Etsy Austin: No regretsies

A story I wrote for Austinist last week on Etsy Austin got bumped, so I decided to post it here!

EAST 2009 is now finito, but you can visit these crafty women next weekend after your Thanksgiving coma has worn off. R. is baking corn bread and desserts as we speak for Thanksgiving, and preparation for the latter items was described as such:

"I'M GONNA DESTROY SOME PIES TODAY WHILE YOU'RE AT WORK."

In girl language, this can be roughly translated as:

"I am going to bake a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie while you're at the office. I hope you like them!"

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving all, and enjoy CraftRiot upon your return. Without further ado....Etsy Austin! (Pardon all dated references to EAST):

There are many skills your average crafter possesses. Decoupage. Knitting. Some light carpentry. But if there's one thing every crafter knows how to do, it's hustle, y'all. Case in point? Etsy.com, a ginormous online catalog of handmade creations. Open since 2005, Etsy allows entrepreneurial crafters from all over to set up shop on the interwebs. And in October of 2008, our fair city got its very own street team: Etsy Austin.

This week, a chorus of crafters from Etsy Austin dished with Austinist on their year-old organization: They are Samantha Hlavaty (of Nepenthe's Bathtime), Beth Hempton (of The Snuggle Herd), April Wright (of April Wright Design), Lori Hooks (of Adorn Modern), Renee Rice (of Robo Ruku), and Julia Chambers (of Aberrant Crochet). You can check out these ladies, and their stationary-making/metal-fabricating/hat-stitching compatriots this weekend during the East Austin Studio Tour, at Smith Studios on 1406 Smith Road (stop 60 on the tour map).

Tell us about Etsy Austin. How many artists are involved, and how did this group get started?

When Beth Hempton of The Snuggle Herd moved back to Austin in 2008 after living in Seattle for 11 years, she had only been operating her Etsy shop for a couple of months. But she was looking for ways to learn more about Etsy, and share the experience with others. Because Austin is so artsy and there are so many creative entrepreneurs here, Beth was surprised that it didn't have an Etsy street team already, so she started one with the intent of connecting it to the local craft scene and getting members involved in their Austin community. The response was great! The team "started" last October, so Etsy Austin is just over a year old, already having reached its cap of 150 members.

It appears that Etsy Austin has grown incredibly fast in just a year.

Well, not only have we begun to make a name for ourselves here in Austin (which is really cool and exciting) -- we are more organized, too. These days, we have an executive board and committees to handle various tasks, which has led to us participating in many things as a group like SXSW, KGSR's Blues on the Green, the (now-defunct) Austin Handmade Market, and of course E.A.S.T. We also have an upcoming holiday bazaar, Craft Riot!, on Dec. 5th and 6th at Wines.com headquarters. It's all been wonderful because, we have so much fun doing events together, inspiring each other and sharing small business advice.

What types of artists do you have in your midst?

Any and every type imaginable! We come from just about every corner of the artistic world: we've got jewelry makers, fashion designers, soap makers, embroiderers, potters, polymer clay creations, drawings, paintings, screen printing, and so on.

In the past few years, Etsy has opened up this whole new world for crafters looking to market their wares. How else is your group using social media to gain exposure for your members?

We have our Etsy Austin website (which is currently being reconstructed), the Etsy Austin blog, Facebook page, Twitter, MySpace, internet forums, etc. Anytime a buyer wants to shop for an Etsy Austin member's creations, they can type in "teametsyaustin" into Etsy.com's search and voila! In addition, most of us Etsy Austinites have independent business sites and blogs.

Besides being cool-looking, handmade clothes / toys / paper / etc. impart their own version of social justice. (I'm thinking of the Handmade Toy Alliance for example, who gets a shout-out on your blog). Why is handmade better for people?

Besides supporting Austin small businesses, artists, and artisans, and that handmade is a much more environmentally-friendly production process, there is just something very organic about the handmade process that is much less sterile and ties us closer to the human community.

Also, the person who is behind that handmade item actually possesses the focus and wish for their items to be enjoyed. That's what handmade is all about! A real person, a real story, a real process from beginning to end, and a real intent of positive impact behind each handmade piece.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This post couldn't end without some visuals, so here are some handmade creations from one of my favorite Etsy Austin sellers, Lucy Blue Studio. Discovered her belt buckles about this time last year, kind of want to buy all these for Christmas presents.

Kat Edmonson: Lucky

I was listening to KUT yesterday in the car, and Kat Edmonson's "Night and Day" came on. God. How talented is she!

I remember seeing Kat at Central Market a few months back while eating on the back patio, and thinking:

".............wait. Why is this free?"

Much like, I imagine, the way my friend Jason felt when he saw Norah Jones play for free at Waterloo Records years ago. This was a short time after she and my roomate Caleb broke up. (True story).

Anyway, here is an animated video someone made for Kat's song "Lucky," which appears on United States of Tara. It's pretty delightful.

Kat is playing at Vino Vino tomorrow night at 7pm. See her and swoon.

Going rouge: Red lips in Austin, Texas

For the past few days Reader, I've been in an introspective sort of mood. As a result, I have been tempted to write something, like, deep and relevant on this blog. A treatise on single-payer health care systems. Our conflicted relationship with The Domain. An examination of our local economy both through the eyes of a food trailer owner, and a diehard UT football game attendee.

But the most pressing issue here in Austin, Texas, Reader? Red lipstick.

First, some context. This trend is not unlike the High Waist Resurgence of May 2009, whereby hipsters near and far shed their low-slung everything and embraced a new era, one of tucked-in shirts and fastidious belting. Remember when you couldn't walk two feet here in Austin without running into a gentle lass, deftly hiking her waist up to chin level? I do.

Now, we are seeing a similar interpretation of Austin's "tidy" street style: a well-defined lip.

When I think of red lips, I think of Ashley Cass, Birds Barbershop's darling social media guru. Every time I run into her, she's wearing her pretty rouge smile, and I think: "How ladylike! How bold! I shall try red lips, too!"

And then I slap on the same boring nude lip gloss.

That's me in the front right, pink boa. Our Garden Party last Sunday. (PS, all of the Trevor Ray pictures from that event are here). A perfect opportunity to go wild with lipstick, non? Imitate the Clara Bow v-shaped mouth? But no. I cowardly reached for gloss, the kind with a name like "Barely There" or "Sand" or "You might as well not wear anything."

However. So intrigued by red lips am I, that I marched up to the Heebie Jeebie this week (a.k.a. H-E-B) and plunked down money for a tube of brightly colored Wet N' Wild. The results were pinker than I wanted, but still - a step in the right direction.

(If it looks like I'm giggling, it's because R. is taking a shower right behind me. Singing).

Let's take a look at other fever-lipped Austin ladies.

Tiffany Diane.

Danielle Thomas.

Stephanie Fraide.

Rachel Donnan.


Leslie Torbett.

Would love to hear you weigh in on the smattering of red lips across our Capitol City, Reader.

Are you yay? Nay?

If "yay," do you use something better than Wet N' Wild? I am embarrassed to say that at dinner last night, I looked down to see traces of my lipstick all over my meal. As if I had been making out with my tacos.

Friendy Fires vs. Dinner.

Sometimes, people ask if I actually attend everything I post about on this blog. The answer is: yes, what are you losers doing?

Completely kidding about that. In fact, tonight is a great example. We were chatting about Friendly Fires here on Austin Eavesdropper a few months ago, and back then, I had every intention of attending. But something (YouTube?) distracted me for two months, and now this show is sold out.

But never fear, friends. Craigslist-happy Austinites are selling their FF tickets. (Ok, seriously? $50? That's a racket, PostingID 1472570670 person).

Anyway, rather than gaze at man-child Ed Mac tonight, I am going to do something I almost NEVER DO for lovely R. Cook!

The problem is this, dear Reader. It's not that Austin Eavesdropper is beyond hope in the kitchen department. It's that her mental ingredient list is as follows:

-Turkey
-Coffee
-Oatmeal

Isn't that sad? Whereas R. can walk into the grocery store and simply let vegetables speak to him like the Produce Whisperer he is, I have zero instincts for interesting foods that taste good together. I go through long phases where I will eat squash for a whole year, veggie burgers a whole year, soup a whole year. It's kind of like my digestive system hosts an annual timeshare.

Reader, do you have any ideas for a Home-Cooked Dinner to prepare? (No julienning anything, please). Here are some I Googled just now.

Shrimp and risotto.

Glazed salmon.

Upside-down Mac N' Cheese pie. (Just joking. That's disgusting.)

Your dinner suggestions, my more talented-at-cooking friends?

Tonight: Drag Queen Bingo

Now seriously - how am I just now hearing about this.

This poster says "Beer and Bingo" - innocuous enough - but trust me, Saffire T. Stone (oh yes, spelled with "ff's!") is emceeing.

Awesome.

Bingo cards = $1 each
Beers = $3 each
7:00pm / Jo's downtown
More details here.

Caleb Does the Bleet-Up, or: My Bleety Valentine

Just when you thought I had shut up, for real, about the Bleet-Up.

Season 2 of Caleb Does is kicking off y'all, and the show's requisite brand of party-hopping is getting a little....twist. They stopped by our soirée for a while, but afterwards, a most unfortunate turn of events occurred.

Below, Caleb gets interviews with moi, Do512 Kristin, Richard from Ultra8201, Swamplot, and more. Oh, and....Freaky Franky Mae. But what a shame.

Stay tuned.

Public Service Announcement: The Austin Garden Party and 1920's slang

So with the exception of seeing John Krasinski present his new movie last night at the Drafthouse (I TOTALLY get it, ladies: John Krasinski is too cute for words, genuine and self-deprecating and talented, topped off with a warm admiration for Austin and a serious jawline), it's been a rather chill weekend. Why? I've been saving up all my muster for tonight's Garden Party!

Yesterday, I swung over to Buffalo Exchange, and picked up some 20sish duds for tonight's festivities: Pink slip dress thing, vertically stitched stockings and lace-up, square-toe shoes. (Austin Eavesdropper already owned that turban hat with flower pin - as well as a large pink feather boa, which in all honesty she is still debating for outfit. Too much pink, methinks).

I turned the flash of the camera off in an attempt to make said ensemble all vintage-y looking.

This is just the regular hanger where I keep my jewelry; I do believe pearls are in order for a proper flapper costume.

Also! A Public Service Announcement (a la Jane Austen's Bleet-Up commercial) has been created for the Austin Garden Party. Once again, try not to let this video blow you away with its professionalism. Picture quality is ever so slightly....BAD, on YouTube, as opposed to iMovie. Like, creepy-lonely-guy-in-the-basement-talking-to-himself BAD. Perhaps a video guru type person knows how to upload iMovie videos so that quality is maintained. Are you out there, video guru?

Moving on: Today, we are discussing 1920s slang:


Wow, I move my head a lot.

Anyway: fellas and dolls, whatcha waiting for? Come spy all the big sixes and bearcats you want tonight at The Liberty. There may even be some juice in it for you!