About Seattle's EtsyRAIN

What is EtsyRAIN?

EtsyRAIN is Etsy’s official Seattle Metropolitan “Street Team”: A group of regional artists and craft makers who own and operate independent shops on the e-commerce site: Etsy.com. While the majority of our members reside in the Seattle metropolitan area, we also have members as far north as Port Townsend and as far south as Olympia. We welcome all artists and craft makers from the Puget Sound region to join us!

EtsyRAIN's mission is to nurture a supportive local community of artists and craft makers that will inspire, educate and promote the growth of our individual shops on Etsy.

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Who's Who in EtsyRain:

Carrie (glitzconcepts.etsy.com): Our Fearless Founder she started this group with the intention of giving Seattle area Etsy sellers a place to network and support each other - mission accomplished! Thanks Carrie!! [update 5/8/08: Carrie was so busy that she had to step down as our organizer but she's still a beloved member of EtsyRain! Please visit her shop: glitzconcepts.etsy.com]

Your EtsyRAIN Leadership Team

Marlo (imakecutestuff.etsy.com): Director of Education and Community, Organizer, EtsyRain Meetup (that's me!) I do my best to keep on top of posting events, calendar notes and other group needs. My personal goals for our group are to build a supportive community of artists/craft makers and help the membership of EtsyRain grow their Etsy shops by organizing and facilitating arts business / marketing classes, photography classes and other educational workshops. [update 5/8/08: Much thanks to Carrie for starting this awesome group and for trusting me with the organizer position!]

Dawn (scarywhitegirl.etsy.com): Director of Membership and EtsyRAIN blog, Asst. Organizer, EtsyRAIN meetup Dawn is our ever cheerful (yep. I said it!) EtsyRain contact on the Etsy.com teams page. She started and oversees our team blog (etsyrain.com), helps us keep up to date on the Etsy.com happenings and other things in the crafty world at large. All this and she has a full time job AND crafts endlessly! She's real dynamo & we love her! [update /5/8/08: Check out this message board thread: http://craftsellers.m... and sign up to be a featured Etsy seller on the ShopEtsy Blog that she writes too!]

Kayce (worldofwhimm.etsy.com): Director of Event Planning and Advertising, Asst. Organizer EtsyRAIN meetup More info to come soon...

Meghan (baublesbyhand.etsy.com): Director of Graphic Design and Promotions More info to come soon...

Rosalie (uglybaby.etsy.com): Director of Website Development and IT Management More info to come soon...

Kelly (tomatotomato.etsy.com): Director of Social Events and Volunteers More info to come soon...



Other notable EtsyRain founding members (in no particular order):

• Rosalie (uglybaby.com) organizes and facilitates our EtsyRain Sampler contributions every quarter!
  
• Sherrie (sweetpeacardsgifts.etsy.com) organized our first BIG EtsyRain show on 5/10/08!
  
• Meghan (baublesbyhand.etsy.com) created our fabulous EtsyRain logo!
  
• Kelly (tomatotomato.etsy.com) has helped with flyers and other graphics!
  
• Heidi (artbynorm.etsy.com) has helped with flyers and other graphics too!
  
• Julie (livewire.etsy.com) hosted our first grab bag exchange at her fabulous houseboat and is our PSCS.org liaison.
  
• Kimberly (kimberlyatstir.etsy.com) hosted our very first EtsyRain craft show at her studio, Stir! (also hosts featured artists at her studio during Pioneer Square's First Thursdays)
  
• Kayce aka kc (worldofwhimm.etsy.com) creates and hosts our monthly EtsyRain creative challenges!
  
• Katy (sycamorebaby.etsy.com) invited all of Phinney Ridge to shop at the Fall Thing (a craft show that many EtsyRain members participated in last summer)!
  
• Laura (lasdesigns.etsy.com) volunteered her house for our craft swap and is organizing EtsyRain promotional booths at the Fremont Market this Summer!

Other founding members: Beth - wiretree.etsy.com, Cheryl - seattlebeadcreations.etys.com, Sara - rekoj.etsy.com, Ambika - ambika.etsy.com, Tyesha - floriddesigns.etsy.com, Anandi - anandi.etsy.com, Emma - emmakat.etsy.com, Trina - wovenchains.etsy.com, Leah - kneek.etsy.com. (I am sorry if I left anyone out! Let me know and I'll add you!)
You'll find all of us on the message boards! If you have questions, feel free to post a new message and ask away!

MINI - FAQ

Q. I want to (host an event, organize a craft show, have a get together, meet new people etc) Who do I ask? What do I do?
A. You don't really need to "ask" anyone for permission to do these types of things! We ENCOURAGE everyone to create and host their own events! Please post all of the information to the "How to get your event posted" thread on the board (for events and activities) OR the "Please help with the Calendar" thread (for notices and announcements, including your birthday!). Just be sure to include all the necessary information (read the first page of each thread)

Q. I have a great idea for an event / activity, but I don't want to host or be responsible for organizing it. Will you do it for me?
A. Let me put it this way: It's likely that if you can suggest an event that you have an idea of when and where you want it to happen, so Why NOT you? It's not hard to host an event - just think up the activity, date and time! All you really need to do after that is BE THERE and introduce yourself! We love it when new members become active members!

Q. Seriously though. I am shy. I don't want to host! I just want to show up! Will someone else do it?
A. The only answer to that is: Maybe. Post your event idea and ask for help - most likely there is at least one other person would want to host or maybe even co-host the event with you?that could make it easier, right?

Q. I don't have an Etsy shop but really want to learn how to open one?am I welcome here?
A. Yes! We want to help our all of our members start, run and grow their Etsy shops! It's one of our main goals! In fact, we are actively coordinating workshops on all facets of starting and running a successful shop! Keep your eye on the calendar for updates!

Q. I don't have an Etsy shop and honestly, I really don't want to have one! (aka: what is Etsy.com anyway?) I'm really just looking for a group of crafty people to hang with. May I join?
A. The main purpose of our group is to help people who have and want to have an Etsy.com shop. While we know that we currently have many members who don't have Etsy shops, we assume that their main purpose here is to meet and discuss all things Etsy.com with other Etsy shop owners, eventually opening their own Etsy shops. If this doesn't describe you in any way, then perhaps there is another group more suited to your personal goals.

Q. Do you require dues or fees to join? [UPDATED on Sept. 18, 2008 by Marlo M.]
A. On September 1, 2008, we implemented a two-tiered membership plan:
Basic Membership is FREE and Premium Membership is $20 per year prorated to the quarter. For all the details on our membership plans, please visit the EtsyRAIN Membership Information Page.

Q. I have a personal question that I don't want to post on the board. Who do I email?
A. You can email Marlo with all of your EtsyRain related questions!

Thanks for being a member of EtsyRain!
GoEtsyRainGo!

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Even MORE information for everyone! (posted to a separate thread on 4/10/08, but I thought this would be a good place to keep this info permanently pinned to the top of our boards)

Did you know that we have OVER 300 members??? Oh yeah. That is awesome!

I just want to extend a warm and hearty WELCOME to all of our new members that have joined us and a THANK YOU for being here to our members who have been with us for a while!

Some hints and tips for getting the best out of our "little" group:

TAGS
In your Etsy shop, be sure to use our official team "tag"Team EtsyRain that's: "Team [space] EtsyRain [one-word]" Only members that use this official tag will be eligible for being featured on our EtsyRain.com Etsy-Mini!

MESSAGE BOARDS
We're an active group! One of the most active Meetups in Seattle! You'll want to be sure to read our boards as often as you can!
Speaking of our boards, we are a very supportive, generous group and really want everyone to feel welcome to join in the fun! Feel free post to threads, start new discussions and ask / share / support each other as much as possible! (We have members all over the Western Washington area, and we encourage everyone to talk and connect to members in your local area!)

HOST AN EVENT
If you have ideas for events and are willing to be the "host" of the event please read the first post in the "How to get your event posted?" thread and follow the instructions to get your event posted! (FYI, "events" can be as simple as a small get-together for crafty fun at your home or a local coffee house, hosting and/or teaching a workshop ? all the way up to amazing events like our first really big and Very Successful - PSIA Art and Craft Show in Edmonds which was held on May 10th, 2008!)

POST INFO TO THE CALENDAR
If you know of an interesting happening around the Puget Sound, please post all the information to the "Please help with Calendar Note info?" folder

What is "Puget Sound Indie Arts"
Puget Sound Indie Arts was a name that the membership chose early on when it was unsure if Etsy was going to let us use our name "EtsyRAIN" due to some trademark issues. We have since reclaimed our name by working closely with Etsy to assure them that we have one of the best Etsy street teams out there!
Our work is paying off -- we've been featured in numerous team digests and was the third Etsy street team to be featured on the "Featured Teams" section of The Storque! It's a great time to be a member of EtsyRAIN!


That's just the beginning of the great stuff we have planned for EtsyRain...stay tuned!
We welcome suggestions, questions and comments always!

GoEtsyRainGo!!!

Crafty goodness to all,
Marlo M.
Organizer, EtsyRain meetup


New Etsy Notes & Updates

Etsy.com is amazing. For all the traffic that they endure, they are up 99% of the time. (not verified - just my impression of the site ;)
However, if they ever DO go down, they have given us an escape hatch! EtsyGarden <? click here when Etsy and the Storque are down!
More about Etsy.com soon

In the meantime, if you have questions about Etsy.com OR EtsyRain - please post to our group Message Board!

"HOW TO" Links:

HOW TO: Post a Photo to our Photos Section