I love a good thrift store find. They are getting very rare for me though. Mostly because I haven't even gone to a thrift store in months- also because a lot more people are thrifting so the pickings are slim. I didn't plan to stop this morning, but I thought I might find another pair of uniform pants or shorts for Julian. In my calculations, I didn't factor in that he'd need a set of "accident" clothes. I ended up at a store that I don't even like that much. They price everything in anticipation of the one day a month when it's all half off. Anyway, I did find a pair of suitable pants for Juju and then a pair of shoes caught my eye. I have little feet and I can wear kids sizes. These fit perfectly! (I know, I know, thrift store shoes- ick, BUT for the right shoe, you can always throw in insoles and they're fine.) Here's my find:

Love the hand embroidering!

The last photo was artistic, this is a better view! They have hand stitched rag soles too.

Two years ago, I never ever would have thought that starting an Etsy team would end up like this! My only thought was that this area is full of artist and creative types and yet there was no really active team for us on Etsy. I wanted to be able to talk to other people in the Etsy and handmade selling world, but not just online, as some of the online friendships I'd struck up in the past had turned weird. I wanted to be able to talk face to face and be able to network in a way that would help my business locally. So I started an Etsy Team and spent the first 3-4 months scouring Etsy and looking for people in the Tampa Bay area and inviting them to join the team. That yielded about 300 members and then people started finding us. We kept it on the Etsy site primarily. 
About a year in, I ended up asking another team member to help co-lead. Shortly after that our very first meet up happened. I was so nervous about that, but it was a nice small get together and I could see getting together happening on a regular basis. 

Later that year, we hosted the annual Etsy Crafty Party. It was a smashing success and I knew we needed to add more leaders. So we did! At this point we do monthly meet ups and larger events several times a year. We've got a very active Facebook discussion page and our membership numbers somewhere around 1,050. We were granted our very first Fellowship from corporate Etsy just a few weeks ago. There's a lot to celebrate! And we want our community to celebrate with us. Really that's what it's all about- community, both the artists and the general public that values handmade and vintage things. If you'd like to be part of the festivities, you can sign up here: https://www.facebook.com/events/188927091250206/

I don't mean to abandon this blog entirely. Things have just been incredibly busy. That's the obvious reason, but there's just an underlying I don't have a vision for this blog. Part of me wants it to just be about my life and just post whatever I want- Etsy stuff, spiritual thoughts, Julian & Jane updates, product reviews, etc. Everything I've read though seems to discourage mixing business and personal stuff on a blog. For example,  I'm the Captain of the Tampa Bay Etsy Crew and I do represent the group publicly, but I wouldn't want my blog to reflect on the group because it's not politically or religiously neutral at all! The group has to be both of those things. At the same time, I love having my blog on my business cards and letting my customers know I'm a person and artist and not a mass manufacturer. I just don't know what I'll end up doing.