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Actual death by powerpoint. :)

'When we understand that slide, we'll have won the war:'

Apparently the military is obsessed with creating powerpoint presentations when discussing scenarios for the war.  Yes, death by powerpoint is now literal.  I hate Microsoft. :)

Have you seen my new handmade Fuck Off beer bottle cozy?

Fuck off handmade beer bottle cozy

I had a couple of requests for an item like my funny coffee mug cozies, but for beer bottles and/or cans.  I finally got around to making one and alas, I quite like it.  I have a show this upcoming weekend and intend to make a few more.  However, I'm not sure I'll put any mature shall we say, language on them.





The coolest classic travel trailer vintage shop ever...

Okay, maybe there isn't a lot of competition in this category.  But seriously, major, major, major awesomeness.

When I see this it makes me so happy I choke up.  Yes, I'm crazy.

http://punkystyle.com/haberdash-by-punky/





I have a classic travel trailer which are slightly outgrowing at this point.  Hmm...

How Etsy has helped my business

With all the drama about sales lately I figured I should take some time and list a few ways Etsy has helped my business. I thought about it and these are the few I can think of just off the top of my head. Imagine what I could come up with if I really put some time into it...

1) They always send my bill on time. It helps with expense budgeting.

2) Etsy is a four letter word which fits in perfectly with my profaity laced product lines.

3) The grey header and orange logo don't clash with the colors in my shop. It could be like puke green and, well, that might be okay for my shop too. 

4) The site is in English so I can understand it. It would be much harder to do business with a similar site in say, Russian.

5) They keep my sales number on my shop page at all times. That way if I forget it, I and all the folks who are critquing me in the forum, can check on it.

6) They have forums where I can discuss and debate many issues with other shop owners and be reminded of exactly what not to do or say on a regular basis. I don't want to make any mistakes which may hurt my business! The forum is almost like having my own mother looking over my shoulder and that's comforting.

7) Etsy being based in Brooklyn means I can say my business is 'New York City' based and almost be telling the truth.

8) It's like having a silent partner. Well, not exactly silent more like a 'I'll get back to you after I'm done playing RockBand' type partner. But at least I'm not alone.

Fred Wilson- Thinking About Etsy In The San Telmo Markets

Here is a link to an entry on Fred Wilson's blog.

In case you don't remember, he is a member of Etsy's Board of Directors.

Here is an excerpt from the blog entry:
But Etsy is not yet as vibrant and diverse an experience as San Telmo. Most people don't go to Etsy to 'stroll" or 'hang out'. Some do and the things they like to do other than shop are favoriting items and curating lists and treasuries.

The people that do use Etsy in this way are starting to have a San Telmo like experience.

What Etsy needs to do next is make this kind of 'strolling' experience work for everyone. We need to bump into our friends on Etsy and we need to make new ones there.

It would be great if we could sing and dance and eat and drink on Etsy too. But somethings don't make it onto the web as easy as others. Etsy will have to find experiences, like Zynga did with Farmville and its other games, that can replace eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. And I am confident they will.

While the web will never replace the real world experience of strolling through a bustling marketplace on sunday afternoon, it offers something else: scale.

There are more tractors sold in Farmville every day than are sold in the US every year. And so the artists and merchants who camp out in San Telmo on sundays can set up a shop on Etsy and be in business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  These artists and merchants can sell to tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of people someday.

And getting to that kind of scale, as Facebook has shown us, requires putting people front and center in the experience. Rob Kalin, founder and now CEO of Etsy, prefers the words 'social commerce' over e-commerce for a reason. The emphasis is on social. Commerce is the result. An afternoon in San Telmo makes that point crystal clear.

Etsyville anyone?  Vintage Wars?  Bouncing Beads?

Is this why Etsy doesn't have a new tagline?

An addition to my previous blog post is the thread on Etsy where it is discussed by fellow shop owners.

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6492936

Fred Wilson, on Etsy's Board of Directors, talking to some students about Etsy's growth

Fred Wilson speaks

Fred Wilson who is on Etsy's Board of Directors is in this video. He's talking to some students and is for obvious reasons discussing Etsy. One of the most interesting things he states is:

"And the other thing I think is going to happen is I think it's going to spread a little bit more in terms of the kinds of things that people can buy on Etsy."

Uh, what other things are people going to be able to buy on Etsy? 

The video is kind of hard to hear, but you know, it really piqued my curiosity when I got to that bit. It's not far after 4 min 40 sec.

By all means watch the whole thing if you want to. I have an advanced degree in business and love organizational development crap. But if you don't, might want to fast forward. :)

I'm guessing the new tagline is a very important piece to rolling out the new and 'spread' out Etsy.

Went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro the other day.

When people said it was a long walk, they weren't kidding.  I have the sunburn and tired arse to prove it.  Got some nice pics of the wildlife though.  And the animals.