Heavens to Etsy.com

When you have a good chunk of time to spend, pour yourself a coffee or a glass of wine and go to www.etsy.com It is an e-commerce web portal for handmade treasures. And there are so many, I can't begin to tell you about them all. It's kind of like e-bay for people who loved handmade delights.

Since rug hooking is not one of the main categories, I missed it when I was there. But if you enter "rug hooking" into the search window, you will find many results that include patterns, wool, finished items, hooks, etc. On Saturday, one of the vendors at RUG reminded me about the site, since her daughter sells her rug designs there.

Coincidentally, last week I was doing research for a client when I came across an article titled "Cool, Determined, Under 30" which was a feature on the brains behind America's smartest new companies. For the most part, their successes are in the technology and online world.

One of the people featured in the article was Rob Kalin, the young fellow who started Etsy - when we was 17! Like many of his peers, he dropped out of high school. But, at 15, he got fake ID and started auditing classes at MIT. Apparently, a couple of he professors noticed him and helped him get into NYU, when he learned about web design. Etsy was his first venture. He raised $27 Million in capital and is now thinking about an IPO.

Cudos to him for creating a world where crafters and artisans can share their wares with those who love them. It's quite a community on this site, with lots of interactivity and ways to connect with your favourite artisans.

Once you have visited, I'm sure you will bookmark the site for many returns.
Just don't curse me if you start spending way too much time there.