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...
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
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)
Perhaps they should have an etsy show and an etsy Brooklyn show to give more vendors a fair shot?