It’s a brand new shiny year, and today I fulfilled one of my many 2010 New Year’s resolutions to start a website and blog.  It’s taken several days of sifting through WordPress templates and familiarizing myself with the many features of my website host, Fat Cow, but here it is…finally.  I’m exhausted and maybe a little dehydrated, but looking forward to sharing my reflections on art, entrepreneurship, the handmade movement, and of course, shopping  on Etsy — with everyone out there in cyberspace.

My learning curve since I joined Etsy as a handmade jewelry seller in August has been steep.  Just making a banner on Photoshop was a challenge.  To complicate matters, I also made a commitment to myself that I wouldn’t begin listing until I had at least 10 items to list – after all, what’s a store without an inventory?  I already had several finished pieces, so I thought I could easily meet that goal.  But as usual, when we try to maintain too tight a control over our lives the Universe smirks and shows us who’s boss.  The next few months were full of interruptions – work, family, life in general.  I didn’t fulfill my goal until November — about 3 months after putting up my banner.

I remember the night I officially opened my virtual store — in other words, made my first listings.  I was equally thrilled and horrified.  I lay in bed that night with “Etsy thumbnails” running through my mind in a slow procession, and wondered how my work compared to all the other handmade artisans.  After all, I told myself, jewelry making was just a hobby — who did I think I was trying to sell my work to an unsuspecting public — a global community of shoppers, no less?  The next morning I anxiously logged onto my shop and saw that I had received my first ”heart” from another jewelry seller.  That was the moment I discovered one of the most wonderful things about Etsy:  it’s not just a marketplace, like Amazon or Ebay.  It’s also a community of artisans committed to supporting each other, while simultaneously promoting and selling their own work.

I made my first sales at the end of December.  That’s when my “hobby” became a real business.  A micro business perhaps, but a business nonetheless.

Will it grow or will it falter?  I’ll let you know what happens on December, 31, 2010. 

Until then, I hope you’ll join me on my journey as an Etsy seller.  Whether you’re another seller, a shopper, or just someone interested in art, entrepreneurship, and the handmade movement, I hope this blog will have something for everyone. 

At least that’s my goal.  (Hey, is that the Universe smirking at me again?!  Or is that a smile?)