Featured Artist Contest-June27th
Ok, it's been a while but the Featured Artist Contest is back in full effect!!!! "Well, I'm new to your so so blog - so what does this mean mod3rnArt?" Well, if you're chosen, then you get to be featured here, with all these other super kool artists from ETSY. "Ok, that doesn't sound so bad. How do I sign up?" So glad you asked....completely made up - imaginary person! Here are the rules and good luck!!!!Rules: Post a comment in this blog entry and with it leave a link to the site you wish to enter into the contest (make sure to post the link including http://...) You are allowed to post one picture in the blog if you wish but please do not post more, as it slows the site from loading. While we will pick from week to week, do not be afraid to voice your opinion and even vote for yourself. We take all and everything under consideration. Please scroll down and visit/comment on previous artists-we all need support. Also you get extra points for checking out our etsy site.... www.mod3rnart.etsy.com
Sign-Ups end Sunday the 12th of July UPDATE: Signups closed and the winner will be crowned within days
Cloud 9
Hi everyone!! We have been away for a while but here is our come-back!! The summer tourist season has started here in Greece and we are working 12 hours a day. This will continue for the next 5 months-hope we make it. Yet, the time away has given us the time to find some really kool sites and Cloud 9 is one of these "bad-boys." "My blog is devoted to: visual inspiration, faith, natural living, slow food, yoga, fashion, promoting emerging indie artists & designers & more!"
Cloud 9 is a combo of so many things it's hard to pin a title on it. At its core: it is a blog but it also has a marketplace, advertising, gallery, feature, news, contests and so on. There are all kinds of happenings-even submissions so go on over and who knows, you might get featured!!
Featured Artist Sign-Ups
It's time to search the depths of Etsy and find a new featured artist-as always this will be an amazingly hard search, since every single shop I stumble upon has something that completely rocks my mind. With a little help from you all, I'm sure we can get some ridiculously talented people to sign up-so spread the word and post those comments. As always, please take a moment to read and share your reactions to our previous winners (just scroll down) and post a comment or two.Rules: Post a comment in this blog entry and with it leave a link to the site you wish to enter into the contest (make sure to post the link including http://...) You are allowed to post one picture in the blog if you wish but please do not post more, as it slows the site from loading. While we will pick from week to week, do not be afraid to voice your opinion and even vote for yourself. We take all and everything under consideration. Please scroll down and visit/comment on previous artists-we all need support. Also you get extra points for checking out our etsy site.... www.mod3rnart.etsy.com
Sign-Ups end Sunday the 31st of may - Sign-ups now have ended and the artists will be picked and featured within days. Lovely Package
You know how you always here the phrase, "Location, Location, Location" in terms of physical store location and how to increase traffic to that specific business-well here is one I just made up, "Packaging, Packaging, Packaging." I know it doesn't flow the same way but it is super important, especially to artists that work from home but want that professional touch. Imagine this: You just created this wonderful item and someone buys it as soon as you placed it on etsy or any other site you use-so you get it ready and go to ship it. Here is the problem!!! If your packaging is not as unique as the item inside, your customer starts off with the wrong impression even before opening to see what's inside. It's hard for us artists to agree with this because we believe in the item (the art) but in todays market (especially etsy) you need to be unique and one important aspect of this uniqueness is the packaging.
"Packaging is a very important marketing strategy to glamorize your product in order to attract the consumer’s attention. Sometimes packaging is so important that it cost more than the product itself in order to lure the consumers to buy it. Packaging should definitely be included in the 4 major P’s of marketing (product, place, promotion and price)."
-Taken from marketingdeviant.com- Read the article here
Lovely package is this amazing site that displays beautiful packaging from all over the world and for every type of product you can think of. Think of it as a blog for packaging as FFFFound or Dropular are for images-wait......I don't know if that last sentence made any sense. Anyway, the important thing for us to remember is that selling incorporates many things and one of the most important is packaging. Check out Lovely package and let me know what you all think....
Paper N Stitch
"The Paper N Stitch blog is a design and style blog that features artists, makers, crafters, and indie labels. In addition to these features, Paper N Stitch also features DIY projects and tutorials, fashion and home decor." So, without further ado.....ladies and gents, I present the Swiss Army Knife of blogs. P&S may not be Swiss but their blog/Exhibition site/Shops/Products and so on resemble that MacGyver like tool in so many ways. The blog is updated 3-5 times a day, so you can return often to find fresh/ new/infomative/ posts that will get your fingers clicking. The layout is very warm, icon based but not ultra modern, so you almost get the feeling it has a country style to it. If you're looking for featured artists, they got tons and the best part for me: tutorials!!! That's right, a whole section dedicated to teaching us how to make different kool items. Check it out.....
Think Bakery
Do you like "Baking Business?" Hold on, let me restate that......Do you like "Baking Business" if by me saying "Baking Business" I mean gathering tools that will in turn generate sales for your shop? Yummy, right? Well, that is what our new Kool site, Think Bakery is all about. "Welcome to BAKERY, where we bake and you enjoy. There’s just one catch — we don’t bake goods. We bake businesses. We know who you are, and we know what you need. And we have the ingredients to make your business work for you. With a dash of advertising, a pinch of public relations and a smidgen of marketing, we’ll shape your work into something you knead. Err, need."
Along with a great business model, Think bakery has an amazing blog that has provided me with insulting amounts(in a good way) of info and references. For me, it's a must read blog, that never gets old and gives a glimmer of hope to small/home based businesses . Check it out....
Design Milk
Do you like Design? Do you like Milk? Do you like designing with milk? Well, design-milk.com has to do with only one of these and we'll let you guess which one. Design Milk is a blog dedicated to art, architecture, & design but with a little extra in mind. Each blog post in design-milk not only acts as an informative piece of lit but also as a kind of go-between, bridging you and the item/shop the article is about. It's like being told about a wonderful piece of art and then, after showing interesting, that very same person takes you to meet the artist. They receive no money from sales and get all their economic support from sponsors, thus there is no forced voice in the reading. Go and check them out...Featured Artist Contest
Here we go again!! On the 30th of April, we will pick our 6th Featured Artist....so get those posts going!!! The artist that is picked will have their work shown in our gallery, along with a bio and contact info. To enter, you do not need to be a jewelry maker-we accept all artists and do not be afraid to post for an artist that you think is amazing. Here are the rules:
Post a comment in this blog entry and with it leave a link to the site you wish to enter into the contest (make sure to post the link including http://...) You are allowed to post one picture in the blog if you wish but please do not post more, as it slows the site from loading. While we will pick from week to week, do not be afraid to voice your opinion and even vote for yourself. We take all and everything under consideration. Please scroll down and visit/comment on previous artists-we all need support. Also you get extra points for checking out our etsy site.... www.mod3rnart.etsy.com
ETSY Hacked
No, we didn't get hacked but ETSY did.....in a way. Before you freak out, let me explain because it's actually a good thing. There are a lot of things about etsy that we would all like to change, case in point: Quickly knowing where you have posted in the forum: Creating a new listing based on an existing one: Adding zoom options on pictures in your shop/other's shop: and the list goes on. Well, someone smarter than us has figured it out (I know, they do exist) Let me introduce you to, "etsyhacks." This mysterious man/women has created "scripts" that run within FireFox, which in turn add countless functionalities to etsy. As of right now, these scripts will only run on FireFox (best browser) but there are plans on bringing it to IE, Safari, Opera and Chrome in the near future. I have been using the scripts for a couple days now and see no negative effect on my browser nor computer. This, combined with craftopolis and craftcult make up for the things etsy should have as part of its site. Check it out people and leave your questions and comments here....
TwitPic
What it all comes down to is this, "Twitter and Google will rule the world!!!" Yet, in the mean time, we can all get along....right? TwitPic is a gem of a site that simply allows you to share images on twitter. Now, this can be done in three different ways: by phone, by their ARI or from the site itself-simple right? Best of all, if you have a twitter account, your all set, no need to sign up to another account. (thank god because all these sites mean that I now have 7.3 billion Usernames/Passwords 
T-Shirts Are Art Too!
Ok, I'm just going to stand up and say it, "I love T-Shirts!!" And you know what? They love me too.....some times. A lot of people forget that without a shirt, you couldn't leave your house. So in essence, a t-shirt is more than just a statement, it's your way into society. Fashion is Art-no way around it and in this post, I am going to show you two of my favorite t-shirt sites.
Palmercash: Was the first t-shirt site I stumbled upon and it has never let me down (above: my newest buys from there). With a very kool/retro website and ever changing catalogue of shirts, palmercash is more like a blog than an online store. Besides having sizing charts, fabric information, international shipping and very detailed close-ups of the designs, every shirt has a bio/story that goes along with it. A must see
Bustedtees: Is the crown jewel in my T-shirt website list. They combine vintage images with crazy/modern slang, which makes for a dangerously funny combo. Their site is endless, with new shirts coming in all the time and old-popular ones being reprinted on demand. Busted also has all the details: size charts, material info, international shipping and a great crew working the site, if you have any questions.
Give them the bird...
This one is easy, right? I thought I was the last one to figure out what twitter was or maybe not. Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Also, it's an easy way to stay up to date with all your etsy friends. That way you'll never miss important information like, "I have a sale" or "Love your store" or "Be right back, I'm going to the bathroom." Join the party and follow us here.
Do You MOO?
Moo.com is the ultimate business card site....if there was to be one, which there should always be at least one....right? Not only are they well priced and ship everywhere but they also work together with etsy. So this means that you can import into your moo account all your etsy store pictures and use them as you wish, this can also be done from flickr. Editing and customizing your cards from there on is a snap and you get to play with font, text size, color, shape, paper style and so on. Check them out!!!