My Two Penneth

Oh dear Folksy :( I am so disappointed in you. Everything was so good and you've kind of ruined it. At the beginning of last month Folksy decided, in its wisdom, to get picky and introduced us to the wonderful term 'assembled'. Apparently jewellery items which are made up of mass produced items such as charms do not measure up the Folksy vision. Other items were also swept up in the assembled put down and included candles made using vintage cups and glasses and cards made from mass produced embellishments. Apparently these items are not creative enough!

In some sense I was lucky that most of the bits in my shop 'measure up' but unfortunately the damage has been done. The snootiness in the forums, the arse about face way they announced the changes, the fact that they aren't refunding listing fees for items accepted less than a week earlier and bad feeling, inconsistent message and uncertainty they have created amongst loyal shop owners has thoroughly got up my nose. On top of this, the bit that pisses me off the most is how patronising this all is to buyers. What is really wrong with using charms or embellishments bought elsewhere. How is this different to using fabric brought elsewhere, using a sewing machine or buying mass produced wool.

I would also like to add that skill is most definitely needed in order to make and sell the items they are now classing as assembled. I've had a go over the years at making cards and I suck. Its really bloody fiddly and your work has to be off such a high standard to make any money from selling them. The card market, like the handmade jewellery market, is also chock-a-block with competition. You are also competing with the convenience and prices of the high street. Keeping your prices affordable often requires making use of some mass produced components.

Anyway, I've said my piece. I'm going to need to hold fire from ditching my shop altogether as I have a ton of business cards printed and a craft fair next month. Once the dreaded Christmas is out of the way though I intend to let my shop die out and focus my attentions on my Dawanda shop.

If any of you lovely folk would like to lend your support, Diddybears has set up a site offering free advertising to any Folksy shop owner effected or outraged by the changes. Its such a generous thing to offer and is well worth a look. As their slogan goes - Supporting Handmade However Its Made. Amen!