Dec 18th 2008 06:00:53 am

Hello Craft is a blog about craftiness and so much more!

“Hello Craft is dedicated to the advancement of independent crafters and the handmade movement, as well as empowering small business owners and educating the public to the benefits of buying handmade and teaching the joys of making.”

On the Hello Craft site you will find essays, indie shop reviews, tips for starting and running an indie craft business, crafter interviews, a craft event list, and most importantly, a Hello Craft podcast. They are currently looking for phone-in submission for the holiday podcast. But if you are interested you must get your phone call in today (December 18th)!

Keep Hello Craft on your link list because they have plans to host a summit all about supporting crafting and buying handmade in Washington DC in 2009.

No Comments » Categories: website review

Dec 4th 2008 03:23:46 pm

From the website: “American Craft Guide is the complete resource for America’s professional handcrafters and artisans, independent artists, craft hobbyists, and those who love to buy American handcrafted goods. We bring all of these groups together to create a community that fosters learning, sharing, and promoting America’s handcrafters and artisans.”

I stumbled on this fairly new (started in July 2008) website today and was really impressed by the site’s clean layout and its goal of creating a comprehensive arts and craft resource. The site includes a collection of DIY tutorials, a community section where you can chat with other crafters, an arts and craft events calendar, a magazine (I think that is their word for blog), and soon there will be a directory of handcrafters and indie artists. It is still a new site and the community only has about 350 members, but it has the potential to be a great resource!

2 Comments » Categories: website review

Nov 5th 2008 11:39:52 am

Postcrossing is a postal mail hobby website somewhat like Swap-bot. The tagline for the site is:

“send a postcard and receive one back from a random person somewhere in the world!”

Once you create an account on Postcrossing you are assigned a random person from around the world to whom you send a postcard. Once you have sent, you are entered in the system to receive a postcard from a totally different random person from anywhere in the world. The system is highly organized and structured with each postcard receiving an identification number and being registered by its recipient. Postcrossing members have sent and registered over 1.5 million postcards! Amazing! There are people from almost every country using Postcrossing and the site is available in variety of different languages. The Postcrossing website is clear, simple, and easy to navigate with nice features, like a real-time postcard update feed on the main page. There is also a blog and forum.

We definitely don’t want to lose any of our great Swap-bot postcard swappers to Postcrossing, but I don’t think it is possible to have too many fun options for receiving snail mail from around the world!

3 Comments » Categories: website review

Oct 28th 2008 06:34:54 am

CraftStylish.com is a crafting resource site where you can discover new things, connect with other crafters, and share your crafty creations. From the site:

It’s the destination for fabulous inspiration and expert instruction on the latest trends, projects, ideas, and materials. Whatever craft you love—knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, embroidery, jewelrymaking, and more—you’ll find the best information and community at CraftStylish.com.

CraftStylish is run by Taunton Press, publisher of such magazines as Fine Cooking, Fine Gardening, and Threads. You can create your own CraftyStylish profile, share photos of your craft creations, and read or contribute content to the site’s wide selection of crafting info and tutorials. You can sign up for a CraftStylish eNewsletter or subscribe to one, or more, of the topical RSS feeds.

Recently, Diane Gilleland, of CraftyPod fame and now a CraftSylish contributor, interviewed me for a CraftySylish article on Swap-bot. She chose some beautiful swap photos for the piece and I think she made Swap-bot look like a fun place. Thank you, Diane!

If you go check out CraftStylish, be sure to look me up! I am racheljohnson over there, too.

1 Comment » Categories: press, website review

Aug 9th 2008 03:42:48 pm

We all know about the online auction giant Ebay, and almost everyone is loving Etsy for buying and selling handmade goods online, but what if you want an alternative option for finding cool, independent artists and crafters or selling your own crafts? I have discovered three more websites where you can buy or sell handmade items: Lov.li, DaWanda, and Made It.

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Lov.li

Lov.li is a community of people who love art, crafts and handmade products. On the site you can buy cool stuff, share your art, sell your products, create groups, promote events, share video, and of course, make friends. People from all over the world use the site to sell their handmade crafts and to interact with other artists and crafters. You can create your own blog on the site and join groups based around specific crafting interests. Jewelry and accessories seem to be the most popular items being sold on Lov.li, but there is a wide variety of items to explore. Although the site seems somewhat simple, there are many interesting ways to search for products, including by maker, tag, and by those being made closest to your own location.

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DaWanda: Products with Love

From the DaWanda site: “DaWanda is about people and their products: it is a place where you can discover original and quality products as well as the people who have a passion to create and to share their creations and where you can contribute by sharing your ideas and what you like and by giving inspiration.” DaWanda is based in Europe and the site can be viewed in English, French, or German. Independent artists and craft people sell truly awesome fashions, home products, and supplies on the site. The products being sold on DaWands seem to have an especially high level of quality and uniqueness and the site seems clear and easy to navigate. The site also includes discussion forums in all three languages that anyone can participate in, even if you are not selling or buying.

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Made It: buy, sell, and talk independent

Made It is an Australian shop and directory of independent designers. Selling is restricted to Australian residents, but buyers from overseas are welcomed. Everything from stationery to bath and body products to clothing is sold on Made It. Made It also has discussion forums, but the highlight of the site is the comprehensive independent Australian designer directory which profiles hundreds of indie businesses.

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Have you bought or sold items at any of these sites? Did you have a good experience? What other handmade marketplace sites would you suggest?

6 Comments » Categories: website review