So, what with today being a day of protest and all, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what handmade means to me and I thought, for the sake of conversation I'd pose a question to those who have closed their shops in protest,to those who have kept their shops open and to those who have NO idea what's going on in the land of Etsy.
But before I ask my question, I feel I should explain first.
I'm a creative type. I'm the guy who has indigestion when thoughts of spending a life working "for the man" creep into my head. I'm the guy who sees his neighbor selling lemonade (however illegal it is these days) and considers ways in which I could sell lemonade better... or different. I'm the guy who understands the novelty of 'handmade' wore off soon after Etsy came on the scene and the accessibility of DIY crafts/producbebop came a mere click away. But I'm also the guy who feels like I should view the changes in the handmade marketplace as an opportunity to make my work better, more creative and more competitive.
So my question is as follows. Many a person has found success and financial freedom on Etsy. But, as any crafter knows, REAL success requires thinking about cost of goods, labor cost, overhead, listing fees, time spent sourcing wares, advertising etc.
We buy new tools, make connections and purchase wholesale. We cut costs where we can.
If there ever came a time we were able to produce the same products in our garage, still putting our hands on each item, by ordering wholesale, paying buyers to source materials, and buying presses, heavy duty sewing machines, assembly line type dryers and printers etc... would we (you) simply stop selling on Etsy out of respect for the unspoken limit of what "hand,are" means to the masses?!
But before I ask my question, I feel I should explain first.
I'm a creative type. I'm the guy who has indigestion when thoughts of spending a life working "for the man" creep into my head. I'm the guy who sees his neighbor selling lemonade (however illegal it is these days) and considers ways in which I could sell lemonade better... or different. I'm the guy who understands the novelty of 'handmade' wore off soon after Etsy came on the scene and the accessibility of DIY crafts/producbebop came a mere click away. But I'm also the guy who feels like I should view the changes in the handmade marketplace as an opportunity to make my work better, more creative and more competitive.
So my question is as follows. Many a person has found success and financial freedom on Etsy. But, as any crafter knows, REAL success requires thinking about cost of goods, labor cost, overhead, listing fees, time spent sourcing wares, advertising etc.
We buy new tools, make connections and purchase wholesale. We cut costs where we can.
If there ever came a time we were able to produce the same products in our garage, still putting our hands on each item, by ordering wholesale, paying buyers to source materials, and buying presses, heavy duty sewing machines, assembly line type dryers and printers etc... would we (you) simply stop selling on Etsy out of respect for the unspoken limit of what "hand,are" means to the masses?!
