Etsy loses it's cool

 Hi there- it's me again-

fight for Handmade!!

At the risk of repeating myself, and also possibly getting banned from etsy,  I am re-posting this article, because it makes me so mad

*******If Etsy's new "not handmade" change bothers you too, please spread the word by sharing this article!! ******

Spreading THE TRUTH May HELP GALVANIZE A Movement THAT MAY JUST SAVE OUR SAFE HAVEN FOR CREATIVITY. What am I talking about? please continue reading the article - and SHARE if you are also angry about this change....................................

From the Huffington post:
"As someone who is directly involved in the maker movement, I'm somewhat embarrassed to say I didn't pay much attention when Etsy changed its policies last fall. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, CEO Chad Dickerson announced that Etsy sellers could use outside manufacturers to produce their designs. In other words, items sold on Etsy no longer had to be handmade.

It wasn't until a few months ago, when looking on Etsy for a new watch that I realized the implications of this change."
see full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shannon-whitehead/how-etsy-changed-the-rule_b_5708565.html

 This policy change has diluted etsy into a washed out space for sweatshop remnants and bad reproductions of artisan craft, And it has blindsided us craftspeople who have built our lines and customer base there, only to now have it be taken away by this bad decision...(which is most likely a shift that they did in order to arteficially  accellerate growth before going public),
it's a real shame

I Know, Don't I?

The garden of techniques in metalsmithing is vast and fascinating- Keep on exploring!

There are so many things to learn in Metalsmithing, and so many ways to get things done- I think the most important thing to learn is to use your noodle when you have a new problem- TRY not to rely on doing things the way they are "supposed" to be done (according to whom?) and instead learn how to do things the way YOU can envision things will logically work.
Of course, this tool- self confidence- comes with time and trial and errors. We all make them- it's the wise 'smith who keeps the lessons we learn ourselves to be used for future "problems".....
Yeah, I cringe when students come to the table with "I know"- because you can never be sure from where they have acquired their Knowledge.
Arrive every day at the bench with the spirit of "maybe I don't know" and you can be assured that you will learn something. Even if it is that you learn that you really really DO Know!
ya know?