Happy New Year!

I haven't posted in quite a while. Last fall I temporarily closed my Etsy shops, and since this blog was originally designed to promote the shops, it fell by the wayside as well.

I closed my shops for a couple of reasons. DH and I were busy dealing with an upcoming move across the country, from Connecticut to California. Since a lot of my shop items were made by my mom, I wasn't sure how I would get the items out to me--I do the photography and mailing, so I need the items in my hand. It is so difficult to get a decent price for hand knits anyway, I hated to add another cost in order to ship the items across the country to me so that I could prepare them for sale.

But I am also quite discouraged at the path Etsy has taken in the last year or so. It is obvious that Etsy management has decided to allow resellers a place in Etsy. Right now, however, they allow the resellers to misrepresent "who" is actually making the item. These resellers pretend the item is handmade in the USA when it is really made in a third-world country for slave labor wages. As a handknitter in the USA, I cannot compete with these prices.

I have no problem with Etsy allowing these sellers as long as the seller is clear about where the item was made and who really made the item. Then the buyer can make an informed decision. Purchase the cheaper handknit and support the reseller rather than the actual knitter, who probably earned pennies for his/her work, or support the actual artisan who made the item, but pay a higher premium

Many buyers would probably choose the less expensive option, but at least it would be an informed purchase. As of now, there are people all over the internet complaining about making a handmade purchase on Etsy from a seller in the USA, only to find a "made in Tibet' (China, India, you name it) tag inside the item.

So for now, my shops are closed. Our move is finished, and we are loving our new life in the Bay area. I'm watching Etsy closely to see if changes are made that would warrant our revisiting the idea of selling handmade knits again.

I'm planning to use this blog for more "esoteric" musings, so feel free to stay tuned if you are interested!

And a blessed new year to all!