You know you are back on Etsy when:
So yes, I am back. :)
Please expect to see some new banner templates for Powerpoint on here within the next couple of days, plus some other templates and stuff to get you better prepared for Etsy.
I remember my Etsy Xmas checklist. And then I look at myself now - hardly no time for sewing, no time for Etsy, no time to blog. Well, I could blog, but since I am so not-involved in Etsy right now, it just doesn't make sense.
One reason of course is my "real life" job. I started working full-time from home this summer, and that sounded like the ideal set-up - loads of time for crafting. But to be honest, while it sounds great in theory, it isn't actually that easy.
For one thing, I am pretty drained when I am done. Happy to lie on the couch and do nothing. Plus basic housework, friends, the ferrets all cost time. After being sick with burnout syndrome for a year (which is when I started sewing), I also notice that I still have less energy than I used to. I need those time-outs when I do nothing.
On the other hand, I feel a distinct energy boost when I actually do something creative. Like this weekend, when I had the kiln running almost non-stop, making Xmas presents.
So. As of next year, I will probably switch shops. Will do less sock critters and more glass fusing. While a sock monkey takes hours to complete and is a hassle to mail, since I actually need to get to the post office, glass fusing is easy. I more or less just cut the glass, throw it in the kiln and turn it off when everything is done. In total hours, 4 magnets or jewelry take just as much time as a sock monkey, but I am only busy with it for half an hour. And mailing is a huge advantage - I can package everything at home and just throw it in the mail box in front of my home.
Hopefully, when I set up ArtFusing, I will also get more involved in Etsy again. It just.... takes time.
So I hope to see you guys again next year - all energetic and creative again!
Till then - have a happy Christmas!
Sorry, I am feeling non-creative and non-Etsy at the moment. I need to get back to crafting eventually, but have enough problems juggling my regular job with my private life right now.
But to post something -I got a new tattoo lastnight. It's Sackboy, the main character from the new Sony Playstation 3 game "Little Big Planet".
He only looks slightly elongated through the photo, is actually 100% perfect.And yeah, I am loving him, though all my friends want to have me committed to a mental institution.
Here's the official Wikipedia definition of a tribe:
"A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states, though some modern theorists hold that contemporary tribes can only be understood in terms of their relationship to states.
The term is often loosely used to refer to any non-Western or indigenous society. Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups (see clan and lineage)."
You know, I don't care about those so-called state relationships. But for me, Etsy really is a tribe of crafters.
We come from completely different backgrounds, speak different languages, have different political or religious views - but we all believe that handmade has a place next to corporation and products made in China.
We all believe that sustainability is important. We all believe that individuality is important. And we all excercise our creativity on a daily basis, not just in our craft, but in our lives, too.
I recognize the tribal culture in our forums and in The Storque. People share, people help - because we are one tribe.
Every tribe has its fights, every tribe has its questions. But we are still one tribe.
In 10 years time, everyone will have realized the scarceness of our world's resources. Everyone will have realized that recycling is not only noble, but elementary. Everyone will be buying locally, where possibly, because not only will the energy prices have risen even further, but even the last person on earth will have realized the amount of damage we are doing to our world by flying meat around the globe, by polluting the rivers, by emptying our oceans.
Be proud of your tribe. In 10 years time, you will be seen as a pioneer, as someone who was there when it all started. I have a dream... I really do.
When I spend too much time in the forums, most of the time I am surrounded by friendly people. And spending too much time on the forums means you might even mistake the friendly people for friends.
The more MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and what-have-you are integrated in our private life, the more "virtual friends" we have. It's important to remember that that's all they are... virtual friendships. No matter how much fun you are having online, never neglect your real-life friends.
I have different friends. Two that live close by and are my closest friends, the ones that don't ask questions when I call up crying, but jump in the car and are here within a heartbeat.
Some I go out partying with, and don't interact with much outside of the parties.
Some are old college friends, and while we hardly ever keep in touch, when we do see each other, it is as if no time has passed at all. If I call today that I need to stay at their place in Dubai, Amsterdam, Paris or wherever they might be right now, they will have the guest room up and running by the time I arrive.
And then I have some Etsy and Internet acquaintances that I keep in touch with through blogs and e-mail. People where I can bitch about Etsy, gossip, people who I can help out with graphic design and stuff... None of my real-life friends have any clue what I am actually doing here on Etsy, so where's the point in telling them that this-and-that reseller has opened a new store?
But my real-life friends are there when it counts.
April last year, I broke my ankle. One moment I was upright carrying ferrets to their outside enclosure, the next I was crawling on my knees (still carrying 3 ferrets.) Placed them in the enclosure, locked the door, went to hospital. Broken ankle, torn ligament.
And then I called Corinna, one of my best friends. Who was there within 2 hours to take my ferrets along with her, because wearing a cast, I was in no condition to take care of them.
I couldn't have done that with virtual friends who are at the other end of the world.
Corinna also took my ferrets when I went to Milano last month. Okay, she "lost" one of them for half a day, but I am sure she feels really, really sorry about that.
Lotte decided to have an adventure and escaped from her ferret-safe balcony (apparently safe, except when Lotte is around), took a stroll through busy Hamburg and fell into a gully 3 ft. deep. Couldn't get out again, luckily Corinna found her after 6 hours or so... and boy, was Lotte glad to see her.
Corinna must have gone through hell... Losing someone else's pet? That's worse than losing one of your own. Yet she didn't call me... she knew I would have been worried sick, yet stuck in Italy. And when she told me upon my return, Lotte was home safe again, so no harm done.
That's what friends are for.
Some of you might not be aware of it, but the European championship is currently being held in Switzerland and Austria. I am not much for soccer, except when we are talking European or World championship.
We are missing some of that gorgeous weather we had 2 years ago, which is why I still haven't been to one of the public viewings, but it is still great fun to watch with friends or even home alone.
But... the team that my heart belongs to lost last night. The Netherlands had such a great run so far, but their performance against Russia was embarrassing. So now I am back to cheering for Germany, I guess.
Our next game will be tough - we are playing Turkey. Which is like playing against a brother... we have more people from Turkish descent living in Germany than any other country worldwide. I know that things will be okay if Germany wins, but might get ugly if Turkey beats us.
What does that say about my country?
Ha, just checked my FeedBurner - and 80 people are subscribing to this blog! I am flattered. :)
I also find the ups and downs in stats funny to see. I know that my views are way up when I am ctive in the forums and post links to helpful articles.
Are you cross with me for posting so much irrelevant stuff lately? I am definitely writing less on Etsy marketing, but I do have some articles in the pipeline. It sometimes just seems that I have written so much on Etsy already, that I am not always sure what else is missing.
I need your input here!
Now unfortunately, I can't participate - but anyone living in the States, this should be on your to-do list!
GreenDimes will greatly reduce your junk mail for five years, therefore saving trees. And they do this for free! Even better, when signing up for their free service, they actually plant a tree on your behalf!
Personally, I would even pay their premium membership ($20), which gets you more service and more trees.
This has nothing to do with Etsy. This doesn't even have anything to do with politics or current affairs. Well, in a way it does.
Last week, a Dutch politician published a long-announced anti-Islam video. I haven't seen it. Wilders is not one of my most favorite politicians, either, and I wasn't paying that much attention. I was paying attention when they mentioned the murders of Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh.
While I am German, living in Hamburg, I actually spent 8 years in the Netherlands. I was around during both those murders. What makes me remember Van Gogh's murder is not just the savage way with which it was executed, during daylight in the middle of a busy street in Amsterdam. It is what happened a couple of weeks afterwards, right across from my apartment.
I left in the morning, on my way to a presentation at a customer's. I opened my front door, went down the steps. And was greeted by a soldier with an automatic weapon and a bullet-proof vest. I was told that I should have listened to the news, no further info was given. I had the option to stay inside or leave the neighborhood, but I would not be allowed back in.
Hey, I was on my way to work, so no worries... I wouldn't be back till later that evening. So I left the neighborhood, walked a couple of stations to the next operating tram station, and called my boyfriend/ ex-boyfriend (it was one of those weeks) up for more info.
Apparently, there was a terror cell across the street from my place. Police had tried to get in , but the front door had been booby-trapped. Can you tell that I'm a sound sleeper? I didn't even hear the explosion. In any case, they were waiting for back-up, and I was on my way to my appointment.
Then my customer canceled. Hm. I couldn't go back to my place, didn't feel like going to Utrecht for the office, and I had a concert later that night in The Hague. So I grabbed my laptop and settled down to do some work at my favorite cafe downtown.
I wasn't worried yet. Till David (the ex) started calling me with news. And more news. And I started running around the corner to an electronics store every half hour to catch my neighborhood on the news. Rumors were flying high, the whole place was supposedly full of explosives, tanks were on their way to The Hague, and all I could think of was "my ferrets are still in there".
When you hear about stuff on the news, it is always condensed - I never realized how long such a situation can last. I spent the whole day in my cafe, not working much, being updated mostly by phone. When it was time for the concert, we were still not allowed back home, so I went out. Afterwards, I continued calling the official police hotline, to see what
was happening - no info, no news. The terrorists had been taken into custody, but apparently a robot was now inside, checking for explosives.
I had the choice of groveling to my ex for a place on his sofa, or sleep in a public sports hall. My ex was not amused - things were not going well between us, and suddenly I am forcing him to break our agreed-upon off-time. He even called the victim hotline himself, thinking it was a ruse to stay at his place - what did he take me for?!
Next morning, we were back together (funny how that works), but I was still not allowed back home - the situation had been diffused over night, they had stormed the apartment, but I didn't have my passport with me in order to get through the police lines. I was finally allowed back in later that night. The ferrets were fine, by the way.
The next week, there was media everywhere. Everyone was discussing our neighborhood, we were declared a "probleemwijk" - a problem hood. Which is ridiculous. It was mixed, with many working class Dutch, and there were never any problems at all - till a handful of terrorists made it so.
Right now, I am wondering if something like this will happen again. I am wondering when this kind of hatred will stop - from both sides. As I was re-reading "Drifters", I realized this was an age-old problem. Maybe it is up to our generation to solve it. Maybe it will only be solved in another 200 years.
I grew up in the peace movement, and I know my parents' main fear was of the a-bomb. Now, our greatest fear is of terrorist attacks. Me, I am scared of both sides. Bush's politics scare me as much as terrorist bombings. I am hoping for a peaceful solution during this generation - I won't be around in 200 years.
There are times when I do nothing but paint. And times when I do nothing but sew. And then there are days or weeks when I can't find the energy or motivation to do neither.
Every time that happens, I worry. I worry if Strumpfkunst is really what I want to do. If I should honestly consider doing this full-time eventually, or just admit it - it's just another hobby, something that I will tire of.
When I am back to creating, I am fine again. But I do wonder - how do others cope with these motivational breaks and bumps?
Right now, I am creating again. And somehow, I'm in a safari mood. It started with a customer's request for a giraffe, which I needed to think about. After that one turned out great, I asked the forums what to make next - and so far, an alligator as well as a rhino have come to life.
Those projects make me happy. It makes me happy when I look at a pair of socks and try to find out what it wants to be. It makes me happy when it works, when the critter is cute, has personality, and just looks cuddly.
I think I'll take a trip to the zoo next week. Maybe I will find some more inspiration. :)
