Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
Happy Back to the Future Day! Missing a piece of classic pop nostalgia in your home? No worries. There’s plenty of cool stuff on Etsy.
No home should be without a Crispen Glover prayer candle. No home! $8.99
How about a Flux Capacitor Illuminated Sign for $65?
Lamp complete with DeLorean and Clock Tower $74.95
They are calling it “The Etsy Killer”. That remains to be seen, but Amazon Handmade was officially launched at midnight last night (technically, this morning).
Reclaimed Home is a vendor on the new site. So, what is our take away? Some kinks need to be worked out. As a seller, uploading products is (How do we put this gently?) a pain in the ass. As of this writing, only 3 listings are viewable and the image isn’t showing up on one of them. Granted, only two of those listings were actually uploaded before launch, so it’s most likely our fault that we waited until it was live to upload in a frenzied state.
Etsy has lost some folks recently due to their decision to accept non-handmade vendors. On the other hand, it seems like lost of sellers aren’t embracing Amazon because of the higher fees. Us? We like to throw things out there and see what sticks. Hey, if it sells on Amazon as opposed to Etsy, we feel like they’ve earned the fee.
As a shopper, the site looks like a cross between Amazon and Etsy. Well, what did you expect? The benefits of shopping at Amazon over Etsy would be one stop shopping, most likely. You can purchase a sink drain and artisan vintage inspired apron all in the same transaction. Some vendors can offer free shipping through Prime or have their goods sent out directly through Amazon. On the other hand, the Etsy experience is between you and the artist.
Etsy won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. There’s enough room for plenty of handmade products. At the very least, perhaps the marketing of handmade by a mega company is exactly what each country needs to wean them off the import habit.
Fork Hooks. $55
Now we understand why retailers start gearing up for the holidays as soon as the leaves start turning color. As early as August, we’ve been worrying about not having enough gifty items or having too much small stock. Being it’s our first year in business, we don’t know what to expect.
Since we’re not sure that the Crown Heights shop will bring in loads of people, we’ve signed up for some craft shows and holiday markets. Ok, that’s a lie. We only have ONE confirmed show and that’s BUST Craftacular. We’re still figuring out what else we want to do. Yeah, we’re cutting it close since it’s almost November already, but then the event promoters are taking their time getting info together too.
Here’s a preview of some of our handmade gift items. We’ll have to make a ton more if we’re to stock multiple venues plus do online sales, but we can eat and sleep after the holiday season.
Vintage Candlestick Menorah. $90
Double Light Switch Plate. $10. (not online yet)
Clockface with Double Glass Hooks. $40
Door Knob Coat Hook. $50
Found Object Face Art. $50
Upcycled Typeset Block Triple Hooks. $75
Industrial Metal Candle Holder. $40
Every now and then you come across some real talent on Etsy rather than someone who’s handy with Mod Podge. Case in point is this sculptural switchplate above. $30 buys you a functional piece of art from Rusty Ventures.
Pretty in pink hand painted, distressed and protected cast iron plate. Ten bucks from Juxtapositionsc.
$15 from Vermont Slate Art. This toggle switch is made from recycled slate roof tile. They also have marble and granite, but IMHO, this is the nicest.
Hammer textured hot forged steel from Black Turtle Metals. This plate will last a lifetime for merely $20.
And what switchplate collection would be complete without Morrissey? I tend to shy away from the glued image plates because they start to look raggedy after a while, but you can’t go wrong for eight bucks. You probably paid as much for your beer last night. From Gingersnap Press.
Fan Light. $100 from Glow 828
Drum Light from Urban Twiggs, $225
Cordless Drill by RecycloJoe. $325
Coffee Filter fixture. $245 by Lampada
Creepy yet awesome baby elves by Baloo Hallow
Tis the season of The Elf. Check out some of these magical little finds on Etsy.
O.M.G. How cute is Dobby the House Elf by Himawari Land?
Bazel the Elf has a beautiful sad quality to him. Makes ya want to take him home and give him some TLC. By Homespun Dolls.
And who can pass up this Buddy the Elf ornament? Crafts by Suzie Q
Lovin’ this vintage ceramic tea set at Mum’s Cottage shop.
Since I’ll be graduating from reinventing small items to entire houses, the Reclaimed Home Etsy shop is getting phased out. You won’t see me at fleas or crafts fairs either, not that you have in a long while.
So, listen up. I’m having a “Movin’ On Up” Etsy sale. Everything is 40% off. If you’re local and want to rummage through my handmade merch and vintage goodies, I may prefer that to packing hundreds of boxes filled with $5.00 items. Load a box of goodies and get it for a steal.
For other vendors, there are also crafting and upcycling supplies, packing materials and event supplies like a usable but broken tent and some tables, etc.
The original plan was to have a big stoop sale at the end of June. I’ll probably still do that but I thought a smaller, invite-only thing would be a nice lazy start. Say, next weekendish? Drop me a line or leave a comment and I’ll see if I can open house for a few people at one go.
*Click on photos for item link.
Air plants are pretty cool creatures on their own, but set them in pieces of antique salvage and they become repurposed works of art.
Hungarian born, Brooklyn dweller Zsuzanna of Roots in Rust has a background in the financial industry. She left all of that behind to fulfill her dream of becoming an Etsy seller. Ok, so that’s sort of a joke, but truth is, she craved creativity in her life.
Zsuzanna is taking the business seriously. Unlike many other Etsy sellers, this is now her full time career. It will be fun to watch the business take root! (Get it? Take. root.)
There are only 53 days left until Christmas! And Hannukah starts even before that! Here are some lovely upcycled Etsy pieces for the home.
The garden faucet wine stopper from All Things Reconsidered is less than 15 bucks ($14.99 to be exact).
Howzabout a wall clock for that cyclist in your life? $149.99 from Upcycled Bicycle. Say that 10 times fast.
Swimming Deep created this starburst mirror out of recycled magazines. $25.
Chic Retro makes pillows out of old sweatshirts. You can send her your favorite old shirt and voila…a pillow! $19.99
Etsy conferences will be taking place around the globe this weekend. Ok, well the main one is in Berlin and there are some satellite conferences in the US. Brooklyn is wait list only at this point, but you can RSVP here for the live stream.
What’s the difference between an Etsy conference and a dental or a realtor’s conference? Probably just the dress code and mode of transportation. Anyone without a bike and skinny jeans need not apply to the Etsy conference.
I kid, I kid. These are some serious crafters. And Etsy is THE force behind it all. There will be lectures and workshops on everything from setting up your business to post production. If you have a small business of any kind, it wouldn’t hurt to stream this baby.
Hopefully, it will be up on the World Wide Web as a video in foreverland as some of us aren’t available to see it this weekend.
Brooklyn Craft Central is holding their first ever outdoor market. The curated fair will play out tomorrow under the arch in Dumbo, hence the name “Shop the Archway”. There will be something for everyone and I swear I’m not just saying that.
Shopaholics!
Gawgeous handmade jewelry by Victoria Stevens . That Lego ring is ta die for!
Witty witticisms by our favorite t-shirt gal, Miss Wit. She’ll be set up right next to us (oh yeah, Reclaimed Home will be on the job) and we’ll entertain you if you stop by. Promise.
Marlene’s Lost and Found will have their decoupaged antique postcard boxes on hand. Love.
Animal Peeps!
Money raised selling raffles to win items donated by vendors will go to Ready for Rescue, an organization that helps pets in kill shelters.
Foodies!
Yeah, don’t worry. They’ve got you covered. How does lunch by Hermelinda of Puebla sound? Followed by chocolate truffles from The Chocolate Swirl? Mmm, chawcolate!
Music Lovers!
Bands will be holding acoustic performances throughout the day to help promote the upcoming Brooklyn Indie Music Fest in September.
Kids!
A crafting table will be set up for the little ones to enjoy their day while you’re eating your food, bopping to your music and buying yourself little gifts. Kiddie crafts brought to you by the fine folks at Poloppo.
All this fabulousness takes place on May 21st from 11-6, rain or shine.
So. Tomorrow. Dumbo. Arch. Be there.
Did you know there is an Upcycle Magazine? I do now. The site goes over how-to’s, products and ideas. It is a tad heavy on the Etsy crafty stuff, but there are some great ideas for the home and garden. “Bigger projects” as I like to call them.
Looks as if the site launched in 2009 but the content in the archives isn’t too overwhelming. In fact, I wish there was more.
Well, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’ll shut up now and show you. As always, click on the image link to learn more.
Via Best Green Blogs.
Between the house renovations and the sprained ankle, I did manage to bang out a few new pieces for the online shop and upcoming craft shows.
Booby Hooks is my favorite. The hooks are strong enough for hats, leashes and light jackets. Or bras. They’re real wood and they’re spectacular. $45
Ok, I kind of like this sweet boy too. He’s seen better days, but who needs arms when you can have scissor wings? That’s a note clip on the bottom there, in case ya didn’t realize. $35
When I told my mom I was working with dolls, she said “You hated dolls when you were a kid!” Well, there’s something to that. I used to pull them apart and abuse them. I must say, I took great pleasure out of ripping off Barbie’s head for this piece. Hang earrings or rings from her “arms”. $30
A little cherub love. This antique sewing machine drawer can be hung as art or can be used as an earring holder. Just hook the earrings through the chicken wire. The kissy blower sitting on the edge can hold some necklaces too. $60
Private First Class Rupert Valero is currently stationed in Khandahar, Afghanistan. He’s making good use of the free time he has on his hands. Check out these robots made from recycled found objects. As if the robots and action figures aren’t cool enough, I’m loving the photo set ups.
Click on any of the images to access Valero’s Flickr page and be sure to check out his Etsy shop where not much is available most likely because he puts ridiculously low prices on his work.
Thank you, Mr. Valero for your service to this country and for your fabulous creations!
Via Treehugger and Articulated Discussion.
