Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Etsy Labs!! (Saturday part I)







Saturday morning as promised. Kimmie and I set out from Jersey City to Brooklyn. The destination? Etsy Labs. For this small town girl the idea that you can meet people whom you read about all the time, and visit the fabulous places of the blogosphere live and in person, well, it just doesn't seem real. But anything is possible in the city! I love it there!

So this is Etsy Labs. We had no idea what to expect, but the reality is that they're just starting up, and it's a magical place. They have the Etsy offices there, and a huge space for studio work. For a mere $20 you can join for the month, go to the Labs, and do anything crafty you want, hang out with super cool people, and generally live out your crafty dreams!



Here is a green screen stage you can use in conjuction with they're digital editing software. You could put on your own weathercast!


They have a screen printing lab, a jewelry making lab, computers, scanners, and did I mention LOTS of sewing stuff. Nice sewing machines, irons, fabric and materials that have been donated by Etsy patrons.






This here in the fab green scarf is Cuz Kim. She was my navigator and run-around gal, and hostess for the weekend. She even offered up her husband to be my official bag toter! What a gal. And this is Anda in the red. She started out as an Etsy seller, and is their biggest cheerleader. We wandered in off the street and she gave us a deluxe tour--and she was so excited to be there and be part of etsy that she would occasionally bounce up and down while talking.

She even gave us a lesson about how to make fabric from recycled thin plastic bags!! She used them to make a pillow and tote bag. Check out her blog. She is the Etsy labs guru, or at least it seemed that way to us. She even gave us lunch suggestions! Hooray! People in New York are awesome!











After the heavenly labs, we went to Purl, and beyond--It was a great day! I'll post that in part II....stay tuned!!

(I wonder if I feel compelled to write teases at the end of my blog posts because I work in television. Or because I watch too much tv. I really write one at the end of each post, but most of the time I try to get rid of it. This isn't a television production!! But maybe one day!)

Posted by Beth Howard @ 8:43 AM