I’ve been selling online since 1999 and at no time in all these years have I seen such a surge in marketing for unique one-of-a-kind or custom products!  Granted, I am in the business,  but the interest has completely skyrocketed starting to build around the same time as the  current recession did.  Or maybe it was around the time China imports became toxic.  Whatever drove it up to the forefront of the shopping mindset, I’m both pleased and intrigued at the result.

Storefront sites that feature handmade items have experienced a growth surge.  We are now, all familiar with sites like Etsy and ArtFire but these two have been around for years.  Etsy since 2005 and ArtFire since 2008.  Sadly, eBay – which was, at one time, the place to go for the unique and the unusual – appears to have lost their way in the quest to ‘go Asian’ and buries the one-off items so deep in search that they might as well not even be there.  But don’t get me started on eBay.

The marketing gurus are ramping up like crazy for the holiday shopping season.  Blogs abound, and are now integrating with social networking platforms such as The Hive And Handmade is at the top of the list for this year.  If you are ‘crafty’ or you just like the green-ness of it all.  There are lots of options out there, whether you are inclined to give or to receive.  Or both.

Take the handmade pledge

~Nan