How the Etsy policy changes affect your shop.

Have other online sellers of handmade items noticed a sharp decline in online sales during the past year?

It's time to revisit this phenomenon.

I began selling on Etsy as a beta tester in 2006 and encouraged my my fellow indie designers to join me. Also disillusioned by the competition from mass produced goods on EBay, they followed me like rats from a sinking ship.

It was all rainbows and unicorns at first. Then it all came to a screeching halt.

On October 1, 2013, CEO Chad Dickerson held an online Town Hall Meeting to announce that Etsy would now permit factory-made goods and drop shipping. Stipulations included: proof that the seller either designed or hired designers of the items, disclosed to Etsy the use and location of their factory, and took "ownership" of the process. Henceforth, Etsy claimed the meaning of the word "handmade" should be redefined to encompass factory-made.

Yet numerous stores are shut down presumably for taking advantage of these "new opportunities." Lisa Jacob, owner of Energy Shop Jewelry, shares her story and offers tips for a solid back-up plan if your shop suddenly disappears from the site.

The sole reason buyers flocked to Etsy initially, to find unique and creative handmade items, has now been drastically altered. What was formerly a violation of Etsy's TOS is now encouraged. Whether the departure from its original mission statement is honestly for the "sake of greater transparency" or simply rationalization to increase the bottom line, they may have killed their Golden Goose. 

I haven't given up on this venue yet but when faced with the repercussions of such roadblocks, it's vital to find new ways to increase traffic in your Etsy shop as suggested in this excellent blog article.     

I wish you all luck!

Zombie decor for a bathroom?

Brainy themes are always in style. ;)

This undead decor is "to die for"!! ;) Appreciation goes out to Zombie Queen for sharing her creepy cool video which features one of Madsylvania's offerings: a zombie kitty hand towel. *need to go shopping for the walker themed items shown here*

Spring has sprung

Flowers are blooming everywhere and with spring, new listings are popping up in the shops. The newest offering in Madsylvania is a twisted Easter item. Damien, the Deviled Egg, is a sinister but adorable plushie who would love to menace your home for the season.

Also available are dark themed Embroidery Hoop Art Wall Hangings with crafters in mind. All are constructed from vintage hoops with a machine embroidered image.

Off to work on more new items for Magicwerks!! 

Let the Games begin......

"If we burn, you burn with us." - Katniss Everdeen, Girl on Fire

Just listed in the Magicwerks shop this week: several new items inspired by The Hunger Games trilogy. A killer shrug, a handy smart phone case and snuggly arm warmers. All with a large gold machine embroidered Mockingjay.

Currently in the process of re-organizing the studio. Don't go into shock but the craft table is nice and tidy so I have a clean surface to work on more goodies. :)

Don't be afraid of Maxwell the Angry Knife

Just finished up a "killer" project. Behold, my entry for the Urban Threads "Monster Bash Contest."

Maxwell the Angry Knife is one creepy cutlery dude. He may have anger issues but he has a soft side too.

Oh and he's now available at the Madsylvania Etsy Shop. On a roll, so be ready for some new sinister toys and other goodies. :)

Goodies for your dark Valentine

Loads of Anti-Valentine's goodies have been added to the Madsylvania shop. It's not to late to grab some dark heart related products. Everything from corsets to embroidered towels to jewelry. Shown below is a portion of what's available and more will be added this week.

Super Bowl Sunday new product sneak peek

A recent commissioned order was for a Green Bay Packers fleece shrug. Even though I'm the daughter of a college basketball coach, I'm just not into sports. Quidditch is as close as I'll get. ;) So soon (tentatively, this spring) I'll be making available shrugs for football, basketball and baseball teams. The logo will be machine embroidered and the hood lining/sleeve cuffs will be the team colors. And what better day for a sneak peek than the big game?

Show some Valentine's Day love & Harry Potter house pride

Witches and wizards shouldn't be left out on Valentine's Day. :D

Now available, in the Magicwerks shop, adorable felt heart plushies machine embroidered with your house affiliation and most key strength. Clipon style to dangle from your purse, backpack, laptop case, keychain, or rearview mirror to show some house pride.

New Year's resolutions...Madsylvania haz dem

One of them is to post more in my blog, Twitter and Facebook account. Oh and there is now a new Madsylvania LiveJournal site too. Another resolution is to list even more macabre designs. My muse has been tapping at my brain incessantly the last couple years and I need to create my new ideas soon.

I also planned to find an alternative style model to display my dark clothing designs for the longest time. I'm thrilled to introduce Samantha, who has modeled for several years and just so happens to be my beautiful daughter. :D

Got Snark?

Want to express your Anti-Valentine's Day sentiment? Snap up a Snarky Heart Plush Clipon at the Madsylvania Etsy shop and show some attitude. Six styles are available: Go Away, Piss Off, Bite Me, You Suck, Hate You and Get Lost. Shown in the photo are black with machine embroidered blood red text but if you prefer a different color felt and/or font, no problem.

Oh and Happy Friday the 13th! To celebrate, my hubby and I will be spending it with Morticia & Gomez. ;) We have tickets to the Addams Family musical tonight. Good creepy fun.

Enter the Attack of the Craft contest!

Happy New Year's Day everyone!! :D

‎AttackoftheCraft is giving away handmade goodies every day in January! The contest starts today with this AWESOME handmade scarf by Kim PoisonedCreations. Go enter... its easy... just promote the contest thread and let us know you did!

Last chance for new unique holiday stocking designs!

Have a gift card or small treasure? Why present it in a boring box? *yawn* Madsylvania now offers small felted stockings with unique machine embroidered designs such as a black widow spider or a kitty cameo or a phoenix. They are also small enough to hang on a tree and look pretty killer!

And in my Magicwerks shop, now available are full-size Harry Potter felt stockings for all 4 houses.

Time is running out to grab your holiday stocking! I will be on vacation until Dec. 28 but in stock orders will shipped until Dec. 21 via Priority Mail. No new Made-To-Order items will be accepted until after the new year. Have a diabolical holiday season! :)

Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals at Madsylvania!

FREE SHIPPING from Black Friday to Cyber Monday at the Madsylania shop! Use coupon code: BLKCYBER13 upon checkout. Holiday gifts for the strange folks on your list. :)

Out of town for Turkey Day but never fear, any orders will be shipped on Monday, Nov. 28.

Ready for the zombie apocalypse?

Even the walking dead need to be stylish and warm as they shamble about the forests and alleys in search of tasty brains. ;)

Just listed, a killer Zombie Zip-Up Shrug in the Madsylvania shop. Loads of machine embroidery and yes, bite marks.

Accio cuteness!! Baby wizard hats now available at Magicwerks.

Just listed: wee magical hats for the baby witch or wizard on your holiday list. How sweet is that? Available in all houses and fully lined similar to the adult versions.

I just became a first time grandma to beautiful Chloe Renee on November 7. She's an absolute doll baby. So in honor of little ones everywhere, magical infant items have started to appear at Magicwerks. :D

A very magical holiday season begins....

Want to represent your Hogwarts house this Christmas? Mini elf stocking ornaments have been listed in my new Magicwerks shop. More Harry Potter holiday decor will be added soon as well.

Now, if I ever get a tree, I'll be adding my Ravenclaw one. :P

TUTORIAL: Snakes on a Plane...er, Wreath

Since we had a major Halloween party this year, I went a bit crazy making creepy crafts. For the "Snakes on a Wreath" decor item, I channeled my inner (Gothic) Martha Stewart. Actually, this idea came from one of her Halloween special 'zines and I customized it a bit.

Step 1: Add varying sizes of rubber snakes to a plain old *yawn* grapevine wreath via floral wire or a hot glue gun (I chose the latter):

Note: Don't glue your fingers to each other or to the snakes. ;)

Have fun with the placement of the serpents! Some were glued on top, some were intertwined in the vine and others hung menacingly off the sides.

Step 2: Spray paint black in (and I can't stress this enough) a WELL ventilated area. The directions said flat black but I chose satin. I thought a bit of shine would make the snakes look more real and "slithery" and gloss paint would have been overkill.

The final product!! Hung in the guest bathroom over my embroidered zombie hand towel. I do believe I'll leave it up all year. Hisssssssss!

Never fear, no snakes were harmed in the process. ;) Leftover midnight black serpents were recycled as an embellishment to a vase of creepy flowers. Looks like a few even tried to "escape".

 

Welcome and Happy Halloween from the forest primeval

Join me as I continue to creep into the Blogosphere on a gloomy Hallow's Eve.

From my inital foray into online selling of my designs in 2004, I've been known as Mad Science Creations. But of late, I've been dying to change the name of my shop to Madsylvania. A sudden brainstorm for this name hit me while playing World of Warcraft last October. "Mad", as in lunatic fringe (as most creative sorts are), seems to appear in most of my ventures, including my alter-ego, Madviolet. And "Sylvania" refers to my love of forests and the spooky town of Transylvania where Igor assists Dr. Frankenstein with his minion duties.

Now that Etsy has finally allowed shop owners to use a new nomenclature, I was able to do so. Yay! This blog will serve as a portal for all my shops. Prepare for lots of announcements of NEW items from the dark side, contests, tutorials, promotions and other cool stuff. I will also occasionally feature talented artists and their wares just the share their awesomeness.

Oh, and if you are morbidly curious, check out my "new" Etsy shop, Madsylvania.