Etsy Releases the Artists, Artisans and Crafters

It does, it does. Which is awesome, but also problematic. If there was one thing that I could change about Etsy, it's to be able to filter members by Country. Because me? I like to support local artists, if possible. And also, I hate having to deal with duties and taxes that come with cross-border shipping.

That being said, my current favourite Etsy stores belong to Victoria, BC-based leather artisans:

• Bonspiel Creations
• Hollyhawk Leatherwork Designs

I love Bonspiel's prints and amazing use of colour, and am THIS CLOSE to asking her to custom make me a purse with theme there lovely owls at the top of this post.

I am also pretty down with Hollyhawk's leather cuffs. Leather cuffs! Brings me back to my indie rock roots. If indie rock was played in the middle of a forest. With an audience comprised of corduroy and backpack wearing birds.

Oh, there's one more thing that I would change about Etsy. I would wish that they'd set up RSS feeds for each shop so I could be notified of additions to my favourite stores instead of having to continually having to come back to visit them. But that's just because I am demanding. And a geek.