Just about everyone in Portland has been to Saturday Market at one point or another. I go down there every few weeks, if only to buy food from Limey’s and watch the freak show, but I seldom buy anything else. Truth be told, I really just don’t “get” most artsy-craftsy stuff. I know, it’s probably just me and that’s cool – “one man’s junk is another man’s…” and all that. In the meantime though, I’ve been quietly watching Etsy grow in popularity and they’re now at that point where they’re reaching that critical mass these days with mentions on popular daytime TV shows and all. To me though, Etsy is still just Saturday Market for lazy people – the same old shit, but now available online! Hey, don’t even bother getting off your ass to see the weirdos and sample the great food – just alleviate your artist-supporting guilt by clicking your mouse a couple of times.
So what’s wrong with Etsy? Sometimes nothing. I’ll be the first to admit that a certain amount of it is actually very cool stuff. Where the problem comes in is that that “certain amount” is somewhere in the neighborhood of about 10% by my rough estimation. The other 90% is some of the most butt-ugly contrived CRAP I’ve ever seen (and yes, we’re still taking into account the “one man’s junk” factor). Let’s face it, who the fuck needs a Princess Leia Yarn Wig (and what’s wrong with the kid in this picture?)? Princess Leia handpainted shoes? Or the world’s ugliest Princess Leia Plushie (complete with Luke Skywalker and a blue crochet ass plug)? Is there no quality control in place here? Does George Lucas not know about Etsy? Does Etsy not understand intellectual property laws?
And the horses…. I’m constantly making fun of hippies and their weird horse, scarves, and JRR Tolkien fetishes, but nowhere in the world do more mystical craft geeks congregate than on the pages of Etsy. You want unicorns? Baby, we got your fucking gay unicorns right here, and here, and here. Some of this shit looks more like crap you’d buy at Spencers than actual geek-made art – like someone actually bought a warehouse full of those shitty fluorescent black velvet ink pen color kits and proceeded to color them in a sad effort to make some money.
I’m all about art. Art is cool, whatever. And I get it, you’ve got to let the hacks have their little day in the sun too – even if it means shamelessly ripping off pop culture icons and making shitty “art” of their likenesses to do so. But seriously kids, for all of the junk you might find at Saturday Market, there’s a lot of pretty sweet stuff down there too and, unlike Etsy, you can actually talk to real people, see the stuff in person before you buy it, eat incredibly yummy and fattening food while you’re there, and enjoy some of the most goddawful-yet-interesting street musicians in the world. Etsy has NOTHING on any of that.
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I happen to fucking LOATHE Etsy……..
how can you loathe etsy? what’s to loathe? etsy gives many artists a way to make money from what would otherwise be a hobby. what do you do? bitch about it? way to be productive for artists!
31days… I AM an artist……. I’m just not lazy…..
i didn’t call you lazy
That was a rather lazy response, don’t you think?
yah…. he/she is lazy I guess….. that’s why he/she likes ETSY so much….
There is none so strange as folks (or taste, for that matter). Just want to point out that one of the biggest benefits of sites like this is the rejuvenation of “cottage industry” many many of us are homebound due to disabilities, and this kind of e-commerce activity has opened up a world of possibilities, and a way to become financially more self sufficient. It is also a very hard way to make a buck.