Thursday, October 8, 2009

Regretsy

I sell on Etsy, I think everybody who has been here for more than a few minutes knows that. There's even a link to my little shop over there <---------.



I do not think Etsy is the be-all and end-all of the diy arts market, nor do I think I am particularly diy-ish. Sure, I have the Well-Versed Purse and Iggy, but most of what goes into the Etsy from me are my granny crafts.


I sell most of my kitschy crafts at real-live festivals - both because textiles sell better when you can touch them, and, quite frankly, Etsy is like a giant yard sale. There's oodles of things, of varying quality, and your customer may not take the time to find you.*


I know that Etsy is a giant yard sale, I know that D.A.H. has influenced countless hacks, but I did not realize how pervasive that dark under current of Etsy really was.


Enter Tom Bennett to enlighten me.


He's one of the prolificists over at d'arteboard. You may have hit their link over there <----- as well.
I spend a fair amount of time over there, mostly being intimidated by the huge amount of quality work they, both individually and as a collective, produce every week.


Today, after about a week of stewing in my own ennui, I rolled back over to find this:



Actually the linked listing was for a sculpture of a rat fetus in an Altoids tin, but I know some of my readers read with their kids in the room, so I chose the horror of the brushed fleece poncho. Truly something you would expect to find at a yard sale or church craft bazaar. Also, is she naked under there? *shudder*


And where does this come from? Well, Etsy of Course, by way of Regretsy - a digital homage to all the weird, terrible, and terribly weird that can be found on Etsy.


So, I've got a ridiculously bad still life on cardboard that is just itching to go into my Etsy shop at a ridiculous price, in the hopes that it can swell the ranks of Regretsy. Being recognized for being that bad is a great honour. Is that wrong?



*Yes, I know about Artfire, but I don't produce enough of unique design and quality to move there.

P.S. Thanks to Helen Killer I am now late for work. Stupid lack of self control!

4 comments:

Julia said...

Yep, I know what you mean.
I don't think Etsy wants to get involved in juried arts and crafts, as it can be terribly subjective, but sometimes I wish they would. This item is one of those times. I see by the photo that it actually sold, though, just more evidence that there's no accounting for taste. :P

The few, the proud plant sellers on Etsy also have issues with folks who resell commercial seeds and/or steal photos via the internet for their listings while still implying that it is "handmade/homegrown". Beware of fuzzy, low resolution photos.

Lisa said...

thank you so much for enlightening me to regretsy. I havent laughed like that in a long time. Hilarious!!

Tom Bennett said...

I look forward to the still life on cardboard. Maybe i'll be in a position to purchase it after it has been regrettably immortalized.

Dotty said...

I've gotta see the still life too! List it!

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