Etsy - Buy or Sell Vintage Items... You'll Love It!

A few months ago my friend Pam of Vintage Girl Stuff encouraged me to open a shop on etsy.com.I had known etsy as THE place to shop for unique and beautiful handcrafted items, but hadn't realized that vintage items were also eagerly sought and bought on the site.  In fact, it seems that many buyers and sellers of great old things have all but abandoned ebay.com in favor of the more friendly etsy.com

Selling under the name cobblecreek since 1998, eBay has been good to me and I have no plans to abandon it.  There have been massive changes there over the years, however, and ever-higher fees and more big-brotherish policies in place discourage many of us from making it our primary marketplace.   With Pam's prompting I soon opened Gracie's Cottage on etsy.  Immediately I felt welcomed into a community where my success is encouraged by management, where customers become friends and where other shop owners welcome newcomers with open arms.

If you've never been to etsy.com I encourage you to make a visit.  Allow yourself plenty of time. The artisans and vintage sellers of etsy have beautiful and amazing things for you to see.  It's easy to lose yourself among all the treasures to be found.   Here are links to a few of my favorites to get you started:

Mouth Watering Juicy Cherry Handmade Soap  by Naturalynn  Perfect stocking stuffer.

Photo Bracelet by new seller JMFDesign  So pretty and would make a great gift.


Vintage Art Deco Blue Beaded Flapper Necklace by Vintage Girl Stuff  Flapperfaboo!

Vintage French Fish Pictures by  Petite Brocante  The French make everything look romantic..


Vintage Mercury Glass Beaded Garland from 32 North Supplies  Dreamy colors

Victory Songs Vintage Paper Wreath by  Simple Joys Paperie  I love the way she uses old paper


Eco Felt Christmas Stocking  by RikRak Unexpected colors & fun flowers - a winner!

Cottage Rose Felted Wool Handbag (pictured below),  by Seaside Siren.  I'm drooling!

 

Nuclear Fallout Detector - Every Home Should Have One

*Note - In the interest of full disclosure: We currently have this item for sale and the following is the description in the listing. We are using it today because it's been a very busy weekend and we have nothing else to bring to the table. Besides, it's a rather fun item, in an odd sort of way!

Everyone should have one of these near the entrance to the fallout shelter so you can seal yourself in on a moment's notice! I'm, (sadly), old enough to have actually been in a fallout shelter as a very young child. Someone down the block built one and we had a brief tour. All I recall is that there was lots of concrete and it was rather dark and dismal.

This is the nu-klear Fallout Detector made by Minutemen Industries Inc, Chicago Ill. It's made of plastic and measures about 3 3/4" across and 2 1/2" tall. The directions on top instruct "Shake Gently Until Some Beads Float, Seek Shelter at Once if All Beads Drop, Remain In Shelter Until Some Beads Float". (Terrifying, don't you think?: "DAD, DAD...the beads all dropped!" "QUICK KIDS - GET TO THE SHELTER!!!")

I'm happy to report that shaking the device causes some of the beads to cling to the side of the sphere rather than falling like dead ducks; we are, for the moment safe from radiation here in the sunroom.

For further info on this gadget read this excellent article posted by Oak Ridge Associated Universities