Holiday Gift Swap in Progress for Etsy Recyclers Guild Greenies

10% of our team members participated in the 1st annual holiday gift swap !  Members from 3 countries and several states are playing Secret Santa...so let's see what will happen! If anyone was late and wanted to participate convo me, as I have a 2nd shop I'd be happy to swap.  RULES HERE.

Team News

GIFT SWAP!
Tonight I'll be convo'ing shops that joined up for the First Annual Gift Swap, so tomorrow early check your Etsy convos so you can touch base with your new gift buddy!

TAG MAYHEM!  -->  WTH ??
I'm finding more and more people using our "Wastenot" tag that aren't members of our team.  I've been nicely emailing them and most said they thought this was a green term and they have been removing it.  Etsy prefers everyone using the word "team" after their tags to avoid such confusion and constant monitoring. Even though ours was approved -- most teams are transitioning to the new format which is a real pain but most are doing it slowly during "renewals" wherein you can edit tags.  Sadly even if we switch to "WastenotTeam" the search will still bring up "WasteNot" which would be the unauthorized people still using it.  So I'm wondering what you all think, if we should stick to our tag or switch to a better one?  It would have to be something with TEAM in the end.  So, think about this and we'll brainstorm something.

HELP THIS TEAM MEMBER!
I normally wouldn't ask but please help this handmade jewelry member by putting a link to their store in your shop announcement if his wares do not conflict with yours.   He's been on Etsy awhile, but thanks to a crappy camera and slow dial up connection, he's only sold TWO ITEMS.  He's very frustrated and I've tried to help him, I think he needs to rethink tags and titles too.  DoLoBoJewelry.etsy.com

UPDATES and BLOGGER HELP NEEDED!
Sorry the member directory updates are taking so long.  Liz & I are donating a lot of time but we don't nearly have enough spare time to do it as quick as we'd like so be patient with us. If some of you can write a blog story I have a few shops that need articles, so convo me at RetroChalet on Etsy.

1st Annual Etsy Recyclers Guild Holiday Gift Swap Front Page News

1st Annual Gift Swap

Theme:  "Let no distance stop us from swapping gifts!"

Holiday gift swaps are common on Etsy, or in local groups where everyone gets together and does a gift exchange.  Some of you do them at work, or in your local craft club.  

Although our team is global, I don't see why with a few set standards, we can't do something similar.  Why should we let a little distance hurt us?  So, with a few rules here's how it would work--and we can work out the kinks later pending your feedback from this first annual event!

How do I join?

To participate in the gift swap, leave a comment below with your Etsy store name by November 26th, 2010. Make sure to read all the info below.

 

Who do I swap with?

I will assign you a "partner" after I tally up all the names and do an "old fashioned" gift draw....meaning you would agree to "CONVO" your partner and obtain their mailing address and send a gift.  (I will contact everyone via CONVO to their Etsy shop by November 27th.)   No worries, YOU WILL HAVE A PARTNER!

Aren't we a global team, how would this work? 

If you are assigned to swap Domestic to Domestic - your gift should be a value of around $15 (this is what you would "sell it on Etsy" for, not what it would actually cost you) and something you can send first class mail or priority light weight would be ideal - to give you a grand total of around $20-$22 shipped.  

If you are assigned Domestic - International or International - International - your gift should be around $10-$12  value (this is what you would "sell it on Etsy" for, not what it would actually cost you), and under 1 lb, (the lighter the better) so that you may obtain first class international rates which to most areas between 4 oz and 10 oz range between $9 and $12 still averaging your gift total around $20-$22. *NOTE:  International stores may want to check out their local rates to ship to USA before agreeing to be a gift swapper! 

A few simple rules you must agree to: 

• You will check your convos on or after November 27th and send your partner your name and mailing address by November 30th.  If you like a few things in their shop, tell them, so they have a better idea "what to get you for the holidays!) 

• You promise to send your gift no later than December 10th.  (USA to International destinations like Central or South America, or Africa by December 3rd)  Keep your receipt or tracking information in case of any problems.

• You promise not to open your gifts until Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday it is you celebrate!  

Make sure you thank your partner and I hope you love your gift.  It would great help if you take some photos of you and your new gift and send me your feedback to RetroChalet .  We may be able to tell Etsy about this and see if we make it to the front page :)

Not only will you now get a gift for the holidays, but you will network with another member thru the wonderful thing called gift exchange!

Sign up today!

HOT HOT HOT TEAM NEWS

HOT    HOT   HOT 

              TEAM NEWS!

Our new HOME at the new Etsy Teams ON ETSY is LIVE. 

We have our own discussion forum and more!  All EXISTING MEMBERS are preapproved but you have been invited by email , or may recieve a bar against the top of your Etsy sign in screen asking you to respond to the invite.

BEWARE the link buttons look fuzzy, click all the way over to the left to accept!

If you don't see it at the top of your Etsy, you must check your email and then go to the "Reconfirm" link to join us!

 1.  Click reconfirm.
2. Click the button all the way to the left for "Accept"
3. If you accidentally hit reject, convo me.

Etsy Recyclers Guild Team on Everything Etsy - Winter Promo

Make sure you are using our team tag for your items.  This is how you will be found, the link goes right to our team tag, to make it fair for everyone - those who add items frequently and relist will gain the most exposure.  Let's track analytics and see if this is a place we may want to advertise again. 

PROMO RUNS 2 MONTHS FOR TEAM . 

 

SO WHERE ARE YOU?

.   

Team News

Soooooooo much exciting news and so little time!

1) NEW LOOK TO "SHOP BY ITEM" PAGE:

First off, I've been working on the blog like crazy lately.  The "shop by item" page is now updated to reflect most popularly used categories.  I'm not a graphic design guru, but at least it's a start. Here's a preview:

Shop our most popular categories by clicking the photograph! 

2) STILL TAGGING AWAY

Been updating tags on two-hundred-and-some-posts to show more search terms, in case someone searches our blog it will be easier for them to find you, and the products you offer.  This is very time consuming and I'll finish it when I can. 

3)  NEW AD CAMPAIGN

We are going to have a holiday ad campaign on Everything Etsy!


The link will take customers HERE to the team tag search.  There are several thousand of these items listed at all times, but at least people will be directed to our tag page, this is the only fair way to do it.  This will take effect VERY SOON and I'm using store funds which will cover almost two months of it. (*Unless my grant request from Etsy gets approved, then we will have more than two months paid, but please note with over 796 teams competing for grants, you figure our chances of winning.)

So, the good news is: This will cover most of November into December, a great little holiday campaign.  

Make sure you are using the proper TEAM TAG*** and listing regularly for maximum exposure. I would also like everyone to take note of their analytics and report to me at the end of the campaign how many hits you had from "Everything Etsy."    (***be sure to read Tag Mayhem below)

NOTE:  If anyone else would like to donate items to the team store, please let myself or ReLove know and we will get you a password to list your item.  Unfortunately I will miss the entire first month of this promotion as I have to put my store on hold, but please know I will still have internet access so do contact me with questions.  

Also, I found a few shops using the team tag who were not team members, so if you notice anyone doing this please let me know so I can nicely ask them to stop (or join?).

4) UPDATES ON THE ETSY TEAM PROFILE PAGE /  GROUPS FORUMS

Though we may get new members or have members coming off, Etsy Teams has put a "temporary hold" on updates to our Etsy Recyclers Profile Team page.  Their reason?  A very good one! They are working on the beta-testing of the "groups" forums and this is a wee bit time consuming.  I believe they've been at this for a few months now. 

Etsy shows off it's beta testing.

Soon that makes my life as a Team Leader so much better, from what I hear, I can go in and update my own "team page", and create a real forum/group for us, which will be so much better than emailing updates, double checking they are done, and having Jo monitor the Etsy Forums and make new ones each week.  Did you know that there are  39,337 members in 796 teams and Etsy gets applications on them each day? 

5) TAGS - IFFY NEWS

I'm not sure whether to be scared or worried just yet, but in the midst of all these changes Etsy will be also working on their tagging dilemma (not now but down the road).  The initial problem was so many teams created their own tags (ours was approved by our team contact at Etsy) that they really do wish to streamline the tags having the word "team" in them.  From what I gather this is on the back burner but eventually they will prefer the word "team" somewhere in the tag.   Here is more about it:  CLICK HERE.   Don't do anything just yet, til we have to, which won't be for some time down the road.

6) FACEBOOK NEWS - GOODBYE MY ETSY

The "My Etsy" application is going away November 3rd, but according to Etsy a page application will be available soon.  READ IT HERE.



More soon!

Start to Finish Series & In the Studio Series Casting Calls are NOW!

I'd like to solicit everyone to be a STAR for the new "Start to Finish" series and "In the Studio" series type articles.   These articles are a chance for you to shine!  If you think you can pull it off, CONVO me your email and start blogging!

Start to Finish example is below - where you show how you made a project from start to finish so to speak.  For many of us it's interesting to see a few fabric scraps turn into something wonderful!  All of these articles will be labeled "Start to Finish"


In the Studio series will be a one-on-one interview with you and photos of your studio.  Many of us just love to see in what type work area you thrive!  All of these articles will be labeled "In the Studio"

So , here's an example. 

Start to Finish: The Making of Mr. Bojangles (Assemblage From Trash)

When making assemblages I do put a great degree of finding the right items go into it.  It's funny how many people think I just slop the items together, when in actuality, many items have sat on my desk half completed waiting for that special part.  A curbside find of old oak table legs gave hubby something to do.  He cut the top parts off for me to use in my assemblage, and put the bottoms on Etsy for someone else to create with.  

 The bottoms of the legs were listed in my Etsy shop, because I hated to discard them. 

  

The tops would be future assemblages. I had to then try to coat and shabby up the oak wood (such a shame, I know, to cover the old wood).  In this case, many layers of white, pink, blue, and gloss to get the desired shabby finish on the post would take me two days of spraying and drying.   Oddly the original oak gave me some issues because it must have been coated with an oil such as tung oil or something, which I should have caught but it had soaked in so much I hadn't even noticed. Instead, this only added to the shabby-ness and tended to bubble up the paint in just the right areas.  This can however cause you a great deal of problems if you are gluing things to the surface, because the paint will then just "slide off" if not properly coated or attached.  In this case a few end coats of gloss lacquer did just the trick! 

Pinked to perfection: The future body of Mr. Bojangles.

On another excursion, I happened across an old chest of drawers on the curb set out for trash, which had two "nautical" knobs left.  I nabbed them right up and would shabby this one up for Mr. Bojangles's hat. It's amazing how much great hardware you can nab off the side of the road.  Hinges, handles, you name it, always drive slow and carry a screwdriver on trash night!

Before, and after painting the old nautical knob for Mr. Bojangles' hat.

I found some old aluminum "Hokey Pokey" butt-out cigarette holders from the 60s in a thrift shop, and just knew they would fit into the sculpture.  

Funky little things I've been holding out for just the right project!

I was saving these old fabric pieces from a pair of discarded shorts. 

They worked out just perfect for arms.

Add some buttons, extra string and a few more coats of gloss spray, and now Mr. Bojangles is ready to sell, 50% of the profits going to my favorite charity! 

 The finished product, Mr. Bojangles, is ready to be sold, 50% profits going to charity!

Getting To Know The ERG Team

by Cherri Miele
Rather than racking my brain for a subject to write an article, I thought a list of interview questions for team members might be interesting. A good read to help us get to know each other as artists, as well as an opportunity for our readers and potential customers to learn more about us and our products.

Copy and paste the list of questions in your reply, add a space, then answer :0)

1. What is your Etsy shop name?

2. What is your primary shop item?

3. What is your favorite art medium?

4. Where do you get your inspiration from?

5. Do you gain inspiring ideas from looking at other forms of art?

6. How would you describe the difference between art vs craft?

7. Which piece in your shop are you most proud of and why? (please include link)

8. What is the price range of your items? (lowest-highest)

9. Who is your target market?

10. Please share one fellow ERG member's shop link who's work you admire and would buy from if you had the money.