Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Advice for Grown Ups #71913: Never search Etsy without knowing exactly what you're looking for.


Etsy will be the death me.

I've lost hours -weeks- just cruisin' around that little internet village. I've waded through twine-and-linen baby shower banners; collections of antique buttons from the Civil War; iPhone covers with obscure silent film posters air brushed on them. I have seen so many goddamn messenger bags with silk screen bird designs, I could puke. I could just vomit all over the place, and then carry all of my brilliant manuscripts to my local coffee house in my brand-new, hand-made, Earth-friendly shoulder bag.

Etsy has forced me to imagine a life in which I am whimsical and efficient. In this Etsy-furnished life I am organized but not uptight. I enjoy the sturdy practicality of the past, and I value the process and time it takes to get me exactly what I Etsy want. I have little spice bins in my Etsy kitchen; they have pictures of coffee-producing countries on them. (In my Etsy home, my husband cooks me a vegetarian dinner from local ingredients while wearing a full-length apron that has a gigantic handlebar mustache on it.) In Etsy winter, I store my cold weather accessories in a re-purposed lingerie bag from the 1940s. In summer, I wear Etsy swim goggles with genuine pieces from Pretty Pretty Princess glued on them. I store our Etsy beach toys in an old butter churn. I have my shit together, and it is together in vintagey-looking, modern-minded, super-expensive (But can you put a price on happiness?) style.
 
Addendum: If you are a millionaire and/or have an incredible amount of time to sacrifice, be my Etsy guest. Browse that never-ending rabbit hole of crafts and bobbles until you die a satisfied, refurbished death. Otherwise, have a specific goal in mind. Pay for your new hand-knit leg warmers and get the hell out of there.

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