And So It Goes

The internet never ceases to amaze me. As such, I feel compelled to give a shout-out to some of my favorite sites. For this post, my choice is Etsy.com.

I first learned about Etsy nearly a year ago when one of my students gave a speech encouraging people to use the site. Etsy is an internet marketplace where people can buy and sell all things handmade. These items range from artwork to clothing to jewelry and even furniture. People wishing to sell their wares can create stores to showcase and sell their work while people looking to make a purchase can search for a specific item or browse by category. There is also a blog, chat, online classes, news articles and other community-building tools.

One of my favorite features of the site is alchemy. With alchemy, people who are searching for something specific can post the specifications of what they want and then artists can put in bids to create the piece. I used alchemy in November when I wanted a painting of the family cats to give to my sister for Christmas. I got nearly 30 bids and was able to browse the works of all of these artists as well as compare their prices. In the end I chose a great artist called brigittemarie. I sent her a picture of my cats and she went right to work. Through Etsy, we were able to discuss the specifications of the picture and she was very dilligent in sending me in-progress photos to make sure I was getting exactly what I had wanted. In the end I recieved this beautiful painting:

Etsy is such a great site because buyers and sellers can interact directly with each other. If someone has an issue with a purchase, they can go directly to the seller without having to sit on hold for hours or fill out generic feedback forms. Just visiting the site makes you feel like you have entered a close-knit community rather than the site of some entity trying to make money off of you. Whether you are looking to buy, sell or simply browse, please take a moment to visit this amazing site. You might just find that perfect handmade gift for a loved one or even yourself.

Meet Chloe.

A little over a year ago, Chloe was a stray cat living at the Maxfund No-Kill Animal Shelter in Denver. My sister, who had been a volunteer for Maxfund for a while, decided to become a foster parent for Maxfund cats. Her first charge was Chloe, who was so stressed out by living at the shelter that she would overeat, making her one very large cat. Going home with my sister allowed Chloe to live in a much less stressful environment while she waited for someone to adopt her.

While fostering an animal is great for that animal’s overall health and peace of mind, it makes it much more difficult for that animal to be adopted, since it is not at the shelter where most potential pet owners go to find new family members. To help out with this process, my sister decided she needed to give Chloe some kind of visibility beyond her Maxfund profile.

The solution? She started a blog.

The Purrfect Companion gave my sister a chance to write in greater detail about Chloe’s personality and progress in her new setting. Though she only made a handful of posts, the results were astounding. Over the next year, nearly every person who wrote to express interest in Chloe mentioned how much they loved the blog. Chloe’s web presence drew quite a few people to come meet her in person. Unfortunately, Chloe is a rather shy animal who failed to seal the deal because she often hid when people came to meet her. Without the blog though, she might not ever have been given the chance to meet so many potential owners.

Eventually, the blog paid off. Chloe’s story attracted the perfect match and she now has a happy new home with her new owner.  My sister plans to continue blogging about future foster animals, so keep an eye out. You may just find the purrfect companion.