I would like to put up some links, should you, my intelligent readers, care to investigate this "scandal" further and draw your own opinions and conclusions from it. I am linking to articles about coral bans, preservation, mining methods, blogs about Etsy, actual forum threads on Etsy and other bits and pieces I think you may find interesting in furthering your interest on the matter.
I am not saying "You should read this right now because I said"... just providing further information should you so choose.
I am also going to once again put up my personal opinion on the matter.
I WILL NOT BE BUYING ANYTHING USING THE ETSY SITE EVER AGAIN.
I would like to encourage others to do the same, since I believe and have for some time that they treat they handmade artisans like crap. But, you be the judge on this one. I know my ruling for myself.
Here are the links.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/27/coral-ban-hurts-italian-craftsmen.html
An article about a coral ban and how it is effecting local business.
http://blog.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/blog/blog.pl?/pl/2010/10/1287376895.html
An article someone did online about the outrage over this Etsy Storque blog.
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6658582
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6658218
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6659297
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6659498
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6660749
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6658291
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6657695
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6659467
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6657333
A variety of threads from the Etsy forums on the topic.... some more about being angry for being silenced and some about why the article upset them.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/declaring-coral-too-precious-to-wear-10844/
The actual Storque blog post that started the whole thing.
http://www.jckonline.com/2010/09/28/jck-asks-temple-st-clair
A feature article about the blog poster on another site. People have been blasting her in the comments section. I'm not condoning nor condemning this behavior. My personal belief is it was Etsy's stupid mistake and not hers.
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4967473_how-moonstones-mined.html#ixzz132rseUKz
This one was posted in one of the angry comments on the above blog in response to her featured sketch of moonstone earrings. I found it an interesting read for the sake of learning about where my supplies come from.
http://etsybitch.blogspot.com/
One of my favorite blogs for all issues with Etsy. Just a smattering of how angry Etsy has made its handmade artisans.
http://www.coral.org/node/127
A great site that talks about coral, its endangerment, environmental causes and reason why it is being harvested. If you really want to take a stand on the issue of coral preservation, this is an excellent resource.
That is all dear readers. I leave you to daw your own opinions and conclusions. Any comments on this you wish to leave would be greatly appreciated. Add to the dialogue. Agree to disagree and things will go well.
Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label opinions. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
The "Green" movement and its effect on jewelry making~ Part 2 Gemstones
Welcome back, readers! Here is part two in my series exploring the effect that the 'green' movement is having on jewelry makers. I would like to explore the realm of gemstones as today's topics.
I know many jewelry designers and creators, myself included, love to work with gemstones. Whether they are in bead form, cabachons or faceted stones, there's just something about a gemstone that is unique and attracting to the eye.
To start with, there are typically two types of gemstones on the market today: natural gemstones straight from the earth and man made or grown gemstones from labratories. These two options in and of themselves can often spark controversy. So, let's take them seperately, starting with natural gemstones.
Natural gemstones, like another other mineral in the earth, are a limited resource. Since these minerals occur naturally in our earth, this means that is can take thousands of year and the perfect conditions for some of these minerals to build back up into the stones we recognize as gemstones. So, while the earth is still capable of producing more of these mineral deposits, it is a very lengthy and condition specific task.
With that being said, there does not seem to be a visable end to the supply of many gemstones at this point in time. I have not found any information about gemstone depletion aside from an article about Tanzanite. Many tourist spots across the US and around the world have mines where tourists themselves can mine, dig and pan for precious and semi precious gemstones. I myself have done this time and time again. It's an enjoyable activity! And it's nice to see exactly where your gemstones and beads are coming from. It can also teach you a lot about the properties of certain stones. For example, mining your own opal can very quickly teach a person how very fragile this mineral is. The tendency of veins of opal in rock to crack and shatter while being dislodged from the earth is a clear indication of what care one must take with a ring displaying a fragile opal. I've had many a friend who have had their prized opal rings crack and shatter.
There's a lot of controversy surrounding the mining of gemstones like rubies, diamonds and emeralds. In countries outside of the US where these stones are mined, the workers and work conditions are not what they ought to be. Because of this, many jewelrs are looking for what are called "conflict free" gemstones to use. An excellent source for more information regarding this is the following link: http://www.brilliantearth.com/about_products/
Synthetic, man made or labratory grown gemstones are different in that they are not naturally occuring in the earth itself. Scientists and geologists have done the research and discovered methods of growing these mineral deposits in controlled labratory environments. Thus, they have created man made rubies, emeralds, diamonds and sapphires. Much of today's commericially sold jewelry is actually made utilizing these stones. After all, they look the same, have the same properties and the cost tends to be much lower. There is less labor involved with growing gemstones versus mining them from the earth.
So, there's a little more information and a really goo resource on the topic of gemstones. If any of my readers have more information or some informative links or resources, please leave that infor in the comments section so I can update and better inform my other readers. Feel free to add!
I know many jewelry designers and creators, myself included, love to work with gemstones. Whether they are in bead form, cabachons or faceted stones, there's just something about a gemstone that is unique and attracting to the eye.
To start with, there are typically two types of gemstones on the market today: natural gemstones straight from the earth and man made or grown gemstones from labratories. These two options in and of themselves can often spark controversy. So, let's take them seperately, starting with natural gemstones.
Natural gemstones, like another other mineral in the earth, are a limited resource. Since these minerals occur naturally in our earth, this means that is can take thousands of year and the perfect conditions for some of these minerals to build back up into the stones we recognize as gemstones. So, while the earth is still capable of producing more of these mineral deposits, it is a very lengthy and condition specific task.
With that being said, there does not seem to be a visable end to the supply of many gemstones at this point in time. I have not found any information about gemstone depletion aside from an article about Tanzanite. Many tourist spots across the US and around the world have mines where tourists themselves can mine, dig and pan for precious and semi precious gemstones. I myself have done this time and time again. It's an enjoyable activity! And it's nice to see exactly where your gemstones and beads are coming from. It can also teach you a lot about the properties of certain stones. For example, mining your own opal can very quickly teach a person how very fragile this mineral is. The tendency of veins of opal in rock to crack and shatter while being dislodged from the earth is a clear indication of what care one must take with a ring displaying a fragile opal. I've had many a friend who have had their prized opal rings crack and shatter.
There's a lot of controversy surrounding the mining of gemstones like rubies, diamonds and emeralds. In countries outside of the US where these stones are mined, the workers and work conditions are not what they ought to be. Because of this, many jewelrs are looking for what are called "conflict free" gemstones to use. An excellent source for more information regarding this is the following link: http://www.brilliantearth.com/about_products/
Synthetic, man made or labratory grown gemstones are different in that they are not naturally occuring in the earth itself. Scientists and geologists have done the research and discovered methods of growing these mineral deposits in controlled labratory environments. Thus, they have created man made rubies, emeralds, diamonds and sapphires. Much of today's commericially sold jewelry is actually made utilizing these stones. After all, they look the same, have the same properties and the cost tends to be much lower. There is less labor involved with growing gemstones versus mining them from the earth.
So, there's a little more information and a really goo resource on the topic of gemstones. If any of my readers have more information or some informative links or resources, please leave that infor in the comments section so I can update and better inform my other readers. Feel free to add!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Etsy vs. Artfire continued
There are a zillion threads on both the Etsy and Artfire forums about this topic. I read them every so often and sort of see if there are any new ideas or arguments one way or another. I know my opinion and how it applies to my shop and this is what I believe is the essential part of my decisions. However, every once in a while there is a good argument or piece of wisdom picked up from reading the ranting and ravings of my fellow artisans.
Today, a newcomer to Artfire made some astute observations. This person has only been there a short while... and their words really did kind of hit home with me. This person isn't just ranting or raving but making rational observations. I asked and they have granted me permission to repost portions of their post here.
"I joined Artfire about a week ago.(Around the time the new logo hit the front page)
I have a few observations about this place I thought might be interesting to some.
I first looked at this site about a week ago even though I had heard of it well before.
I didn`t come sooner because Artfire had a reputation of being invisible to buyers.
No traffic, no hits, no views, no sales.
I came here last week because the buzz about Artfire on the Etsy forums had grown to a fever pitch and I simply had to see what the hell everyone was going on about.
(Remember that, word of mouth is your best friend)
I signed up immediately for a free account and started testing the waters."
I want to stop here a moment to point out how this person discovered Artfire through Etsy.... exactly the opposite of what Etsy wants. I find this painfully ironic.
"About a half hour after I signed up for the free account I signed up for a pro account because I was simply amazed at the selling tools I could get access to.
For selling abilities, sellers tools, and search function this place blows Etsy away.
I`ve never really put much effort into selling on Etsy simply because it looked like whatever effort I expended would be neutralized by Etsy admin.
I have since imported my entire Etsy inventory here and this place will be my focus.
I`m going to put everything in this basket.
The search sucked(I believe purposely).
Policy was made on a whim and changed just as soon as that whim changed.
Sellers needs were always ignored.
Admin statements were constantly contradicted by other admin statements.
I had no idea what I should do as a seller in some situations simply because admin had no idea what their policy was."
Another good stopping point. I myself have learned through online selling sites that if your shop's policies are not crystal clear, you get more trouble than it's worth. Policy is IMPORTANT in any business. And after reading this comment on the forum today, I realized that all that time I had spent maintaining a shop on Etsy, I had never once looked for a site policy. Perhaps I should have. When I moved to Artfire, the policy was right up front and simple enough to follow easily.
"It slowly dawned on me that Etsy had no interest in my or any other sellers success."
What a horrible realization to come to. And yet this was the bottom line that made me empty out my shops on Etsy as well. I maintain an account over there only to shop with... and even that is sparse. I shop on Artfire 9 times out of 10 and only go to Etsy as a last resort now. Sad but true.
This person goes on to point out flaws in Etsy that most already have known, seen or heard about. But this last part I'll share is what made me want to blog this information.
"Artfire, this place looks great, the tools rock, the community is golden,the fees are a fantasy come true. The problem with this place is the first thing I mentioned in this post.
It still has a reputation for low exposure."
This is where my fellow Artfire artisans and I need to focus our attention. Artfire already gives me the best exposure on the web I've ever had. The fact that we can be found by the google machine is awesome.... but we need to focus more on getting Artfire's name out there in the public.
So let's get to it! This blog of mine is my first step in that direction.
Today, a newcomer to Artfire made some astute observations. This person has only been there a short while... and their words really did kind of hit home with me. This person isn't just ranting or raving but making rational observations. I asked and they have granted me permission to repost portions of their post here.
"I joined Artfire about a week ago.(Around the time the new logo hit the front page)
I have a few observations about this place I thought might be interesting to some.
I first looked at this site about a week ago even though I had heard of it well before.
I didn`t come sooner because Artfire had a reputation of being invisible to buyers.
No traffic, no hits, no views, no sales.
I came here last week because the buzz about Artfire on the Etsy forums had grown to a fever pitch and I simply had to see what the hell everyone was going on about.
(Remember that, word of mouth is your best friend)
I signed up immediately for a free account and started testing the waters."
I want to stop here a moment to point out how this person discovered Artfire through Etsy.... exactly the opposite of what Etsy wants. I find this painfully ironic.
"About a half hour after I signed up for the free account I signed up for a pro account because I was simply amazed at the selling tools I could get access to.
For selling abilities, sellers tools, and search function this place blows Etsy away.
I`ve never really put much effort into selling on Etsy simply because it looked like whatever effort I expended would be neutralized by Etsy admin.
I have since imported my entire Etsy inventory here and this place will be my focus.
I`m going to put everything in this basket.
The search sucked(I believe purposely).
Policy was made on a whim and changed just as soon as that whim changed.
Sellers needs were always ignored.
Admin statements were constantly contradicted by other admin statements.
I had no idea what I should do as a seller in some situations simply because admin had no idea what their policy was."
Another good stopping point. I myself have learned through online selling sites that if your shop's policies are not crystal clear, you get more trouble than it's worth. Policy is IMPORTANT in any business. And after reading this comment on the forum today, I realized that all that time I had spent maintaining a shop on Etsy, I had never once looked for a site policy. Perhaps I should have. When I moved to Artfire, the policy was right up front and simple enough to follow easily.
"It slowly dawned on me that Etsy had no interest in my or any other sellers success."
What a horrible realization to come to. And yet this was the bottom line that made me empty out my shops on Etsy as well. I maintain an account over there only to shop with... and even that is sparse. I shop on Artfire 9 times out of 10 and only go to Etsy as a last resort now. Sad but true.
This person goes on to point out flaws in Etsy that most already have known, seen or heard about. But this last part I'll share is what made me want to blog this information.
"Artfire, this place looks great, the tools rock, the community is golden,the fees are a fantasy come true. The problem with this place is the first thing I mentioned in this post.
It still has a reputation for low exposure."
This is where my fellow Artfire artisans and I need to focus our attention. Artfire already gives me the best exposure on the web I've ever had. The fact that we can be found by the google machine is awesome.... but we need to focus more on getting Artfire's name out there in the public.
So let's get to it! This blog of mine is my first step in that direction.
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