An Etsy shop and a new look blog.

I keep hearing mixed reports about Etsy. Some people seem to find it a good showcase for their work and others feel as though it's easy to just get lost in there. It certainly is a massive 'place' - within minutes of me listing an item, I noticed that another 100 items had been listed for sale, so I think it will take lots of hard work to keep afloat. On the other hand, it's a brilliant opportunity which already has a huge following so it has to be worth a try.

If there is anyone out there who isn't familiar with Etsy (Is that possible? Even Mum is asking "How many items have you got listed on Etsy rhymes with Betsy now?") it is billed as "an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade" - that means I qualify right?

So, I've opened an Etsy shop (see link in the side bar!) and the first thing I wanted to do was get 'the look' right, which meant a new banner. I loved my old black and red banner, but it just wasn't working with Etsy's orange heading so I had to come up with something new and I wanted it to incorporate a piece of my work. After several hours of experimenting, taking pictures, cutting, pasting, layering, rejigging and general faffing I have come up with something I am happy with for the time being. Up until 3 months ago, I had never done anything like this, so I am pretty pleased with the result, but this leads on from my last post - another example of a time consuming activity that is not beading but is necessary for the success of the beadwork business ... well in my opinion anyway, or is it just that I kind of like playing on the pc?

Anyway, as I ended up with 3 different banners, one for my website, one for my blog and one for my Etsy shop, I thought I should simplify things a little and have therefore changed the look of the blog to reflect the Etsy shop - see;- new banner and orange text! What do you think?

For now, I think it will just be a mixture of smaller pieces such as Ladies and Gents cufflinks for sale in the shop, together with the odd 'bigger' piece such as the original Supernova Choker and Foxglove Trio. I'll see how it goes before I make any other decisions.

The only trouble now is, every time I post a picture either on here or Etsy, I feel unsettled if it doesn't match my new orange and grey theme - could I be taking things a little too seriously lol? I don't think it really warrants me only using orange and grey beads in future though - that may be a step too far!