Is Bust a bust? Pet peeve of the day...

For the most part I try to keep my blog on a positive note. There are certainly days when I would love to write a scathing, whining, bitchy post about any number of irritants that I encounter from time to time - and I think today is just that kind of day.

Today's pet peeve comes to you courtesy of the Bust Craftacular Spring Fling craft show. Several months ago Etsy made the announcement of a call for entries for this show. I applied and waited patiently for the email notification that was sent on April 1st. I didn't make it into the show. That was just fine, really. It is a very small show, just 50 vendors, and I am certain they received hundreds of applications, especially after Etsy made the announcement. The fact that I didn't get in didn't ruin my day at all, but I was curious to see who did make it.

Today I looked up the website and discovered that a vendor list had been posted. I started to click on the various vendors and suddenly a pattern emerged. One vendor was from Brooklyn, then another, then another... Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NYC, Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Brooklyn... you get the point. Now, don't get me wrong, not everyone is from Brooklyn or the NYC area - just MOST of them. I realize that this is a Brooklyn based show so it stands to reason that many applicants would be from that area. However, I know with much certainty that many, many talented artists from all over the country applied and were turned down. Now, those familiar with Etsy are used to seeing Brooklyn based artists featured prominently as "Featured Sellers," in the gift guides and in the Storque. That aspect of Esty lost its charm a while ago and it is disheartening, to say the least, to see this type of favoritism carried over into the Bust show. Yes, this is my opinion, and yes, it could just be one big coincidence that the most talented artisans in the country happen to live in Brooklyn (coughs), OR it could be that the majority of the 50 spots in this show were already filled with crafty friends and the good folks at Bust decided to collect thousands of dollars in application fees from unsuspecting artists anyway.

Some food for thought...

Comments

You have a darn good reason to rant..It does sound awful fishy to me..Like you, I try and be positive, but there are times, you have to speak up when something sound unfair..Good for you..
I don't think that the Etsy featured sellers are often from NYC/ Brooklyn.

But other than that I think you raise some very good points about Bust and about Etsy in general.

(I didn't apply so I have no personal stake in the show)
Round Rabbit said…
I think Etsy has been pretty good lately in regards to the featured seller - but in the past there have been times when nearly ever other seller was from Brooklyn. When you consider how many sellers from all over the world are on Etsy the high amount of "Featureds" from Brooklyn is noticeable. Then again, they can do what they want, it's their site. :)
modernemama said…
They are Brooklyn based, no? And a lot of people who work there are designers or know designers so I guess it's another "not what you sell, it's who you know" thing.
Perhaps they should have an etsy show and an etsy Brooklyn show to give more vendors a fair shot?
Round Rabbit said…
Yes, more shows would be better for everyone. My main problem with this show is that they opened it up to the whole country, collected applications fees and most likely only had a few spaces even available. Of course, I am only speculating and hopefully I am wrong because that practice is actually illegal. I have seen other shows get heavily fined for such behavior.

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