How (not) to take a good Etsy photo.

I've often felt like Etsy is more a photography site than anything else. It's so amazing the impact that a good photo vs. a bad photo can have on if an item sells or not.

And it's understandable!

Anytime you're buying something online that you can't physically touch ... feel ... turn over in your hand .... you definitely want to see it represented as truly and accurately as possible.

But dang, it can be frustrating!! (see photo above taken by Richard for details.)

Normally, I take photos in early daylight for the most natural lighting.

If I've got the boyfriend handy and willing to take some shots, we can be a little more open with the lighting. (He has a much nicer camera!)

Anyway, I think the key to a good Etsy photo is going back and editing the heck out of it. I always add a bit of sharpness ... plus lighten them some. But you have to be careful not to make the item look "too good" and different from what it really is!!

Sometimes I wish I could just sell items in a real shop so I wouldn't even have to deal with taking pictures ... but it is good to help tell a story and have the potential buyer picture themselves wearing the item.

panic at the tag sale

OOOOoooooo......

OOOOOOOOOOOooooo.....

OOOOOOOO!!!!!

Ok. calm down.

whew.

My mom and I stopped by this tag sale place that happens only once a month where I live -- Chartreuse & Co. --- and OHHHHhhh my goodness.

I am in LOVE.

I spent about $100 on random shabby chic cute-ness and think I want to start a booth there. It was in this old barn that is decked out in for-sale decor!

And they even had a little room in the back with a TV for the husbands to sit and wait. heehe

My super-cool life.

One of the main things that has shocked me so far about working on Etsy full-time is the amount of time I spend sitting on the couch.

Normally, when working on making goodies, I put on the Harry Potter audio books on my iPod and get into a Hogwarts trance. Good for the creativity.

But lately, I've found myself watching more TV. How horrible is that?

Anyway ... there are some good shows that I've found amongst the rabble of crap.

-- Criminal Minds // The First 48

Basically, the channel A&E just plays these shows continuously for most weekday mornings and afternoons.

-- The Extras

Rich and I recently got this HBO series on DVD. It is GENIUS.

-- The Sopranos

I've been watching this on and off ... never continuously ... so I've never really been ever to follow the plot. But, it's still good as a once-in-a-while watch.

Hopefully now that the weather is getting nicer, I'll be able to get outside more and feed the ducks at the park :)

All in the family!!

It's a rare occasion when the whole family is together in one place because my sister and her sweet little girl, Ella (my niece!) live in Seattle. (boo)

But we've been having a nice little visit with our parents in West Virginia --- going to Chuck E. Cheeses (sp?), watching "Dora the Explorer" and "The Wiggles" and even playing dress-up with whichgoose crowns!

Ella was not really into it ... we kind of had to bribe her into wearing them ... but the results were great!!

Also, poor little Lucy the dog got sucked in, too :)

Dress decor!

I've been known to fall in love with and buy expensive vintage dresses that I most certainly will never wear (or even fit into.)

BUT ... I've got this idea for making use of them!! You might think it's kind of dumb .. but I thought I'd share anyway, because that's the point of a blog, right? :)

SO--- I've started using them as wall decor! It realized that having them hanging in my closet was no fun at all and I would never really see them, so this way, I can enjoy them all the time!!

Brown Dog's Place

So, I don't normally advertise for other sellers because (let's face it) I'm in it for the money :) Though I'm mostly kidding about this, I've got to give a shout out to my friend, Amanda Williams.

Background story:::::

We've been pals since the second grade (? Is that true Amanda?) I remember meeting her on the bus to first grade .. but I don't think we were friends yet. ANYWAY ... flash forward a couple decade, and we still manage to hang out and watch cheesy movies from time to time! I'm so grateful to have a friend like her. I know she knows what I was like when I was a dorky kid ... (and I know what SHE was like, too!) But we're both super cool now so whatever. ha!

We even made a video together in high school where we were both cross-dressing as men and wielding swords and fake blood. (You'll have to ask her about the details.....)

Anyway:::::

Amanda's been torn up lately about her pup, Brown Dog, who is going through a rough (ruff) patch at the moment. She needed to raise some funds for vet bills and turned to ETSY for the support of the awesome community here.

Here's what she says at her shop, BrownDogsPlace:

"Hi, My name is Amanda and the handsome devil pictured above is my fella Brown Dog. He's a chocolate lab and golden retriever mix that came into my family four and a half years ago. He was just a pup that looked like a bear cub and I was instantly in love! On February 4th 2010 he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his hind leg. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive, nasty cancer that Brownie will inevitably succumb to. In the mean time, I'm fighting to do what I can to keep him happy and out of pain, but vet bills our mounting between doctors visits, X-Ray's, surgery, etc. He is the love of my life and I owe it to him to help him fight this terrible disease; so I turn now to Etsy in an effort to raise money to save my big, brown, and beautiful best friend."

Well-said. And I can attest to the fact that the scarves she makes are GREAT! I got one from her "real shop" -- Kurtdlhorg.

If you would like to make a donation without a purchase you can go to www.paypal.com and send money to Kurdtlhorg@aol.com.

My famous boyfriend!

Perhaps the most reluctant model in the world was my wonderful boyfriend, Rich. :)

And look!! Much to his chagrin, he is up for an Etsy award!!!

PLEASE vote for him HERE http://www.etsy.com/voter_list.php?ref=voter&room_id=95

He only has 13 votes so far!!! :( I think we can do better than that! :)

We are officially cool now.

Happy March everyone!!

I think this is my new favorite month because I have high hopes for the weather turning nice by the end of it. We shall see.

Anyway ... did you know? Crowns are OFFICIALLY cool. We have my favorite store EVER ... Anthropologie to thank for that :)

Check out some scans from their March 2010 catalog!!!

I really like the wild style for sure ... probably not for everyday wear ... but still! Very cool.