Tomorrow at 5pm EDT, Etsy will be permanently closing their chat rooms. This has caused me and many others, a great deal of sadness. I have gotten to know so many wonderful people through the etsy chat rooms! We have become close friends and have been there for each other to give support and advice whenever needed. It is definitely a sad day for many of us, both sellers and buyers. It was a way for buyers to get to know their favorite artists and crafters on a more personal level and it was a way for sellers to find like-minded people to share their artistic passions with. I'm sure that etsy has it's reasons for making this change, but I wonder if their reasons are worth the cost that they've incurred. Many sellers will be leaving and taking their shops to zibbet.com. It's hard to call yourself an artistic or handmade community if you are getting rid of the community aspect of it. Etsy will now be nothing more than a shop. Random shops all selling things side by side without any communication occurring between them. New shop owners won't have the luxury of getting to know fellow sellers. Nor will they be able to turn to fellow sellers for advice when facing obstacles. I don't envy them one bit!
In memory of the "good 'ol days", here are some pieces from shops owned by people who I have grown to know and love through etsy chat.
Spiral Stew
Never Too Old
Annabel's Aprons
My Cariads
Petit Bijou Art Shop
A Bunch of Scrap
There are many many more that I have had the great pleasure of getting to know over the course of my three years with etsy and I am grateful for each and every one of them!
Thank you for the memories etsy. Goodnight!
