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Tuesday 22 May 2012

The front page

On the 14th of May, Etsy announced that it would be instituting a "front page" for Australia. This meant that anyone in Australia who typed "www.etsy.com" into their computer, or who found their way into Etsy somehow and clicked the prominent orange ETSY button at the top left of every page would see an Australian treasury. Up until this point, the front page has been chosen to match certain themes or trends which mainly suited an American market. Australians have been left out. The front page changes hourly, and it brings many views to the shops featured on it, as well as to the curator of the treasury. Think of it rather like Etsy's shop window display, which is designed to lure a customer in and encourage them to discover more treasures inside the store.


Immediately I began planning how I could make a treasury which could be chosen for the front page. Instead of including items which appealed to me, I tried to choose items which matched a certain Etsy aesthetic. Most of the backgrounds were white. The photography was crisp and clear. I did not bother picking items from fellow Canberrans, or my Christian team - just Australian shops.

Here is my treasury which was chosen for the front page. I was very pleased that Etsy liked it, and that I could represent sixteen other Aussie shops and present their wares to the world (well, to the rest of Australia anyway). I am so glad Etsy made this change, since Australia is very different from the rest of planet Earth and I feel we deserve to show our own style. It also makes me feel like a big fish in a little pond, rather than the other way round. 
Anyway, what do you think of Mossy Point?

'Mossy Point' by bananaorangeapple

A little town on the South Coast


PRICE REDUCED: Australian Gr...
$31.50

Yellow and Dark Green Bunny ...
$10.00

vintage industrial green and...
$7.00

Australian nature love heart...
$35.00

Vintage Men's cardigan m...
$34.00

Healthy greens chunky spun -...
$17.00

Green Coasters with Australi...
$18.00

Chunky Resin Cuff Style Bang...
$45.00

Green forest hand sewn embro...
$25.00

Emerald green, pebble, shape...
$18.00

Sew Green. Forest Emerald Gr...
$35.00

Green Merino Wool Fleece Rov...
$5.00

In The Woods Earrings - Gra...
$22.00

10g Mineral Corrector - Gree...
$9.00

vintage green zigzag flecked...
$35.00

Green Wave - 8x10 surf photo...
$30.00








A happy side effect of the Australian front page is that two treasuries with my items in them have made the grade and have been shown in prime position. Yesterday my aqua baby dress in Deb's pretty treasury was on the front page for two hours. It brought 15 extra views to my shop!

'Bold and Bright' by dspdavey

Make a statement with these bold colours!


The Tilde Bag - Red Sea...
$50.00

Australia Whistle
$16.00

Crazy Cat Morris
$11.00

Little Tree Resin Neckl...
$30.00

Glass Ring Turquoise- b...
$32.00

VAMP Bat PVC Bow, Red P...
$7.00

Baby sundress pinafore ...
$25.00

Fanny Dress Card / Jan...
$22.50

Red Dress Fine Art Gicl...
$22.00

Photo of people swimmin...
$28.00

Rose Earrings. Red. Ope...
$7.00

Bright Aqua Blouse, Jer...
$180.00

Green, Turquoise and Na...
$35.00

Lace Up Waist Cincher B...
$10.00

Retro - Large Turquoise...
$16.00

Hands Free Bag Slouchy ...
$24.00


Then this afternoon, I got another lovely surprise when I logged in to Etsy and found a vintage item from my shop on the front page. My daughter is modelling the pink skirt in Kylie's lovely pink collection. 19 extra visitors came by my shop as a result.

'Sweetest Thing...' by earlybirdcreations



Hand Printed Polka Dot Cushi...
$30.00

Pink Capsleeve Chiffon Eveni...
$298.00

Thick chain, pink druzy and ...
$21.00

Vintage hot pink velvet skir...
$14.00

Rhinestone Necklace in Neon ...
$45.00

Cotton Twine 10yards - Straw...
$2.30

porcelain replica vintage mi...
$30.00

The Handbag Doorstop - Ava R...
$26.00

Baby Shower Gift - Deer Gir...
$16.00

Soft Pink Ruffled Baby Girl ...
$19.00

Fashion Illustration Hot Pin...
$6.50

Letterpress Spring Card Scan...
$5.00

Brushed cotton fabric by nan...
$6.50

Poppy Handmade sash- in mute...
$39.00

70s PINK CHIFFON BALLGOWN
$25.00

HypoxicAndLost - Handmade - ...
$59.95


So overall I am feeling very blessed indeed, and it has made me want to make more and more beautiful treasuries to try and be featured on the front page again.



In shop news, I received a lovely request from a lady in Sweden to purchase a size 3 version of this dress. Sadly I used up a whole pillowcase making this size two, but she bought it anyway along with a pink flowery size one. I set to work straight away with great haste to make a different version in size three. I had enough of the lovely aqua sheet left to line the new dress. I had not heard back from her about colour preferences, so I took a guess and used a vintage sheet with blue and purple tropical looking flowers all over it. Here is the result (sorry about the night-time photos)

As you can see, it has a little aqua and white stripy frill. I wrote on the listing "Four sheets were harmed in the making of this dress" and it's true!







 I get such a joy out of reusing old bedlinen. And I am so happy to think of the three little Swedish girls, sized one, two and three, gadding about the fjords this summer wearing my BananaOrangeApple dresses!



12 comments:

  1. I have to admit I am in the dark as to what Etsy wants to feature in the front page!! Did you get notified when your item appeared or did you just happen upon it? Congratulations on your effort for the treasury and for making it to the front page. Very cute dresses!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately I have no way of knowing. The main etsy fp can be searched via a website called craftcult, just type in your username and it will tell you if you or one of your treasuries has made Fp.
      I found out because a nice person congratulated me in the comments below the treasury, they were even kind enough to email me a screenshot so I could pretend I had seen it up there on the FP!

      Delete
  2. You're a "rock star" Hannah......

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  3. Hannah, you have been a busy bee! Wow all that front page activity is wonderful congratulations. Those dresses are adorable and I love that you use bed sheets, I'd love to have my own dresses and skirts made of bed sheets someday. Blessings Niki x

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  4. You are so creative! I love the clothing from bedsheets idea. Those little dresses are adorable. Congratulations on the front page Treasuries. I particularly like the green one, green being my favorite color!

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  5. Congratulations!! Hope it brings many sales your way!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The green treasury was fantastic. No wonder it was chosen! Cute dresses too!

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  7. You do beautiful work, Hannah!

    ♥♥♥
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  8. You have been so excited about the new Australian FP. So glad you got it!

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  9. Congratulations! I hope that it will lead to sales for you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the colour tha tyou put into your fp treasury.
    Looks like your shop's doing great- pleased for you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Lovely collections! And congratulations on the front page!!

    ReplyDelete