Etsy Love: Chainmail Jewelry

Mention the words, “chainmail jewelry”, and many will conjure up images of Renaissance Festival wear and halloween costumes.  But as it turns out, chainmail jewelry can be modern and chic.  Just check out some of these from Etsy:

Blue Fun Chainmail Flower Pendant    $24

Creations by Uli

Peacock Loops Bracelet  $25

Design Repose

Ripple Necklace  $54

Raine Studios

Spiderling Necklace  $55

Crescent Maille

Freeform Japanese Weave Necklace  $75

Dear Ange

Chainmaille Bracelet in Stainless Steel  $25

Stygian Chains

How to Search Effectively on Etsy

Well, okay, if you want a million bucks, you probably won’t find it on Etsy (well, actually…).  But if you want a sterling silver necklace with a cat pendant, I can pretty much guarantee you there will be something.  Ditto for a purple vintage scarf.  But how do you find these items amidst the vast collection on Etsy?  That’s what this post is here to help you with.  While there’s no guarantee that you’ll always find exactly what you’re looking for on Etsy, these tips can help you come closer to what your little heart desires.

• Embrace Treasuries and Gift Guides: I love looking at treasuries, which consist of items handpicked by an Etsian based on a specific theme, much like my Etsy Love sets.  There is always a treasury displayed on the front page, with delightfully beautiful items.  I’ve found many of my favorite sellers through treasuries.  One thing I love doing is checking out the shop of an item that I’m drawn to in a treasury.  Gift Guides are another great place to look if you’re browsing.  Showcase is a daily set created by sellers, and another place to find some good stuff.
• Try Etsy’s Various Search Tools: Etsy has many search tools to offer you, although I’ve had varied success with them.  The Colors search lets you search for items by color, but it doesn’t often find what I’m looking for.  Instead, you might want to search for items tagged with a color, such as navy.  Pounce lets you find shops that just opened or items that just sold.  Shop Local lets you find shops in a specific city.  The Time Machine lets you see items as they’re being listed.  Sometimes, I love watching the time machine slowly scroll through new items while listening to podcasts.
• Browse through your favorites:  I am favoriting items on Etsy constantly, and I always have at least 30 pages of favorites at any given time.  I love browsing through them and looking at other items sold in the shops.  Often, you might find a gorgeous gem that you favorited months ago and had completely forgotten about.  Don’t forget to look back through your favorite sellers too.
• Use Advanced Search:  Being a library science graduate, I love advanced search tools.  Etsy’s is very effective.  You can choose between the categories of Handmade, Vintage, Supplies or all three.  You can choose what section of handmade items you want to search, from jewelry to needlecraft.  You can search by tags, titles, etc.  You can set price limits.  You can change how the items are sorted.
  • So here’s an example of how I would use advance search.  Let’s say I wanted to find a handknit purple scarf in merino wool.  In the search terms box, I will type “purple merino scarf”.  I’ll be searching for handmade items in the knitting category.  I want to search tags and titles.  I’m willing to pay between $1 and $60.  This will limit my results to items that fit within these parameters, and it will be much easier to look through than a general search for “purple scarf”.
• Be willing to spend some time browsing: When I create Etsy Love sets, I usually start out with a keyword search, such as “leather clutch” and then browse through 20 + pages of hits before finding what I’m looking for.  It can be a bit tiresome to look though so  many pages, but there are lots and lots of items on Etsy, and sometimes the best way to find what you really want is browsing through many, many pages of listings.  When browsing, look for quality images, because that is often the sign of a serious seller.

What’s your favorite search tip for Etsy?

Etsy Love: Vegan Bags

Last week’s Etsy Love post focused on leather bags, but I realize that for vegans, they aren’t really an option.  Thus, today’s post is focused on handmade bags that are vegan and animal friendly.

Citrine Tote  $37

Bayan Hippo

The Letter Bag in Gunmetal Gray  $133

Moop

The Bud Bag in Robin’s Egg Blue  $125

Humade

Ninfea in Plum.  Vegan Bag.  $115

Ninu

Organic Vegan Shoulder Bag in Mandarin  $125

Pansy Maiden

Large Hobo Purse in Burnt Red  $56

Mehran

Vegan Suede Hobo  $85

2Enju

Etsy Love: Leather Bags

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you probably know that I adore Morelle’s leather bags, and I always highly recommend them.  A reader recently asked what other leather purse sellers there are on Etsy, so I did a little research so you can know the variety of options out there.  Every Etsian has a different style and technique, so there’s something out there for you.  (I realize this post isn’t exactly vegan-friendly, so I’ll put together an Etsy Love vegan purses set soon next week Here it is.)

Larch Bag in Chocolate  $275

Valhalla Brooklyn

Cosmopolitan in Green  $120

Studio One Designs

Brown Leather Satchel  $150

The Leather Store

Embossed Ostrich Blue Handbag  $130

EKAA

Anita Genuine Leather Handbag  $165

Art On Crafts

Red Sea of Blossoms Messenger Bag  $120

Eight Seasons

Etsy Love: Francophile

I took four years of French in high school, and while I’ve forgotten most of the language, I continue to have a love for all things French.  Apparently, quite a few Etsian’s share my franchophilia.  Here’s some gorgeous items for when you feel a bit of “Je ne sais quois”

Je T’aime Necklace  $34

Chocolate and Steel

C’est La Vie  $15.75

Maru Maru

Sterling Silver Eiffel Tower  $29

Just Jaynes

Dusk in Paris Earrings  $10

Run Wild Horses

Sarabeth Necklace  $26

Savvy State College

Etsy Love: Valentine's Art

Valentine’s is coming up in four short days.  Last week I looked at heart themed jewelry.  Today, I decided to go in a different vein and feature some beautiful fine art items with love themes that are available on Etsy.

Love’s Whimsy  $15

TLC Inspirations

Love Hearts Framed Picture  $49

Sarah and Bendrix

Forest Lovers 5×7 Photo $14

Dongedy

Looking for love 8×10 Fine Art Print  $30

Irene Suchocki

Love Sparks 8×10 Photo $20

Ablaze

Etsy Love: Jewelry with a heart

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and jewelry makes a perfect gift.  To celebrate in advance, here’s a lovely set of heart-themed jewelry on Etsy.

16″ Flat Heart Chain Necklace  $10

Dance with Silver

City of Love Art Necklace $35

Heartworks by Lori

Keepsake Silver Heart Locket Necklace  $25

Luxe Deluxe

Heart Hoop Earrings  $18

Shiho Yamashita

I Heart You Necklace  $55

Foundling

Sweetheart Conversation Heart Necklace  $10

Scarlet Revolution

Etsy Love: Aqua

Aqua is most certainly one of my favorite colors!  I love how vibrant and springy it is, and I think that it is fantastic for pretty much all seasons.  As I was going through some of my Etsy favorites recently, I realized that I had quite a few gorgeous aqua items in their, so I’ve gathered them all into a set here.

Eliza Necklace  $38

Ms Belle

La Mer Necklace  $32

Pixisette

Soft Earringas (Bright)  $16

June Designs

Cyan Earrings  $55

Clevergirl

Laurel Organic Apatite Bracelet $25

Divine by Deidre

Reclaimed Wool Sweater Brooch  $12.50

The June Bride

Etsy Love: Pearl Dangle Earrings

I’ve recently noticed that I love to wear earrings that incorporate movement into the design.  I also love pearls.  So of course, pearl earrings that dangle are extra-awesome in my book.  Here’s some lovely ones from Etsy:

Decca Earrings  $28

The Peach Tree

Loft Keshi Pearl Earrings  $26

Rachel Unger Jewelry

Sage Silk Earrings  $24

Marie Fly Fly

Cara Mia Earrings  $36

Joslin Jewels

Pearly Dangles  $15.30

June Shin

Fairie Circle Earrings   $40

Sara Westermark

Etsy Love: Silver Cuff Bracelets

I’ve been itching to find a quality, unique cuff bracelet that will last me awhile.  There’s some stunning ones on Etsy, and while several of them are out of my current price range, they may be worth saving up for.

Simply Gorgeous Cuff Bracelet  $220

Nafsika Creative Jewelry Design

Silver Plated Peyote Beaded Cuff  $45

Dicope Bisuteria

Custom Literary Cuff Bracelet   $88

Sara Westermark

Oxidized Wire Silver Cuff Bracelet  $32

Regina Pierallini Light Metals

Punched Hole Cuff Bracelet  $620

Sharon Saindon