I’ve been away from my blog for a year now. I’ve just been so busy since I started working part-time and running an Etsy team. I pretty much forgot that I had started a blog on…
Source: Taking Online Sales Offline: Local Etsy Team Brings Handmade Wares into the Hands of Shoppers
I’ve been away from my blog for a year now. I’ve just been so busy since I started working part-time and running an Etsy team. I pretty much forgot that I had started a blog on WordPress. I took over as captain last year for the Northeast Etsy Artists Association (formerly known as the Hudson Valley Etsy Pop Up Team). I recently wrote an article about my team and how we are taking our online sales offline by holding pop up shops and fundraising events in local communities. Here is the article in it’s entirety.
Meet a local Etsy team that is taking online sales offline, bringing their handmade wares into the hands of shoppers and raising awareness of their shops in the process.
The Northeast Etsy Artists Association is comprised of more than 30 Etsy shop owners, many of whom reside in the Hudson Valley, who create and sell a wide variety of high-end handmade goods, including unique jewelry, toys, knitted and crocheted accessories and clothing, all-natural soaps and skin care products, aromatherapy, original artwork, journals, pillows, fabric purses and pouches, and home décor.
Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade, vintage, and other unique items, with more than 54 million registered users.
One of the largest selling categories on Etsy is handcrafted jewelry. About a third of the team is comprised of jewelry designers who make everything from crocheted, beaded and metal to gemstone pieces. Team member Dana Damiani of Honey Bee Metals in Ringwood, N.J. speaks for these designers and says that “for us as jewelry makers, many of our pieces need to be touched, tried on.” Damiani adds, “While online shopping has revolutionized our world, it’s a double-edged sword. Many of us have businesses because of online selling opportunities, but it takes away from the thrill of shopping, trying something on, and then deciding on the purchase.”
The group organizes and hosts pop-up shops at local venues, including retail shops such as West Elm, Hip Kid and Etui Fiber Arts in Westchester County. The group also hosts fundraising events in collaboration with libraries and charitable organizations such as The John C. Hart Memorial Library, Purpl and Embark, donating a percentage of their proceeds to fund community programs and workshops.
Etsy encourages the formation of teams and forums as a way for its online shop owners to meet, connect and collaborate. The main focus of the Northeast Etsy Artists Association is to bring awareness of the growing handmade movement to local communities, while also promoting their brands and small businesses.
Team Captain Robin Larido of Robin’s Art & Design believes that “the biggest benefit to a local team is the close networking and the face-to-face meeting with each other—and, more importantly, with the surrounding community, which seems to really want to encourage and support local talent”.
Larido adds, “There is a sense of loyalty at these events that can’t be bought, and there’s certainly a lot of goodwill that is spread from neighbor to neighbor.”
Working alongside Larido are three team leaders—Cassandra Caruso of HelloBeYouTeeFull, Lisa Hulitzky of Lisa’s Wishing WELL, and Stefanie Wolfson of Little Paw Press—who all contribute their time and expertise to promotion, membership recruitment and venue research. Caruso is a graphic designer who created the team’s Facebook banner and logo. Hulitzky, a jewelry designer and former employee at West Elm, the home furnishing retailer, was instrumental in connecting the team with the store’s management and facilitated the team’s first pop-up event at the store. Wolfson, a silkscreen artist who designs the team’s promotional posters, is also in charge of membership and researching possible pop-up locations.
Another key team member is Anne Souza of Soulfully Sweet Scents. Souza helps the team by creating social media posts on Facebook and Pinterest, as well as creating team treasuries or curated photo gallery collections of handmade goods on Etsy.
Many of the group’s members also participate individually in local craft fairs, festivals, markets and gallery shows. Carmen Scerra of GemsZen was a featured artist with RAW, an independent worldwide arts organization (https://www.rawartists.org/newyork) at its July 2015 NYC Highline Ballroom show.
To gain maximum exposure for their shops and small businesses, the artists also submit their work to newspaper, magazine, book and blog publishers. Sometimes, the artists are invited by editors who are fans of Etsy to submit work or write articles. Larido’s mixed-media artwork was published in the summer 2009 and summer 2011 issues of Somerset Studio Gallery magazine. And, she wrote a feature article for the magazine’s winter 2016 issue at the invitation of editor Brianne Martin, who discovered Larido’s shop on Etsy. Judy Secon of H &J Star Creations was one of seven local makers to be featured in an article in The Journal News (http://www.lohud.com/story/life/2016/02/10/local-crafters-doing-all-hand/78694854) about the handmade movement in the Lower Hudson Valley. Hulitzky was featured in a Victoria magazine article titled “Calling Cards.” The handmade soaps of Barbara Robinson DeAngelis of Bonnie Brae Soaps were included on the soap-making blog http://www.soapqueen.com. And Janet Baskerville of Seven Adornments, who makes Boho-inspired jewelry, was published in 1000 Jewelry Inspirations by Northlight Books.
By taking their online sales offline and engaging and connecting with shoppers at pop-up and fundraising events, and getting the word out through social media and local and national publications, the Northeast Etsy Artists Association hopes to raise awareness of the handmade movement. They also hope to enable shoppers to experience for themselves the creative spark behind the photos and product descriptions they see online.
To see featured artists’ posts and other highlights from the team, please visit the group’s Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/NortheastEtsyArtistsAssociation), where they post news of upcoming events, photos and features highlighting the talents and achievements of individual members. For more information about the Northeast Etsy Artists Association, contact Robin Larido at northeastetsyartistassoc@gmail.com.
My second Etsy shop www.RebeccaAndRobin.etsy.com is up and running (again). I had closed it due to lack of views and sales after a year and a half. So far, I’ve listed and/or renewed 36 items. I plan to add about 20 more items. I have all of the pillows, pillow covers and wall hangings in various of completion. Have to buy backing fabric for some, pillow inserts, ribbon and fusible web. I will list them as they’re finished. So please visit my shop and help me make it a success this time. I appreciate your support!
I was at Etui Fiber Arts in Larchmont yesterday with other artists from the Hudson Valley Etsy Pop-Up Artists team for our 2nd pop-up store event. I sold a small wall hanging (the small one with the portrait in the center next to the basket) a fabric heart door hanger (the red one in the basket). I bought a Lavender soy candle from Dina of Petunia’s Corner for my daughter, Rebecca, who loves candles. I am going to be listing the remaining items that I didn’t sell at the pop-up in my Etsy shop. If you see anything in the photos that you like and think you would want to order from me, please contact me 
and I will set up a reserved listing for you. I will be pricing the pillows from $25 – $45, pillow covers from $15 – 20, and the hearts from $10 – 20. I also have three fabric wall hanging pocket organizers from $15 – 25. Please contact me for details regarding exact pricing, dimensions and fabric content, if interested.
A great time was had by all at the first pop-up store event hosted by the Hudson Valley Etsy Pop-Up Artists Team on Etsy. It was a lovely evening of socializing and networking. Even though I only sold one item, it was still fun to see and meet everyone. Our next pop-up store event is scheduled for Saturday, May 2nd at Etui in Larchmont.
“Floating Blossoms” Mixed Media on Textured Cardboard
Note the raffia and paper bead embellishment at the bottom. I thought these would add a fun, textural element to the piece!
Size: 14 x 9 inches
“The Sea” Mixed Media Collage on Cardboard
Size: 18 x 7 inches
Inspired by and features a quote by Jules Verne from “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”. This ocean collage is full of wondrous sea creatures.
Members of the Hudson Valley Etsy Pop Art Artists Team will be hosting several pop up store events in the Spring. The first of these events will take place at The W@tercooler, a shared workspace venue in Tarrytown, NY on Friday evening, April 17th from 5 – 9 pm. I will be one of several Etsy sellers there, offering my mixed media artwork, handmade jewelry, wall hangings and more for sale. You can see my work in my Etsy shop http://www.RobinsArtAndDesign.etsy.com.
https://www.etsy.com/local/event/21864925717/hudson-valley-etsy-pop-up-artists-april-17
http://www.watercoolerhub.com/
The second event will be at Etui Fiber Arts in Larchmont, NY on Saturday, May 2nd from 10 am – 4 pm. I will be there selling my decorative pillows, pillow covers, wall hangings and fabric heart ornaments. You can find my pillows at http://www.RebeccaAndRobin.etsy.com.
https://www.etsy.com/local/event/21893350003/hudson-valley-etsy-pop-up-artists-team-may-2
http://www.etuifiberarts.com/home.html
Come join us!
Today, I wanted to share a blog post I read by Irreversiblymoi.com that I found really interesting and cool! The link was posted on Facebook. She gives instructions on how to create your own art journal backgrounds. I thought this would be a good idea to use on stretched artist’s canvas to create a piece of modern abstract art. Photo is credited to http://www.irreversiblymoi.com
According to the blog post, you will need:
– Black gesso
– Ink sprays (she used Dylusions by Dyan Reavely for Ranger)
– Modeling paste or white gesso (she used modeling paste)
– stencil
– paint brush
I am summarizing here. First coat your entire page spread or canvas with with black gesso. Let it dry completely. Spray several colors of ink on the dry gesso and let this layer dry completely! Lay your stencil over your dried background. Use your fingers or washi tape to keep the stencil in place while you work. Spread white gesso or modeling paste through the stencil with the paintbrush. Carefully lift the stencil off the page. After a few minutes, the ink sprays will “bleed” through the gesso or modeling paste, giving your page a stained glass effect. So cool!
Love this project!
Decorate enchanting paper flowers
You will need some plain paper flowers, these are mulberry paper
Paint the flowers with paint or dyes
Once dry, add metallic paint
Allow to dry
Use them to embellish your mixed media projects
Robin Larido, Artist/Designer 
