero — it had a nice open space, perfect for the large gathering. It had a great coffee and artisan tea menu, lot of food goodies, and Etsy graciously picked up the tab. There wasn’t a lot of other traffic, so we were not interrupted and everything ran quite smoothly. The meeting was very organized, but not stiff or stifling. Each speaker introduced themselves first — I know Maria (CEO), Chad (CTO), Carrington (Finance Guy) and Sara (VP of Products) were there, and Jesse, the business development lead*. It was a fairly large group so I didn’t always catch everything that was said. We also heard briefly from CB, the “database guy” who actually lives here in Marin. Everyone did a lovely job, Maria really shone. She’s got a natural talent for running meetings, that’s for sure! She made a point to talk about not only handmade, but hand-selected — including the suppliers and vintage sellers in her discussions. She said (I’m paraphrasing) that Etsy is definitely a global business, with 159 countries represented. A quarter of the business generated with at least one non-US party — and I have found that statistic matches my own store, of having approximately 25% of my sales to non-US customers. At the top of their priority list is the buyer’s experience. We all know we want certain seller tools, and Ian at Etsy Hacks has sure done a fantastic job of picking up where Etsy’s lagging. But Maria stressed that we need to have the buyer experience as fluid as possible before we get our fun toys. I can agree with that (but I will not give up my hacks!!). Related to this is continual work on the search results, and for optimizing Etsy itself for searches off of Etsy (namely, Google). Along those lines are features like “related searches” and spellcheck, which I think are fantastic. I often tag with mispellings to try to catch some of those searches. She’d like to have us able to organize our favorites into lists, and refine checkout so that newly signed up buyers don’t have to stop and confirm their email during the purchase process (they would confirm it later I think). Chad focused on how the tech side is going — he stressed that (and so did Carrington) people are working hard behind the scenes during down time to really improve the stability of the site and improve the structure so that we can have all these fun tools in the future. The new “re-arrange your shop” tool that is in Beta is part of this. He said that there has been a 200-800% increase in the site’s stability, even as traffic has nearly doubled, in the last 9 months or so. He said they are also writing the software that helps them write future software for the site. Maria talked then about advertising Etsy as a whole. They have no desire for TV ads (too expensive is what that boils down to), so they’re focusing on what I’d call more passive things like search engine optimization (SEO). They do sponsor on NPR (you get a little fifteen-second segment when you do that) and she talked about the recent Good Morning America feature on Etsy and selected sellers. She is fond of email marketing tools such as Etsy Finds, social media (Facebook applications, handmade videos, etc). During questions, I asked if we could integrate our shop newsletters with our Etsy site to make it easier for people to sign up and for us to send them, and that idea seemed well received. The provider for their mailing lists might be able to offer something similar to store owners — but not in 2009, although hopefully in less than a year*. They moved on to Paypal, and Carrington and CB both said that currently Paypal is simply the best solution — however, we’ll need an in-house payment system for things like site-wide gift cards. They tossed around an idea of having a pre-paid Etsy debit card (like a Starbucks card) but I think most sellers are underwhelemed with that idea (I definitely am not fond of it). I don’t sign up for Etsy emails, but a couple people talked about that, with Maria and Sara. Some people don’t get the emails, so they’re going to chat with Chad to see if that’s a technical issue or what. All the needed seller tools, like batch listing, scheduled listings, auto-relist, etc., are things that are in the works but need the stable background that they are building now. There were a couple questions about wholesale and how to do that on Etsy (which I think is sort of dumb, I don’t want Etsy to have a cut of my wholesale, that changes my pricing structure!). But I DO want a fixed catalog of all my items so that shoppers and retailers can see my product lines even when something is not in stock. I want to be able to organize by scent, or product type, or whatever, so that people can see the full range of what I do. Searching through my sold items is not practical! Maybe have a password-protected area for retailers to visit to “shop” wholesale. Someone brought up that it’s often difficult for buyers to know they are in one store, and to return to that store’s main page if they’re on an item listing (I say, keep the shop banner on all pages and have it clickable!). I think it was Jill from Scabby Robot. I definitely liked that idea, and Maria said the item pages do need a makeover. Chad then took up the Etsy outside development issues — and stressed that they are welcoming third-party devs with open arms. There are two iPhone apps now, and of course Etsy Hacks and some others out there. The issue of flagging was brought up, including that horrible item that was up the other day (not gonna rehash that one). Anyway — in a nutshell, they do their best. While they didn’t say this, I just think it’s a lack of staff for all the flagged items. Maria said instead of focusing on the after effects, they want to look at more ways of preventing resellers/forbidden stuff. Make it maybe a little more tedious to sign up? She said it was something that she personally has a renewed attention on at this time. They briefly touched on some other areas, such as site personalization — ie, if you only buy jewelry on Etsy, to sort of “block” the rest of the site if you wanted to customize your experience on the site. CB asked if people would use some kind of Etsy-hosted accounting interface, and I asked if it would be possible to integrate an inventory feature (the answer was, sounds good, maybe in a year). It was a (long) and great meeting. I got to meet a bunch of great sellers too If you’ve made it this far (long post, sorry!) I’d love to hear from you especially if you’d like to talk about your experience as a buyer, and how this might be improved! *made some edits, thanks, Maria! Clarified the last speaker’s name and the newsletter “hopeful” timeline Allie from AlliesAdornments also posted notes in this forum thread.

CCCOE Members at the Bazaar Bizarre Maker Fair

Join AlliesAdornments, mscraftypants, 2dy4, Petals, Pineblossom, ohmay, and buttercupbloom (fellow CCCOE members) at the 4th Annual Maker Faire Bay Area: Re-Make America.

Date: Saturday May 30 (10 a.m. - 8 p.m.) and Sunday May 31 (10 a.m. - 6 p.m.)

Place: San Mateo County Expo Center, Cypress Hall

Following on President Obama's call to "begin again the work of remaking America", Maker Faire 2009 will be organized around the theme of Re-Make America. Held in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 30-31, Maker Faire celebrates what President Obama called "the risk takers, the doers, and the makers of things." The fourth annual Maker Faire will showcase individual creativity and grassroots innovation in the largest festival devoted to DIY culture and technology in the country. Bazaar Bizarre Maker Faire 2009 will feature over 90 indie crafters and designers from across the country. Approximately half of our vendors are new and emerging talent in the indie craft community. Expect to find a smorgasbord of handmade items, many cleverly made with recycled materials. Something for everyone-jewelry, toys, lotions, art, glass, fiber arts, ceramics, handbags, baby items, even crafting supplies.Check out our talented vendors at the Bazaar Bizarre Gallery. Learn more about the Artists and Crafters on the Baz Biz Blog Vendor Interviews

For ticket information and details about Maker Faire visit the Maker Faire FAQ page.

Make your own mailers from recycled materials

Hello all! In this section I will be showing you how I turn my cereal boxes into mailing envelopes. Since joining etsy, I've learned a lot about reusing, recycling, and saving money. We all want to save more money in the present time and here is a great way to do so! By reusing cereal boxes I have not purchased a mailing envelope in a very long time! Be sure to view the slide show below and get started in reusing your cereal boxes!

Thank you for viewing the slide show! Remember that you can reuse cereal boxes, brown paper bags, which I will make a slide show for in the near future, Large heavyweight paper and also envelopes that you receive from your etsy purchases!

This tutorial is courtesy of Ren from Raghouse International.

Red Rabbit Arts & Crafts Market Vendor Opportunity

CCCOE member floresflorestanis is helping to put together the Red Rabbit Arts & Crafts Market which will be held Sunday July 19th at the Los Angeles Arboretum. This show will feature all handmade items by artists, craftspeople, crafters and designers and we've still got tables available for anyone interested in participating. Here's our website for more info and applications: redrabbitworkshop.com

May Member Announcements

Check out what's happening with CCCOE members! LuckyZelda will be at: PATCHWORK INDIE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL Sunday May 17th 11am-5pm 2202 N. Main St Sana Ana 92706 Visit the Patchwork Show Website for more info. TheChainmailleLady will be at two shows July and August: INT'L GEM & JEWELRY SHOW July 3, 4, 5, 2009 Pasadena Convention Center (Main Building) 300 East Green Street Pasadena, California Visit the website for more information. If you are interested in free tickets to this show e-mail your name and address to QJDesigns [!at] yahoo.com PASADENA BEAD & DESIGN SHOW July 30th - August 2nd The Pasadena Hilton 168 S. Los Robles Ave. Pasadena California In addition to selling her work she will also be teaching classes in chainmaille. Please visit the website for more information. ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART Ocean Avenue Silks has created an exclusive line of scarves for the Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the Orange County Museum of Art. For the duration of the exhibit they are available only at the museum and their online gift shop. The exhibit is called Illuminations and runs through September 6th. Information on the exhibit can be found on the museum's website. CCCOE MEMBER SALES BKD Signature Boutique is offering free shipping through May 10th in celebration of Mother's Day! CCCOE Team member announcements are being made here monthly. To have your show, sale or even posted in June's announcements please convo your information to shellmitchell.

Summer Gift Guide Announcement

The 2009 Handmade In California Summer Gift Guide is here! There are a number of exciting changes from the Holiday Guide so please read carefully. ·The Summer Gift Guide is optional and all California based Etsy sellers are invited to participate. ·The cost for each shop to participate in the California Summer Gift Guide is $10.00, which includes 6 images per shop, listed under 3 different and appropriate categories of your choice. If you have more than one shop, each shop must pay $10.00 to be included. If you have more than one shop, sharing items between your shops is not allowed. (For example if you have Shops A and B, you cannot combine items from Shops A and B and pay only $10.00.) ·To reserve your space, go to http://www.handmadeincalifornia.net/guide-reservation.html ·Follow the reservation instructions ·Once you reserve your space and categories, you will receive an invoice to pay for your listing within 48 hours. ·All spaces are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Upon making your reservation you will be guaranteed your first category choice. ·No shops will be added after May 15, 2009 ·Each category will be limited to 20 shops. The categories are as follows: Adornments Art Aficionados Décor Eco Friendly Fashion Forward Etc. Gifts by Price Range (choose a sub-category): Under $25 Under $50 Under $75 Luxe – items $100 and over For Her Fun in the Sun (I like this-summer related items) Mining for Gold in California (Vintage items) Tot to Teen Jewelry (choose a sub-category): Necklaces Bracelets Earrings Rings & Things Paperie Spa Special Occasion Father’s Day Summer Holidays Indulgences ·The front page of the gift guide will rotate and each member should be on the front page 1-2 times between launching and August 31, 2009 depending on the number of participants. These will also update automatically from Etsy. Each store is marked as a favorite when they sign-up to be certain that the items rotate often. ·A press release will be sent to several newspapers, tv and radio stations and stylists throughout the state. If you would like your bio sent with the press release, please forward to anniek at anniekclothing [!at] gmail.com. Some newspapers thought the press release was not relevant to their readers without having a shop in their area. ·Money collected from guide listings and advertisements will go towards promoting the Summer Gift Guide via web ads. i.e. project wonderful, blogs and other places that the PR Committee determines to best suit the advertising needs of the Gift Guide. Suggestions are also welcome. During the Spring Gift Guide, ads were run on thru Google, Project Wonderful and various blogs/websites. ·The guide received 5000 hits from January-April and we expect traffic to grow with each edition. ·Other expenses such as payment of the graphics and other items will also be used from the fees. ·Advertising will be accepted for the front page and each category. Ads will be 125 x 125 pixels. Front page ads cost $ 25 each and category ads cost $15 each. Ads will run May 15 through August 31, 2009 ·The Gift Guide will accept advertising from all California-based Etsy sellers regardless of participating in the Gift guide. The PR Committee reserves the right to refuse any and all ads. NEW CHANGES For the Summer Gift Guide vintage items will be included in the Gold Digging in California. The first 30 participants to reserve space on the guide will be featured on the front page under the new "SpotLight" section. Shop Spotlights will run for 3 days. Members who reserve their space after the first 30, will be featured on Spotlight sections under appropriate category pages. The "Chatterbox" is a new section where buyers can find sales, promotions and the latest news. Guide participants may email their news and shop updates to: info [!at] handmadeincalifornia.net During our Spring edition over 250 new members signed up for email updates and of course, a chance at the giveaway. Please review the guidelines carefully and feel free to contact AnnieK at anniekclothing [!at] gmail.com should you have any questions.

April Challenge Voting Going On Now!

The April challenge voting thread is up in the forums. Stop by, cast your vote and support your team! Voting ends Thursday, May 7th at midnight. We had 37 fabulous entries - check them out here. Thanks to everyone who participated in the April challenge!

Don't forget to Vote and Start Working...

The March Challenge Voting Thread is up in the forums, but you only have till the end of Tuesday to cast your vote. There are lots of great entries this month.

You can see all the entries together in the CCCOEteam Favorites section.


The April Challenge Thread is up too.
It's time to begin working on your entry for the April challenge -- "Mothers Day".

Items will need to be tagged 'CCCOE' and 'aprilchallenge' (one word) so that we can find them and add them to the buyer account favorites and voting thread. Deadline for entry is midnight (Pacific time) April 30. Voting will take place the first week of May.

Renegade Craft Fair

Call for Applications in LA and San Francisco. Deadline is May 1st. Go to the site for more info and the application.

CCCOE Member Studio Tour: Featured Artist: Pacific Paradise Soap Company

Dead Sea Bath Salt Soak Scrub

Custom Order

Tell us a little about yourself and how it all began.

I have been a very creative person my entire life. For fun, I took a soap making class with 2 Chemist friends from a lady on a farm out in the country more than a decade ago. The 3 of us would get together and make soap for Christmas presents over the years. Last year, after 23 years as a Senior Scientist, I experienced a Company wide lay off. A few friends & relatives suggested I should start a Soap Company. I thought working from home would give me more flexibility with my hours & allow our Son to not be in daycare. I’ve always been organized & really motivated to excel at whatever I do. I surely do not miss the hour and a half daily commute! Working from home is really a lifestyle. I really love what I do & it’s a good thing because I’m almost always working. That’s how Pacific Paradise Soap Company was born.Soap Rack and Soapmaker Where do you work? Show us your space please! Anita labeling her soap While vacationing last summer my Brother-in-law asked me “Where in the house do you make your soap?” and my Husband quickly interjected “Everywhere!”. I was shocked! But after I thought about it for a bit I realized he was right. Soap has taken over the house; the office, the spare bedroom, the hallway, the garage, the laundry room, the kitchen…one entire room in the house is filled with drying racks, flowers, lavender my Mom has grown, colored paper, boxes, ribbons, bags, salts, and soaps. I label soaps on the counter in the hallway where you are suppose to fold laundry. When I’m making a batch of soap I take over the kitchen, the laundry room & the garage. My husband can no longer park his truck in our 3 car garage because of the racks of soap. I also keep butters, oils, shipping supplies, molds, essential oils, fragrance oils, wooden bowls, gift crates, colorants, the gazebo & tables for craft fairs & farmers markets. The laundry room also has shelves of fancy molded soaps. 12 soap bar cutter What is your favorite tool? My favorite tool is the log cutter my Dad & I made. He assembled a 3 sided square with smooth wood & drilled 2 holes that I put a guitar string through. This tool makes the first cut that reveals the beautiful end result of my labor of love. I also really like my 12 bar cutter & my edging tool. What time of the day are you the most productive/inspired? I am most productive while my Son is in school for obvious reasons.3 Bar Soap Sets What inspires you? I wake up inspired with so many new ideas pouring out that I now keep paper & pen on my headboard. I am always thinking of new products to add to my store. I am inspired by Mother Nature. Sometimes I am inspired by customers needs or something said in conversation. How do you promote yourself and your shop? I promote myself, my shop & my team by communicating in the forums on etsy, Flickr, Team Blogs & at Craft Fairs. How long have you been on Etsy? I have been selling on etsy since October 2008. What else do you enjoy doing other than creating? I also enjoy gardening, doing yoga, making cards, aqua aerobics & going to the beach. What would you like to see happen/change with CCCOE? I would like to see more people buying from CCCOE. What is your favorite thing about CCCOE? My favorite thing about CCCOE is all the support & camaraderie. I also love the monthly challenges. What is your favorite food? My favorite food is chocolate J I also really enjoy ethnic foods like Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican & Italian. Favorite book or movie? My favorite book is The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood. My favorite movies are The Thomas Crown Affair & National Treasure. One thing you absolutely cannot live without? I absolutely cannot live without happiness Lastly what piece that you have created is your favorite and why? My favorite piece is a Fancy molded soap that says “Love” in a wooden dish. My Dad turns wooden bowls & platters on a lathe & I use them for my fancy molded soaps. I think Love says it all. Thanks so much to Anita of Pacific Paradise Soap for sharing her space and her work with us! Be sure to stop by her shop to treat yourself.