Etsy Garden

This is where to look for updates if the site goes down

This here will serve as our off-site blog, for posting info in the event that Etsy.com is unreachable. I hope we never use it, but here it is!

April 30th, 2008

The Blog Is Now Closed

Please go visit The Storque for news and information.

You can also help support Etsy, by picking up all the hot product being served up at the Etsy Labs.

43 comments September 10th, 2007

The Storque has flown!

Please join us at The Storque, Etsy’s new and eagerly awaited e-zine! (Which is really just a fancy way of saying super-duper blog.) We’re excited about our latest feature, and we hope that you will be, too. This Etsy Garden blog is officially one-upped! (And effectively over.)

Over the past two little years of Etsy’s existence, we’ve tried to make the goings-on of the company as open as possible, share interesting stories from the community, announce important site info, and also be silly. We are officially retiring the Etsy Garden blog (though its posts will remain online so links won’t get broken). As we move from horticultural to avian metaphors… The Storque is now, finally, being pushed out of its nest, and we now have a place to handle all our communications wants and needs in a more organized way. The Storque can act as your gateway into—for example— site news, into some of the great How-tos the Labs are doing, into our video content (http://etsy.blip.tv), our photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/etsystorque/collections/), web resources we’re taking note of (http://del.icio.us/tag/storque), and into the online social activities chatted about and organized in the forums.

Even more importantly, we now get to hear your voice. The Etsy admin will be producing content for The Storque, but the Etsy community and friends will now be able to contribute stories, photo essays, videos and audio podcasts. There’s a pitch form integrated into The Storque; you can send us your fleshed out pitch or simply tip us off to something you think we might like to cover.

Please join us as we bring you all the news that’s fit to be made by hand!

22 comments September 5th, 2007

Just a little bit longer…

The Storque will be launching later today, due to technical difficulties. Please be patient! Links will work later!

Thanks!
Alison
and the rest of the Storque team

3 comments September 5th, 2007

Etsy TV: The Storque Newscast

Click to Play

15 comments September 5th, 2007

We are fam-i-ly!

How embarassing. We all wore the same shirt today. Oops!

11 comments August 31st, 2007

Swaparama!

Oh, lets swap!

29 Etsy artist volunteered in my little project and swapped a piece of art with their peers based on a fancy point system. First they rated each other and then I made them play games for points. We did all this through our Flickr group. Now they are in the process of swapping and everyone gets something beautiful that they coveted from the group. Luckily, I thought of a system that would allow everyone to get a piece that they rated highly! It worked out so well we’re planning on another to start next week. Keep your eyes on Etsylabs.com if you are interested!

xo
Danielle
EtsyLabs Lady

12 comments August 31st, 2007

I love reading, AND the li-bary!

Fire up your RSS! Did you know there was another snazzy Etsy Labs blog floating around the interweb? It’s called the Etsy Labs Library, and it’s full of fun how-tos and generally adorable Labs antics. If the Etsy Labs blog hasn’t been satiating your hunger for labs craftabilitosity, there’s always more to go around.

P.S. And yes, I did make up craftabilitosity, thank you! Merriam-Webster, here I come.

5 comments August 28th, 2007

Introducing our New Geolocator

It is our pleasure to introduce to the Etsy community the latest Geolocator.

We’ve also updated your Public Profile page with an interactive Google Map. Use this map to position your shop in the world. This way you can guarantee exactly where you would like to appear in Geolocator search results. If you’re a seller, you should update this data as soon as possible.

New Features!

We’ve been working really hard to bring you the best features in the
shortest amount of time possible, however if there a new feature you’d
like to see, please let us know!

Some of the new features in Geolocator 3 include:

Place Search
Now besides being able to search by tags, materials or seller names,
you can finally search by place! The way it works is by pulling your
location information from your Public profile.
Be sure you log in into your Etsy account and update that information.
Select your country in the drop down and do a quick search for your
City by typing it in and pressing the lookup button. The location data
you provide here is the data we’ll be using within Geolocator.

Result Clustering
The number of Etsy Sellers has grown exponentially during the last
year so we needed to somehow simplify results when plotting them on a
map. Through Clustering we are now able to group users according to
their location and current zoom level, creating this way an
*approximation* of where the users are.

Deep linking, Browser History
You can now deep link directly into any specific search. Simply grab
the URL (web address) currently being displayed in your browser and
voila. The back button is also now enabled within the flash application.

Paging Through Results
Of course you can probably imagine the incredibly large number of
results we get for any search. To be able to cope with this, you can
now page through results the exact same way you’d do in most
websites, by using paging. The difference here is that these results
get plotted on the globe.

Maximized View
To fully appreciate this new application in all its full screen
glory, be sure to check the [ maximize view ] link on the top right
of the application.

The Geolocator 3 was built by Marcos Weskamp for Etsy. Marcos is truly a world class developer and a wonderful human being. It is a joy for us to be working with him. Curious about what he is working on next?

19 comments August 28th, 2007

PS

We’re hoping one of you out there will make a cute video of your kittens playing and upload it to blip.tv or youtube. We want to use it for our next greenscreen project!

4 comments August 28th, 2007

Craftacular just around the corner…

Hey guys! Holiday madness is quickly approaching, and it’s time to get your ducks in a row for the feminist-fantastic 2007 BUST Holiday Craftacular! Hosted in scenic New York, BUST’s holiday extravaganza has gotten bigger, better, and BUST-ier, with DJs, booze and three times as much space. They’re now accepting applications for the 200 vendor positions available, so get crackin’ with your fine selves and show BUST how Etsy sellers roll.

Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, this promises to be a fabulous time, with great gifts for your friends, fam and maybe yourself. The fun kicks off Saturday, December 8, 2007. For information on how to apply, visit the Craftacular website or the BUST blog!

1 comment August 28th, 2007

Storque Update: Pushing this guy out of the nest

Dear Etsians,

We are edging near — very near — to launching the Storque. The engineers are testing the biscuits out of it and making sure it’s user-friendly.

Alison and I (and Shannon too, who is helping us with video production) are excited to share the pieces we’ve produced and the pieces we’ve asked community members to produce. We’re hoping the launch will inspire many more of you to pitch fresh ideas to The Storque so that we can share the handmade life with the world!

To that end, we’ll have a link where you can pitch your ideas to us. We’ll also be setting up a weekly online Workshop, to informally take suggestions, chat about the direction of The Storque, and hear your reactions.

We are soooo excited!

–The Storque team

8 comments August 28th, 2007

Spread the Love!

Do you ever think that hearting sellers isn’t enough? You talk in the forums, you’re acquainted on Myspace, but you might not even know what that someone looks like, what their favorite kind of ice cream is (Chunky Monkey on this end) or where they stand on the subject of the Golden Girls. (Ahem, I love it.)

Well, worry no more. Clever and crafty Etsian liskidder has started a social networking site for Etsy users, called, simply, We Love Etsy. Supported by social networking mother site Ning.com, We Love Etsy allows all Etsy lovers to meet, greet, share their Etsy love, personalize their page, create blog postings, connect with their street teams, utilize the forums, share favorite links, photos, and videos, and most importantly, see who your friends are friends with to find more Etsy shops to heart!

We Love Etsy has only been around for two short weeks, but it’s already bumpin’. There are already 713 members (!), 44 groups (mostly street teams) and almost five thousand photos of Etsy items. Crazy!

So, let’s break down these walls and spread the Etsy love! For more Etsy lovin’, you can also visit other crafty social networking sites Land of Etsy and IndiePublic.

Your fellow Etsy lover,
Alison

16 comments August 28th, 2007

Last Fridays Trunk Show * Etsy Green and Clean Guild

Next up the the Etsy Labs’ Last Fridays art party/trunk show series:

The Etsy Green and Clean Guild makes soaps, bath and body products, makeup, and scents. On Friday, August 31 from 6-8PM, EGCG will be hosting a trunk show shopping party at the Labs. We’ll be browsing the wares for sale, listening to 80’s music, enjoying blender drinks, and playing with samples of these fabulous products.

Click on any of these links for a sneak preview:

Coffin Color
Lollibomb
Magickal Realism
Martinsville Emporium
Soap
Xiane

The event happens at Etsy Labs, 325 Gold St., 6th Floor. Brooklyn, NY 11201. Please rsvp@etsy.com…see you soon!

1 comment August 28th, 2007

Etsy in the Press: Take Your Pick

Yahoo chose us to be one of their picks. This makes us very happy. Don’t worry, we’re not getting big heads. There’s too much to do!

“Forget any other web phenom you’ve heard about recently, the Greatest Current Thing is Etsy.”

9 comments August 27th, 2007