New Times / Art

Sites to behold: Etsy.com

I’m not entirely certain what an etsy is, but if you’re in the market to buy or sell handcrafted or vintage treasures, etsy.com is not just a resource, it’s THE resource. Items are grouped into more than 30 categories including accessories, art, bags and purses, bath and beauty, books and zines, crochet, furniture, geekery, holidays, music, quilts, vintage, weddings, and woodworking. Buyers can also search for items by color as well, selecting very specific shades from a color wheel.

Etsy boasts tens of thousands of sellers—you can join their ranks by simply signing up for an account—and five times as many buyers—again, sign up for an account and be prepared to spend endless hours salivating over fingerless gloves, steam punk jewelry, and miniature acorns hand-sewn from felt. SLO County alone has nearly 100 sellers of everything from wedding attire to jewelry to skin products. Sellers pay 20 cents to list each item, and 3.5 percent of sales goes to etsy.

Though the site was founded in 2005, it’s picked up momentum in recent years. Part of this recent boom can be credited to the recession, which has provided impetus for creative people to enter the brave world of do it yourself.

Now, for a list of items you are likely to find on etsy but doubtless won’t believe until you see it for yourself: a blue pinecone. That’s right, a pinecone painted blue. It’s actually rather fetching. A decal of a bicycle or squid to place on your toilet. A key rack shaped like a mustache.

As the holidays approach and you become increasingly stressed, don’t resort to buying your entire family socks for the third time. Consider instead a blue pinecone or toilet decal. (Etsy has classier items, as well.) It’s also not a bad place to treat yourself for surviving yet another day at work, or whatever it is that you do with your time.