I know many of you are close to finished with Christmas shopping, or at least I hope you are.? I am personally done, with the exception of a few gifts that I am making myself.? I got all of my shopping done before chocolate season started so that I didn’t have to worry about it.? It worked out well if you ask me.
After Christmas I’ll do reviews of all of the Etsy sellers that I purchased from.? Not because they asked me to, but because they were all so awesome I thought I owed them that.
To help with a little last minute shopping I am going to do a review week.? A few weeks ago I submitted my name to receive a package from Handmade Sampler at Etsy.? This is much like the Little Black Box, only I didn’t have to pay for it.? She picked me and I agreed to do a review of all of the sellers.? It is a way for artists to send small samples of their work to people and get their name out.? It is a great idea.
My sampler came a few weeks ago and I am just now getting around to doing the review.? I apologize for no photos.? I may take some later and upload them to my Picassa acct, but I dissasembled the goodie bag so quickly and forgot to take photos.
So here goes.
Cute stuff if you are in to Shabby Chic.? This isn’t my personal style, but she has a wide range of price points and the products look well made.
Views from Paradise:
The artist doesn’t have a website listed to view more of the products.? They sent a 4×6 photo that I was very intrigued with and I’d like to see more.
I love this artist.? Not only is the shop banner killer, but the artwork is something that I might actually buy.? I don’t have any additional wall space, but if I did I might get something for my office.
Very cute stuff, and I might buy something if I ever had a girl.
I hearted this shop right away.? She sent a cute button ring as a sample and I wore it for 3 days straight.? The only thing I’m not so sure about is that the rings are adjustable.? Otherwise, quite nice.
A Sentimental Affair/ Crafty Ladies:
Kitchy little items that aren’t quite my style.? When I first visited this shop the shop announcement said that they wouldn’t be shipping after some date in November.? If I had liked this stuff I wouldn’t have been able to buy anything for Christmas as the sampler came after the date.? The shop announcement has now changed.
Beautiful hand dyed yarn.? Kinda makes me want to relearn to knit.? However, no actual sample was in the bag.? Just a card.? I would suggest adding a sample of the yarn so people have something tangible to touch.
I love the sample ring that was sent, but there was nothing listed in the store.? I was a little bummed about this.
Something totally different for baby.? My kind of unique.
Cute idea, but I don’t know that I would purchase them.
She did origami gift tags that are very well made and beautiful.? Unfortunately, there was nothing listed in the shop when I visited.? There still isn’t, but if you look at the things that have been sold they are very cute.
This seller sent a little monster felt pin that I thought was cute, but again, nothing in the shop.
She sent a fairy charm that was quite sweet.? I want to thank her for the opportunity to do this.? I learned quite a bit about other sellers and found a few that I really like.
There were are few shops that either didn’t have products in them or that the concepts were not somthing that I found particularily interesting.
Funky Pencils (no website)
Custom Dog & Bandanas & Pet Products
What I found confusing about all of this is the number of sellers that didn’t have any product in their stores.? I know that many could have sold out quickly.? However, if I personally went through the trouble to put together a bunch of samples I would do so know there is a bunch of product in my store to sell.
Wow, thanks for the shout out! You have a lot of great finds here and I’ve enjoyed looking through them. Thank you for your effort and for supporting the hand made movement.