i’m kinda gettin’ into this treasury thing on etsy. last night, for a brief period of time one of my photographs was on the front page of etsy and brought a ton of “favorite”s and traffic to my shop all because of a beautiful treasury my photo was included in; so i’m even more appreciative of the potential power of treasuries and of the eye-candy that is a group of 12-16ish cohesive products. before it was taken down in order to showcase portions from another great treasury, i grabbed a screen shot of my 15 minutes (i think it’s more like one or two hours, but whatever) of etsy fame — my photograph is in the top row, third from left:

i’m fully aware that being on the front page of etsy is not the holy grail of etsy-ing — that  it’s somewhat random, that LOTS of beautiful work that deserves attention and front-page-ness does not get it and that being on the front page does not magically turn into huge sales (from my experience and from what i understand from other etsy sellers . . . if this is not in fact true, please don’t tell me.) still, it’s fun to be featured and i was very appreciative of the “shout-out” of sorts. it definitely made more people aware of my shop so who knows how that will pay off in the future (oh please let it pay off in the future.)

treasuries (similarly to pinterest; more on that here) are also a ton of fun to make and a good way to get you thinking creatively and seeing patterns in the kinds of things you like. it’s fun to choose a theme and then “window shop” the myriad of etsy stores or your list of favorites for items that might fit. and since there’s so much on etsy that can easily fall into the “want” category and you can’t possibly buy or even see it all, a treasury is also a nice way to give a nod to something you really like but just can’t purchase for whatever reason. ( and if you do happen to be one of those rare people that can buy everything your heart desires *ahem*  hellooo! how ARE you? may i take your coat? get you a drink? and while you’re visiting, may i suggest you also click here. or here.)  if you’re a seller on etsy, it can also be smart to check out the treasuries other people make and that are well-liked to get an idea of what sells well on etsy or at least what is most treasured .  what i like most about treasuries, though, is that it’s another opportunity to support other  people and work you admire. etsy actually encourages NOT including your own work in a treasury and they advise against featuring more than one piece from the same store. in fact, they promise not to consider your treasury for the front page if you do those two things. in other words, the emphasis is on spreading the love. i’m into that.

in the spirit of love-spreading, here are a few of the treasuries i’ve made recently and that showcase some of my favorite etsians (that’s actually an official etsy term…unlike my use of “etsy-ing” and “front-page-ness” above.) there is so much great stuff to choose from on etsy and i’m looking forward to making more treasuries in the future. maybe one will even make it to the front page and bring some joy to a fellow etsy seller . . . now that would be exciting!

pop!

let’s get down to business 

photo nerd phun