For chirpy connoisseurs of handmade clothes and gifts, Etsy.com is more than a reason to sprint to the mailbox. The online community of 200,000 independent shops from all over the world has become the figurehead of neo-crafting: especially thoughtful, self-aware, or environmentally conscious handiwork that has fueled a no-mall lifestyle choice.
"It [Etsy] sort of exudes a certain hipness," says Etsy Dallas founder Stephanie Hindall of Tefi Designs, who gathered area crafters who sell their work at Etsy.com to form a volunteer-run community team in 2007. "By 'crafts,' we mean more like crafted in the sense of artisanship."
More than 50 Dallas-based designers, artists and crafters will set up their treasures live at South Side on Lamar from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday's Etsy Dallas Spring Bash, the first springtime craft show for the group.
Participating sellers part of this year's juried Etsy Dallas team share the purposeful concepts key of the best shops at Etsy.com. ED member Laura Davis Designs affixes vintage teacups atop brass candleholders to yield the perfect home for a teensy plant. Scribble Scrabble sells gel pens with painstakingly beaded slogans as covers, like this CRAFTY pen.
There are few places to find spunky handcrafted items by local artists in Dallas, and our craft fair scene is notoriously thin. So when Etsy Dallas opens for market, they go all out: Hindall tells us the first 50 shoppers will get free samplings of ED sellers' trinkets, like a pair of Tefi's funky earrings, in a reusable goody bag screenprinted special for the event. Featured products will be raffled off to two attendees who sign the email list.
Comers inspired by the crafters can make rings or mini-shrines (like this one) for free with Girl Scout Troop 1637.
For more information on the Etsy Dallas collective, visit EtsyDallas.com. A roundup of Dallas-area Etsy sellers can be found by searching the Shop Local feature at the online marketplace.
