Treasury Wednesday: Black and white photos of African animals

This was inspired because I was thinking about safari animals and how popular animal prints are supposed to be this summer, after listing some of my early '70s giraffes:


Available here.

And then I saw the gorgeous polymer clay tree pendant there in the first row and decided to go from there. Originally I planned black and white with only grass-green accents, but then I fell in love with the tapir bookmark.

'Monochrome Safari' by balletllama

Animal prints in black and white with accents of blue and green.

Fun and Funky Zebra... SeaPinks $14.00	Silhouette's Tr... abrowndesigns $25.00	Tapir Bookmark Gree... BlueEyedNightO... $9.00	skunkcup . . . teac... staceywinters $6.00
Black and white Gi... jeneseque $19.99	Build-a-Bag Traveli... IslandGirlsJew... $12.50	Zebra Ceramic Face ... BigSkyArtworks $25.00	Fanny and Alexander... irenesuchocki $35.00
Handmade polymer cl... TulipsBeadsand... $2.75	Black and White Bir... applescraps $45.00	Conus Shell Chiclet... momadonnas $19.00	Wristlet in Snake P... mcallistertuxe... $15.00
Wild Birthday plainjanecards $4.00	Thirsty Giraffe (m... halluejah $79.99	Black and White Zeb... myglamour $32.00	2 For 1 Sale - It&#... WildLifePrints $20.00

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More excellent copywriting on Etsy

Two descriptions from Etsy that are doing it right:


Photo copyright EcoPrint.

These coasters are incisively and interestingly described with an excellent use of fresh, connotative adjectives. They could use a bit more, maybe an extra paragraph referencing their medieval-inspired nature and three-dimensional grayscale artwork, but what there is really shines. "Sophisticated and modern" are fair choices, but the better sentence is "Cork sheets are precisely cut and glued onto the back of the coasters for support." It would have been so easy to say "coasters are backed with cork," but this seller has made the choice to take up a very little bit more time to suggest careful craftsmanship -- "precisely" -- and long-wearing sturdiness -- "support."

Now some love for a fellow jewelry designer:


Photo copyright Kristin Berwald.

This artful necklace is remarkably well-described. Not surprising, given nearly 1200 sales! Every aspect of the piece is briefly but completely highlighted. "Story" is given in a manner that's intriguing, not annoying -- "The watch movement is from an Elgin pocket watch made in 1924."

Where the strength of the coasters' description is in adjectives, this one's is in verbs. Items are "showcased" or "glow" instead of just ... being there. Assemblages are "built"; the necklace doesn't hang, it "drapes." Everything can stand improvement, and the adjectives could perhaps take some spice -- there's a slight over-reliance on uninspiring standbys like "elegant" and "nature-inspired" -- but overall, this is a beautifully written piece of copy, and from me it gets an A.

This is how to make the next kudzu!

Running Bug Farm tipped me off to this from the beginning of the year:

The Organic Elite Surrenders to Monsanto: What Now?

I read it with gentle skepticism for a while, because while I won't buy seedless watermelon if there's a seeded version available (it involves using chemicals to spawn haploid and quadruploid chromosomal watermelons, then crossing them to create the tetraploid fruit which is too genetically crippled to reproduce, hence no seeds in the little white jackets -- it scares me), I'm also open-minded on genetically engineered (GE) plants.  Yes, it can be bad, it can go wrong, it can pervert the entire drive of evolution like seedless watermelons, but -- I tend to think of genetic engineering as a super-speedy version of breeding and crossing strains to see what happens, which is a time-honored manner of adapting our environment to ourselves and ourselves to our environment.

Then I read on and saw what they're actually having approved: Herbicide-resistant alfalfa.

People.  We don't make herbicide-resistant plants.  I mean, I don't like herbicides.  But they need to work when we have no better option, for whatever reason, to get rid of a plant that's ecologically damaging a bunch of other plants.  That's why we have them.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Treasury Wednesday: And now for something completely different

This started out as a nice, pretty koi-pond treasury, partly because a lot of Japanese-inspired stuff was going to Japan Relief at the time.  Somehow it turned into "Dude!  Sea monsters!"

The next couple of Treasury Wednesdays are probably going to be under M's and my joint shop, Ballet Llama, partly because I was too lazy to log out and partly because treasuries are great advertising.  We've been selling a lot of awesome vintage '60s-'70s cab settings over there.

Anyway.  It's Weird Treasury Time (and this is on the list of my favorite treasuries I've ever done):

'Dark End of the Koi Pond' by balletllama

Weird, whimsical, wild -- fish.

Sea Monkey on Frenc... benconservato $15.00	Black and Gold Kiss... DesignsByAmbia... $59.00	Clever Fish Necklac... ISeeFaces $22.00	Three Sea Monster F... benconservato $9.50
Knitting Needle Cas... lenabrowndesig... $39.95	Original Watercolor... jaynesartgalle... $100.00	Kyoto Cuff Bracelet kelliets $40.00	ocean perch quilte... dreamscapes123 $499.00
All Natural Organic... RunningBugFarm $3.30	Tattoo Koi red and ... nivule $84.00	Invitados, Original... holli $1200.00	Black and Gold Sea ... benconservato $60.00
The Maximillion Bra... LondonAnaise $37.00	60x16 Large Custom ... NathalieVan $195.00	Pearl in Seaweed an... luckyduct $185.00	Striking Black and ... VividAnima $25.00

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Copywriting Tips: A Description Done Right

I often highlight errors not to make in writing for online sales. Here's a description where the seller has really put the words to work:

Vagabond Jewelry's home page is a great example of using the text to identify and draw a niche market. The word choice is apt and richly varied -- "calls up," "conjures"; "grounded," "earth," "peace," "approachability," "tough." It presents the reasons for the choice of metal both unapologetically and evocatively. They've never employed an overused term where an interesting, thought-provoking one would do. It would be so easy to make the mistake of using the words "unique jewelry for active wearers." But look at these rich, constructed, post-apocalyptic designs -- that would never do it justice:

("The Ram," one of the more dramatic pieces.  Photo copyright Kest Schwartzman.)

Their word choices in the description single out their niche market but don't exclude others. In the sidebar, a unified set of web-gadgets suggest travel, adventure, versatility. And you know what this homepage undoubtedly gets Google hits from? "Surfer jewelry," "snowboarder jewelry," "copper jewelry," "surgical steel jewelry," "modern jewelry," more.

It's a phenomenal example of the less-basic and absolutely essential ingredients of discussing a jewelry line: giving "story," offering the specs, proposing a unifying concept through which to view the jewelry, pursuing a niche market, presenting reasons to purchase, and suggesting that this seller is the best source for jewelry to fit those needs.

Vintage-styled photos and vintage cooking

Hmm. So now that I got all excited about the vintage shots for the bridal jewelry back in March, I've apparently been doing that for a while already:


Available here.

I b'lieve what I did there was jack up the shadows and desaturate a bit. It's a great way to handle white-on-white, and works beautifully on the raw silk backdrop; the texture is interesting but regular enough that it doesn't distract from the organic wire-wrapping, and the curves of the backdrop give the corners an old-photo darkening effect that is much more subtle than the applied version on the bracelet photos.

On an almost totally different note, I felt the urge to link to this. It's an interesting post from yonder at Steampunk Cookery discussing Orientalism, that old "using every part of the buffalo" tripe (haha, I'm so punny) and why it should only ever be used ironically, and the reason that my 1950s cookbooks have an organ-meats section but that fades away in the mid-70s.

Treasury Wednesday: Just like last time, only with a color scheme

I did a previous treasury that was all button designs, but I used such a general color scheme -- "earth tones" can be just about anything -- that while it went together quickly, I wasn't totally satisfied with it.

I've noticed that Etsy really likes neutrals for the homepage, though. There are variations -- Valentine's Day takes the cake for the most dedicated treasuries I've seen, and there was a Japan Relief treasury on the front page on March 17 that made me get all warm and teary -- but by and large, while you occasionally get a strong seasonal color, white and black/navy and cream and grey and mocha brown turn up a lot.

This is definitely part of the Etsy "look," though. White or strong solid-color backgrounds, hero shots or close-cropped style shots, and very bright, crisp high-contrast photos. And of course, it's all unrelentingly hipstermod, but I don't get to complain about that because I too emphasize photo quality over the item's nature. These are the treasuries that make the front page: Very "classy," very unified color. This is also the trend of the Etsy Finds Get the Look Decor emails, but these emphasize strong contrast and primaries to the point that they're sometimes garish.

Anyway, now that I've established that, this isn't it.

'Pushing Our Buttons Again' by tangopig

A further tribute to the humble button, featuring both well-established sellers and some brand-new ones.

Fabric brooch badge... butterbadges $10.00	Blue Button Journal jhalbleib $25.00	The big top, A set ... hodgepodgearts $15.00	Handy Dandy Yo Yo F... PiccalilliPatc... $10.00
Spring colored vint... ravennagirls $28.00	The Compass Clutch ... CottageCarries $29.99	Condom pouches SuenoLoco $7.00	primary color flowe... mccormickhelen $5.00
FELIZ Cumpleanos Ca... SacredQuest $3.25	Upcycled Hand Embro... salvagedmutiny $12.50	Orbital ring heartshapedpud... $8.00	NEW SKIRT... Warm R... twirlaway $18.00
Avocado Green, Sky ... rosyposydesign... $30.00	VINTAGE LEDGER - Se... chocolatecupca... $4.75	Blue Handsewn Felt ... lovabbly $23.00	Dindin -------- Cot... AnnaLela $78.00

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