The Modern Crafter

'Handmade 2.0' Published: December 16, 2007 in the New York Times, describes the movement to buy handmade (especially gifts) and the rise of the website Etsy, where people can buy and sell handmade items. The 'Do-it-Yourself' movement combined with old fashioned methods and some entrepreneurial spirit thrown in, and now modern crafters are using the internet to sell their creations, and even make a living from it.

The value of a site like Etsy is described perfectly in the article:

"It depends on people buying things... a throwback to the way consumption ought to be: individuals buying from other individuals. “Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost,” ... The idea is a digital-age version of artisanal culture — that the future of shopping is all about the past."

For a good example, check out my sister's Etsy store, www.redwickerbagdesign.etsy.com where she sells handmade reusable gift boxes, hand knitted scarves, and paper products made from Ellie Pooh Paper (Non-toxic, recycled paper made from elephant dung. Protects the elephants of Sri Lanka from poaching, and provides a revenue source for the local people).