The SFEtsy Mission Meet-Up - "start before you're ready"

Over the last year or so, we have really ramped up our Meet-Ups and events within our team. Which is Faaaantastic because we get to swap ideas, talk together and get to know one another face-to-face.

Last Wednesday, I went to a Meet-Up organized by Debbie of Blue Hour Studio at Borderlands. This was probably one of the most inspiring meetings that I've ever attended with other members.

Members in attendance:
Lux Capacity
Katy Atchison Illustration
The Curious Potter
Lovely Lesage
Seaglass Reinvented
TheRecoverie
Eko Jewelry Design
OodleBaDoodle
Blue Hour Studio

When we first arrived, we did a little business card swap...which was fun because we could see all the different business cards that each team member made to showcase and brand their small business.
Then we went around the table, held up our card and introduced ourselves and talk about "What inspires you, how did you get into what you are doing now?"... the most interesting answers came out of those ice breakers.

Here are some of my favorite inspirational quotes from members:

- "Start before you're ready" a quote from Robert Glenn that was mentioned by Terrie. Basically, push yourself to do something you're not comfortable with and the rest will follow. If you don't take a risk than you can't really push yourself forward.

- "The passion keeps me going." From Eko who admits that she started her craft later in life, but she puts her passion into her jewelry designs and is putting in a lot of hard work to understand how to make her business grow and change.

- "Turning 40." Which I think is a motivation for many of us. Stop talking about what you're passionate about...and start doing!

- "To take a photo of a mountain...you have to climb it" which was based off a blog entry called The Pursuit of Excellence that Lisa read.

At some point, Rebecca from OodleBaDoodle started talking about the new things she's been doing. One of which was custom shirts for men and the other is portraits of pets out of fabric. I chimed in because I think my cat Tuna is my biggest fan...and funnily enough she had MADE ME A PORTRAIT OF TUNA... I'm still more than a little bit excited about it.



After my excitement died down we talked a bit about Business Groups. Korie made a good point that if a Business Group was member created, than it could essentially be "the blind leading the blind". I encouraged her that if she wants to create a business group, she can bring in experts to meetings who can help the group talk about specific topics. Also, there is no harm in people learning the ins and outs of something together and learning from each person's mistakes. A Business Group is an opportunity to really create strong relationships with other members since you will be meeting on a more regular basis.


Want to learn how to organize your own meet up? Check out some other events coming up and how to create your own event.
Join a Twitter Chat
Crafty Computer Nights - 1 & 2
Explanation of Meetups and Business Groups


Also! Check out some other Workshops coming up in April!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Crafty Computer Night Tuestorial - Part 2

Last weekend, our team member Imelda of Sunset Shutterbug hosted a Crafty Computer Meet-up at her house. She gratiously wrote a little entry about the event.

"Jumping on the bandwagon of meet-ups, Saturday afternoon a couple fellow SF Etsians and I got together for a crafty computer session at my apartment to work on our shops and get to know each other. Michelle of The Elegant Sparrow, Eko of Eko Jewlery Design, Talia of Mycrob and Korie of Seaglass Reinvented and I fired up our computers (or iPad) and talked shop. We discussed all sorts of things and we walked away with extra tips and advice to help improve shops. Here are some tips that came up during our meet-up.

Re-listing - Korie's shop has been open on Etsy for barely a month and she made 6 sales during that short time! She credits re-listing 3 times a day to keep her shop relevant.

Facebook - Several of us are on Facebook and we use it to help market our shops, new items and other things that may interest our fans.

House Parties - Michelle recently sold her jewelry at 2 parties, one in LA and another in Washington. To her surprise, she sold a number of items at each event! Great way to connect with new customers and expand your clientele. This would be a great idea during the holidays!

Twitter - Can't afford to re-list every day? Use it to promote your items without spending 20 cents. And use those hashtags for Etsy teams your apart of. They can retweet you and help promote you to their followers.

Lightbox - Make one or buy one. I just made mine this weekend and I only spent 99 cents on the poster board.

Tagging - Use Etsy Teams in your tags! If someone finds out about SF Etsy and searches for the team in Etsy, your item will show up in a search if you put the team name in your tags.

Instag.ram, Flickr & Pinterest - Great ways to give your work exposure!

LinkedIn - Great way to professionally network with other sellers, especially if you hold a day time job in addition to running your business.

Etsy Teams and Etsy Forums - Meet and talk with other members! Post in your Etsy Teams and in the Etsy forums. Buyers also read the forums and the more active you are, the more people see your shop. Your customers may be your peers or a buyer who likes to read the forums. You never know where your next customer will come from.

Local Businesses - If you know someone who owns a business, talk to them about setting up a table and sell for a few hours. Especially if they get a fair amount of foot traffic. This would be even better if they're holding a launch party for a new line or product.

Fundraisers & Auctions - If you know of an organization or school that frequently holds auctions or fundraisers, you can donate your item as a way to help get exposure for your shop and also help raise some money for a good cause.

We all had a really fun time and the 3 hours just flew by! I hope we all get to meet each other again and stay connected. It's always fun getting to know other local sellers and geek out on our shops. Here's to more SF Etsy meet-ups!"



Thank you to our team member Imelda of Sunset Shutterbug for a great write up.

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Etsy Tech Shop Meet-Up ~Valentines, Shop Critiques, and a Tour

This last weekend the amazing TechShop hosted Etsy Admin Kimm, Leland, and Natalie as they brought us creative fun, Etsy info of all kinds, and an intro to the TechShop space.  I enjoyed meeting many fellow SFEtsy team members and also those who wish to become members.  I'll be sharing a few new team ideas, some great shop critique information from Kimm, and a bit about TechShop below.  Please share your stories and networking finds in the comments below!

Sharing samples and meeting other sellers~

It was wonderful to see the light in our fellow Etsyians eyes when Kimm took a personal look over their shops.  I heard a few insights that applied to everyone:

• use the Etsy search bar and type in only one of your common tags.  Before pressing enter, you'll see the drop down menu make suggestions of similar search terms.  These are the most popular and relevant searches that are being done by Etsy shoppers.  Make sure that if any of the phrases apply to your work, you add those tags.  For example, I make crochet jewelry.  My first suggested search term was "crochet art jewelry", totally applicable and yet a tag I hadn't thought to use!

Using the search bar to find popular tags.

• use compound words in your tags.  This means instead of just "necklace" use a relevant word set like "feather necklace".  

• fairly recently Etsy added the choice of specifying two "styles" that your work embodies.  Kimm suggested being consistent and adding weight to these terms by re-using them in the item description.

• your shop title (the small area under your banner) does count in internal Etsy searches.  Make sure the first three words are accurate, relevant, and something that buyers would look for.  I changed mine from "handmade modern jewelry crocheted by Even Howard" to "crochet art jewelry handmade by Even Howard."

• Kimm suggested putting on one of the many shop videos during your crafting time as a way of gleaning information and improving a bit at a time.

It was a joy to meet a few artisans who are just starting out with both scaling their works as well and/or getting on Etsy.  Their enthusiasm was contagious and it was refreshing to be reminded of what a valuable community our local team is and also what a resource is Etsy.com itself at all levels of entrepreneurship.  A big welcome to Nelleke Demmer, Feathery Leathery, and Saipet Sirimontri as you join our team!  

I was asked about our SFEtsy team, what is our purpose, who is in charge, and how do we meet?  Basically, our team is open to all Bay Area sellers who have an active Etsy shop.  We maintain this site as a resource, have an Etsy.com team page, and very important--an active google group.  We do have co-leaders, Katy and Steph, and you are welcome to contact them about joining the team.  Our meet-ups are sometimes "official" such as this last one, but really members are free to create their own meet-ups and events.  Lately, crafty computer nights have been popular.  

Andrea Fuentes receives an impromptu shop critique from Kimm as Katy looks on.

Another meet-up that was suggested was similar to our existing "Crafty Computer Nights" and that is to have a specific small meet-up where we help each other with the tagging and wording of our listings.  This would largely be to put into action the advice Kimm gave us as well as any additions from the Etsy Success newsletters and blog posts. 

Screenprinting workshop @ TechShop

Many in our meet-up were first time visitors to TechShop and the highlight of the tour was the laser cutting machine!  TechShop is a wonderful resource space providing professional industrial machines for wood, metals, textiles, plastics, etc.  If you want to know more about becoming a member, taking classes at TechShop, or teaching classes, please visit their website.  

Big thanks go out to our new co-leaders Katy and Steph as well as the volunteers from the team that helped the event be welcoming and fun.  TechShop Ed Coordinator Centa Schumacher created our valentine making area complete with sparkles and feathers.  Thanks to Ashleigh Castro for photographing (more pics @Flickr).  Thanks again to Kimm, Leland, and Natalie for journeying from Brooklyn to share their skills and advice!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Meet And Greet with Etsy and SF Etsy on Saturday!

We're thrilled that on Saturday we'll have two great opportunities to get together with folks in our local creative community!

In the evening, we will be at TechShop SF. Tickets are required for this free event, so be sure to RSVP through Eventbrite.

Come to our San Francisco Meet-N-Greet on Saturday, February 11th from 5-7pm at Tech Shop and join Etsy Admin and our co-hosts SF Etsy to chat about Etsy, swap tips and meet some folks within your community. Come share your stories with us!

Make sure to bring your business cards and be ready to work on a fun Valentine's project or explore Tech Shop's facility and get a laser cutting demo.

This meetup is open to all San Francisco area Etsians, and anyone and everyone interested in Etsy. Stay connected by following the #EtsyMeet tag on Twitter for tweets from the event.

Who: Etsy Admin (Kimm and Leland), our co-hosts SFEtsy and you!

What: San Francisco area meet-n-greet with Etsy Admin

Where: Tech Shop, 926 Howard Street, just 1 block from the Moscone Center, 3 blocks from the Powell Street BART station, and 6 blocks from Union Square.

When: Saturday, February 11 5-7PM

Why: We'd love to meet you, and talk about Etsy!

And if that wasn't enough Etsy goodness for one day, earlier in the afternoon SF Etsy's own Steph Cortes (of nerd JERK) will be one of the featured local Etsy artists at the Apple Store at the "Etsy, Local Artists, and Technology" presentation. Congrats, Steph!

Etsy, Local Artists, and Technology

Etsy is an e-commerce website that provides a technology platform and marketplace for independent, creative businesses. Join Etsy representatives as they showcase some local Etsy artists. Learn how each business uses technology in their work and how they’ve grown their online presence. Explore the creative process with the artists and hear about their struggles and achievements. Then stay for a Q&A session following the discussion.
No RSVP is required for the Apple store talk. It will be held Saturday, February 11th at 3pm at the Apple Store, San Francisco

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Meet Up Coming Up! First Annual SF Etsy Craft Swap & Networking Event!

We invite you -- SF Etsy members, blog readers, and creative members of the SF community -- to the First Annual SF Etsy Craft Swap and Networking Event at TechShop SF!

When? Sunday October 30th from 12 pm to 4 pm

Where? TechShop SF

How? RSVP here and then show up with crafty stuff, potluck items, and $5 donation at the door. Read on for more details!

SF Etsy Street Team with the support of TechShop, GoGoCraft and S.C.R.A.P. presents The First Annual Craft Swap & Networking Event For Sustainable Craft Making. Along with an afternoon of inspirational craft and networking, we are inviting everyone to bring their craft items that they no longer have a use for to share with other team members in a Craft Swap!

How does it work? The Craft Swap promotes the reuse and recycling of items and sustainable craft, as well as having FUN. All you need to do is bring a potluck item and craft materials that you no longer have a use for to donate to the event. After that, it’s a trading free-for-all! Do a little spring cleaning and refresh your crafting inspiration by taking out the old and bringing in the new! Don’t forget to bring an extra bag to take all your new free-cycled goodies home with you! Our friends from S.C.R.A.P. will also be on-site with a donation box for anything you want to send to a new home.

This is a SF Etsy event open to the community to support local craft activity that is also considerate of the environment, minimizing waste and maximizing fun. During the event TechShop will be providing tours of their facility, and will be doing demos on some of their equipment.

The SF Etsy Street Team has roots in Etsy’s beta grassroots marketing and was part of the original “street teams” concept for spreading the word about Etsy and handmade to folks on the street. Like the San Francisco Bay Area in which it is located, the SF Etsy Street Team is a vibrant and diverse community, full of creativity. We strive to support and promote local Etsy sellers by sharing expertise and advice, hosting local shows and events, and providing a valuable network of local talent and resources.



TechShop is a membership-based workshop that provides members access to equipment, and instruction. You can think of TechShop as a craft gym for artists and makers but with tools instead of weights. During the event TechShop will be providing tours of their facility, and will be doing demos on some of their equipment.

GoGoCraft will be leading us in making SF Etsy Banners for your Etsy shop and event booths. GoGoCraft is a mobile crafting workshop for crafters of all skill levels and interests.

S.C.R.A.P will be providing some craft materials from their organization - SF Etsy Team can depend on S.C.R.A.P as a place to find all manner of materials for all our creative projects. S.C.R.A.P

We are asking a donation of $5 at the front door which will be used to facilitate this event.

We also welcome volunteers to help and ask folks to bring something for the potluck. We have two sign up sheets. One for the potluck where members bring a potluck item for the event and the other where you can volunteer to help out. All assistance is very much appreciated.

Potluck Sign Up

Volunteer form

Note: Because of the access to tools and craft at this facility please do not wear open toed shoes during the event for safety reasons.

We encourage all members to use Social Media and their blogs to talk about the event and our friends TechShop, GoGoCraft, and S.C.R.A.P. Any blogs or mentions about the event will be featured on the SF Etsy Blog post event. Videos and photos of the event are also appreciated and encouraged and can be uploaded to the SF Etsy Flickr account. Sharing = Community.

For More Information:

Rochelle Foles

Lisa Spinella

Géraldine Adams

Location:

TechShop San Francisco is located at 926 Howard Street, just 1 block from the Moscone Center. It’s 3 blocks from Powell Street BART station. Private parking lot at the TechShop building with a ten dollar per day charge.

Don't forget to RSVP so we know to expect you! And feel free to leave a comment telling us how excited you are about coming to the meet up!

Many thanks to all the members of our Meet Up Committee for their hard work on this event, and thanks to Etsy for their support in the form of a team grant to help fund our first annual SF Etsy Craft Swap and Networking Event. Hope to see you there!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Craft Party At TechShop in ONE WEEK!

The count down is on -- Etsy's international CRAFT PARTY is one week from today, and the San Francisco version will be held at the awesome TechShop!






We are thrilled that TechShop has agreed to host! Their space is amazing, and the location is ideal. New to TechShop? Here's how they describe their place:

"TechShop is designed for everyone, regardless of their skill level. TechShop is perfect for inventors, makers, hackers, tinkerers, artists, roboteers, families, entrepreneurs, youth groups, FIRST robotic teams, arts and crafts enthusiasts, and anyone else who wants to be able to make things that they dream up but don't have the tools, space or skills. TechShop provides you with access to a wide variety of machinery and tools including milling machines and lathes, welding stations and a CNC plasma cutter, sheet metal working equipment, drill presses and band saws, industrial sewing machines, hand tools, plastic and wood working equipment including a 4' x 8' ShopBot CNC router, electronics design and fabrication facilities, Epilog laser cutters, tubing and metal bending machines, a Dimension SST 3-D printer, electrical supplies and tools, and pretty much everything you'd ever need to make just about anything."

The San Francisco Etsy Craft Party is the perfect, FREE opportunity to check out this amazing place! Plus you get to meet some of the Bay Area's most awesome creative folks. Hosted by I Heart Art: SF and the SF Etsy team, Craft Party's celebration of all things crafty and creative is open to the public.

In addition to craft workshops by GoGo Craft, DIY button making, Stitch & Bitch, and more -- we'll hosting a bake sale fundraiser to help Kelly Malone of Workshop SF and Indie Mart who is battling cancer.

Crafts! Community! Cookies! Doesn't get much better than that!

WHEN: June 10th from 5-9 p.m.
WHERE: TechShop San Francisco (926 Howard Street)
WHO: You!

Many of you have already RSVP'd -- thanks! We look forward to seeing you there.



One last thing: we are still looking for volunteers to help out with a few things, like door greeters, the bake sale, photography, and the clean up crew. If you'd like to help out, email me and I'll put you on the volunteer list!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

San Francisco Hearts ART - Etsy & Crafting Community Connect at MOCFA

Etsy Meet-Up for I Heart Art: San Francisco at the MOCFA
Photo courtesy of Vanessa Bertozzi - Etsy Admin

One of the best things about running an Etsy business is experiencing a great sense of community with other creative entrepreneurs. What's even better is when those same individuals can connect with other local businesses, museums and schools to strengthen and build up that very same community to whole new levels!

We had a GREAT turnout for our I Heart Art: San Francisco Meet-up at the MOCFA this past Saturday, April 2nd. Not only were SF Etsy members coming from as far as Mt. Shasta, CA, but various Etsy Admin joined us for an open discussion about what this new program could mean for our local artisans, artists, and crafters.

Etsy's I Heart Art programs vary from city to city, but the common goal for each and every project has been to enrich the creative communities in which they take place. This can often be done by connecting the different demographics within these communities while working closely with various organizations to be able to make art and craft more accessible and meaningful to the general public.

Local SF Etsy Team members brainstorming ideas for I Heart Art: San Francisco
[Left to Right: Katy Atchison, Jen Johnson, Genevieve & Shelly from Lightbox SF]
Photo by Steph Cortés

This past Saturday, before the larger meet-up, a bunch of savvy small business owners from the SF Etsy Street Team came together to meet with Vanessa Bertozzi, the Director of Community & Education at Etsy, to brainstorm about what we envisioned I Heart Art to look like in San Francisco. "The idea is to dream BIG," Vanessa beamed, "And once we've got the ideas out, we can focus on what we really want." This opened up a whole series of lists: from local businesses or collectives that were already on board with the vision of a more artful SF to incredibly helpful resources & activities to assist local sellers honing their craft. A few of these included:

• Open studio tours of various local artists in neighbourhoods all around the City
• Workshops or panel discussions guided by SF Celebrity Sellers to help Etsy business owners with everything from effective social media marketing to fab product photography tips & tricks
• Special showcases and events held at museums like the California Academy of Sciences and Museum of Craft & Folk Art that invite the public to participate in hands-on workshops
• And in Portland, they've done a successful Mixer Match! - which is kind of like Speed Dating for Etsy Sellers, but more like "Speed Networking—a whirlwind night of rapid-fire elevator pitches and electrified business connections!" [Read more about I Heart Art: PDX's Mixer Match here]

Those are just a few of the many ideas so far. At the core of every I Heart Art program is collaboration with and within the local community. SF Etsy folks, and likeminded local creative types, this means you!

Tons of SF Etsy members and local business owns alike, mingling at the MOCFA
Photo courtesy of Vanessa Bertozzi - Etsy Admin

It was fantastic to see so many people come out to the meet up, and there seems to be a lot of interest in what I Heart Art: San Francisco might look like. We are very excited by all the possibilities and still in the planning and preparing stages for this project. We welcome your input, and if you have relevant resources or info to share, we'd love to hear about it! 

If you have feedback or suggestions -- for programs, workshops, events, etc -- we'd love to hear that too. Please leave us a comment or you can convo SF Team Leader Steph of nerdJERK or Team Captain Jen of Mama's Magic Studio.

Stay tuned for more details about I Heart Art: San Francisco in the coming weeks!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Come Talk Etsy & I Heart Art: SF -- Etsy Meet Up April 2nd

Have you heard about Etsy's I Heart Art? They started in Portland and have since expanded the program to Baltimore. We're excited to announce I Heart Art: SF might be next!

That's right -- Etsy has asked the SF Etsy Street Team if we are interested in exploring what I Heart Art: SF might look like. And of course we said YES. With San Francisco's strong Etsy team presence, rich cultural resources, and enormously talented population of crafters and artists, it seems a natural fit.

We're delighted to share that team leader Steph (of nerdJERK fame) will be working closely with team captain Jen (the Mama in Mama's Magic Studio) to lead up the program as we think about how we might turn possibilities into realities. We also have a strong planning committee in the works and with a big project like this we look forward to involving as many SF Etsians and local folks as we can.

I Heart Art is the kind of program that morphs to suit the needs of each community, but at the heart of I Heart Art is finding ways to connect and support artists, crafters, and DIY folks. It's all about creating opportunities and supporting creativity within the local context. Exciting, huh?

To give you a taste of what I Heart Art has looked like in other cities, check out this awesome video from one of  I Heart Art: Portland's Mixer Match - where speed-dating & networking collide by connecting crafters/artists with local businesses/wholesalers:

Mixer Match: Round One from I Heart Art: Portland on Vimeo.

Want to learn more? Come join us on April 2nd from 5-7 pm at MOCFA for an Etsy and SF Etsy Meet Up to talk about I Heart Art and other topics of interest to the Etsy community. We'd like an accurate head count for planning purposes, so please RSVP here if you can join us.

Questions? Leave us a comment and we'll do our best to get you an answer.

Hope to see you there!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Etsy Meet Up and Etsy Success Panel -- This Friday!

Attention SF Etsy Peeps -- and all Etsians in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Etsy will be hosting a Meet Up and Etsy Success Panel Discussion on Friday, July 30, 7 - 9 p.m. PT (Online preview at 5 p.m. PT in the Virtual Labs)

Etsy Admin says, "Join us for a discussion of indie business stories and success with Lisa Congdon from Rare Device, Yueh-Wen from Sora Designs, Danielle Maveal, Etsy's Seller Education Coordinator, and other special guests, followed by a meet-and-greet with fellow Etsy friends and fans."

I'm delighted to announce that I will be among the "special guests" -- so come by and say hello! I'll also have some SF Etsy buttons on hand to pass out to team members. Wear yours if you already have one; pick up one if you need one! (While supplies last, naturally.)

For more info, check out this post at the Storque.

Where:
Museum of Craft and Folk Art
51 Yerba Buena Lane
San Francisco, CA 94103
(@ Mission between Third & Fourth)
415-227-4888

RSVP here please. Leave us a comment if you plan to be there so we'll keep an eye out for ya!

Hope to see you there!

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

San Francisco Etsy Meet Up: Recap

Last week, several sfetsians (including myself) headed to South Beach in San Francisco for the Etsy meet up. It was an informative night... 5 fearless leaders from Etsy headquarters in Brooklyn came to speak to us about all the latest and greatest happenings in Etsy land. The main speaker was Jesse, but many of the other folks chipped in regarding their expertise. Below is a recap of the event... the evening was a free form Q and A, so these bullet points are in no particular order!

Jesse from Etsy and Rick from Monkey and Seal

Treasury East Style is Here
Etsy has been changing the underlying capabilities of Treasuries. Thus far, they have been capped by some Flash capabilites, which has allowed them only to be able to host 256 treasuries at a time. This is no longer the case (since they are moving away from Flash.) They love the creativity, story telling, and energy treasuries bring to the Etsy community and want to encourage them to be created. There will not be a limit to the number of treasuries... so no more waiting for open spots-- just curate away!

Speaking of Flash
Many of the Flash based modules (say on the home page) are being phased out by different technology.

More Treasuries
The concept of treasuries is so important, that they are going to start to bring them down to lower levels in the UI-- not just the home page, but treasuries for top categories pages, etc.

Karen Or from Fabulry, Christine from Leaf and Tendril and Sandy from The Rows Garden

Etsy Office Opening in SF
One of the reasons the Etsians were in the Bay Area was to look for office space and recuiting. They are planning to open an office in SF that will be mainly engineering... They are definitely expanding in 2010... looking for many great engineers to create all the improvements we are hoping for! I think the SF office will have approximately 10-20 engineers all said and done. They do hope to also have etsy Labs in this office too, and open up to craft nights, etc.

Etsy Hosting a Craft Fair
Etsy's Renegade Handmade Crafty Bizarre?? No, not in Etsy's future. They love craft fairs... but will stay neutral on this front and let the other event planners take on this task!

2 Gals Enjoying a Snack on Etsy (I didn't get their names... :( )

We Want Robust Profile Pages
They would love to provide the capability for us to make splashy and informative Profile pages. Buyers love knowing who they are buying from... Look for some more features in this area in 2010-- picture capability, video... lists.

Big News from Brian-- Streamlining the Payment Process
OK-- I hope I got the etsian name right... I'm pretty sure it was Brian who let us know this is a TOP priority, and almost resolved... You know, the payment issue where a customer orders... (one email is sent to us) and then the customer pays (another email is sent to us.) This disjointed process has caused us many-an-email to our nice customers asking for them to hit the "Pay" button. This should be solved very shortly by Etsy. Yay! It will be a seamless process-- customer orders and pays all together, no delay... customer gets their order, we get paid. :)

Mike in Marketing -- So Many Themes, So Little Time
Mike has lots of great ideas on his plate. He organizes all the etsy Find emails and more.

A Gang of Sellers Including Jen from Mama's Magic Studio, Sandy and Christine.

Speaking of Email-- How 'bout Convos
It was agree'd that a more robust email system in etsy would be greatly desired. Perhaps a little more "imap" like... and possibly ways to us as sellers to create an email list to send our happy customers friendly upsale reminders to buy, buy, buy! This all sounds great, but it's not a 2010 thing... hopefully 2011??

We all Love a Little Support
There's a big emphasis on building up the technical support team over in etsy-land. They have beefed up their Technical suport team fro 14-23 people, and also added Forum folks: from 6 Full Time and 2 Part Time employees. They are also working on a "Live chat" technical support, and good old fashioned Telephone Support is in the works as well.

Nina K and Me, Betsy from B.Nute productions

Lists, lists and More Lists
Lists are worth a thousand words... The concept of lists: favorites, categories of items, groupings, etc is moving to your shop. Think of anything you'd like to group in a list to make your customers shopping experience better, and it sounds like that may be happening soon!

I Just Want to Be Found
With their search engine gurus working round the clock (making the search bring back results that are expected!) and their Taxonomy person coming up with categories that make sense... they are hoping these improvements will make those buyers find you easier. They are also thinking up better tools for promotions-- but also think of this promotion game as a 2 way street... We do work and they do work, and all our customers find us! :)

A Little Code at a Time Makes Happy Sellers
Instead of a common software company approach of releasing large upgrades less frequently... Etsy is moving on the trend of updating the software (the Etsy site) in small increments, more frequently. So, for instance, the most recent home page upgrades... or some of the batch processing features under "Your Etsy". They are proud of there "up time" record going on... and want to ensure us that they will be up and ready to go all holiday season-- thus they have a code freeze appx. November 1st to make sure the holiday rush can be handled!

Other Tidbits
- No More Team Tags: In the future with lists and improved profile features, you won't have to "waste" the precious 14 tags on adding your team affiliates.
- Gifts: Wouldn't it be nice for a seller to have the control to say, "I provide gift wrapping, and I provide gift cards" then in the customers UI, upon order, they can check, "gift wrap" and "gift card" and we will know what to do??!!
- One Address for Our Sellers: Esty is tidying up the 2 address issue (one for order, one for paypal payment.) We should only see one in the future.

Well, that's all for my notes! If I've missed anything, please add your comments! Also, if you are in one of the pictures, and I didn't identify you... Let me know!! :)

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If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!