1300 "sales" on etsy.com!

Today bethbee.etsy.com reached its "1300th sale"! In the past, etsy counted two or more of the same things together when ordered in multiples, so I probably passed 1300 already, but, still! Each 100th sale is a little milestone for my little shop.

Back in the 1990s I made zines and sent them for reviews and listings in bigger zines like Maximum Rock and Roll, HeartAttack, and even Punk Planet, and people (mostly my age) in other places would send me $1 or so in the mail to order a copy of my zine. Back then, it was an analog process, and on a smaller scale for me, but the excitement of sharing things I made with people in places outside my own circle of friends and connections was the same as I feel today. These kinds of connections are faster and simpler now with the help of the web.
I consistently marvel at the great tool that etsy.com is for independent artists to connect with others and share and sell their work. It has taken outreach and work and quality products to become successful on the site, but now, somewhat magically, almost every day I check my email and someone else from pretty much any state in the US, or Australia, Canada, the UK, or even Switzerland, Finland, Italy, et cetera has put through an order for one or more of my little books!

I've discovered a lot of great artists myself by browsing on etsy, and shared mutual appreciation for their work. I've found it helpful for connecting with local artists too, despite our busy schedules. I've figured out how to use the site to find great art and crafts through its various tools like favorites and treasuries. If you've never used the site before it can feel overwhelming to find the gems in the rough. The listings are not curated, so not every listing is of high quality or well photographed. I like to check the favorite items of artists whose work I respect, mark shops and items I like as favorites to find later when I run across them on the front page or in treasuries, and occasionally take some time to search for specific terms or items to find new artists I haven't discovered. I usually have to include in my search some subtractions such as "-angels, -anime, -fairy, -sports, -keep calm and carry on"...