Something New

Hey All,

This is a long post, so grab a coffee, tea, beer, whatever you drink at 7am EST! I’ve blogged briefly a few weeks ago about Art Fire, a new online selling venue for artisans (I like this word so much better than “crafter”.) One of my goals for the year was to become more involved with Art Fire building up my store and becoming an active member of the Art Fire community. I’m happy to report that I’ve actually done that. That in itself is a miracle being the lazy ass that I am. I’ve even joined two Guilds (the Etsy equivalent of a Team.) I am now an official member of Blog Fire and We Love Art Fire. Isn't Blog Fire the coolest name? I really love Art Fire because it’s new, it’s fresh, and I feel a true sense of community there. For every account that is opened, they plant a tree for the environment, and if you refer at least 10 artisans to open a store on Art Fire, you get a free ride (i.e., no fees) for LIFE! You can join at the basic level for free-no listing fees and no commissions, however, you’re only limited to listing 10 items, and you’re listings are limited (no categories, only 4 pics….) Or, you can sign up for the VERIFIED status and pay a flat monthly fee of $7.00 for life (if you’re among the first 5,000 to join). With the verified status, you can list as many items and as often as you’d like with no listing or commission fees, unlike Etsy. Another plus: you get shop statistics via Google Analytics. I recently closed my candle store there because I’m not really making candles as much as I used to, and I got an actual e-mail from the president of Art Fire asking me why I closed my shop, and if there was anything wrong that they did. How impressive is that? Okay, you can play devil’s advocate and say, well, yeah, he would contact you because they’re a fledgling site who really can’t afford to lose members at this point. BUT, the fact still remains that he took the time to personally e-mail me, and it wasn’t some lame auto-response either. That’s what I call customer service!

With all that being said, I’m starting a new feature on my blog called Chillin’ With…. and I’ll be spotlighting a seller from Art Fire. The spotlight will consist of a series of questions about the artisan and their artistry. My intent is to generate some positive buzz for both the artisan and Art Fire. If you are an artisan on Art Fire and would like to be featured, please leave a comment in this post, and I’ll contact you with the details. The first artisan will be featured on 1/23/08.

To join, click my link, and I’ll send you a nice token of my appreciation!