Etsy Get Together in Portland

Anda from Etsy headquarters in Brooklyn spent the day wandering Portland visiting artists studios and she joined us for an "Etsy Tea Time" out in Laurelhurst Park.

It was a hot day and I must say that hanging out in the park under the shade of a tree was a brilliant use of the afternoon. I had brought with me some silver earwires that I've been making, so I even got a bit of work done filing the ends of the wires.
Ladies it was wonderful to see you all - and I really soaked up my fill of Etsy chit chat yesturday! My goodness. Tea Time was wonderful to see smiling faces that I have missed for months, and then last night I went to the Doug Fir to check out Maria's talk about Etsy (Maria is the CEO of Etsy and she was in town to speak to the peeps)
I found the meet-up exhausting and inspiring. I love hearing Etsy people talk about Etsy because of the enthusiasm and vision that just pours out of their mouths. I love this positivity - but also I see both sides of the coin (I look for the balance in things, even if its off kilter).

Its a little frustrating because as I've been selling on this site for years I realize that change happens very slowly and my sales seem to be happening equally slowly. I needed a little extra push in the right direction, and I think this Brooklyn visit to Portland may have been the jump start that was necessary.

I must say too - Etsy picked up the tab at the bar for the entire group of Etsians at the meet-up last night. What a treat! (although I drink water) Made for some sassy sellers, which was wonderful to watch. Portland peeps don't let anything past them, especially the chance to attempt to break some ballz! And when they were unsuccessful, the drinks were free, so everyone was so happy :) That cracked me up. I had a fun evening. It was loud though, and it was hot, so even though I'd been drinking water all day I had a killer headache by half-way thru the meeting.