Etsy is a crafter’s dream — basically a storefront for anyone who creates handmade items. You can find everything from great jewelry to one of a kind gifts. Navigating a site like Etsy doesn’t work quite the same way as an auction site like Ebay does. It tends to be the type of site that one enjoys browsing to see all the varied creations people have brought to life, yet you still need some sort of efficiency behind the scenes in order to keep it from becoming tedious. Thanks to Etsy’s color sorting search feature, visitors have a unique and aesthetically pleasing way to browse their site.
Fleur De Lis soap, sold by Lissakp
While traditional site searching methods are available, you can tell Etsy has a thing for color the moment you see the homepage of their site. The “hand-picked” items feature has often caught my eye with a vivid color story, and I find myself clicking beautiful baubles and creatively made toys I certainly don’t need (but thanks to the way they are presented, I sure do want to buy).
Green Strawberry OogaBooga plush toy, sold by MyLittleOogaBooga
Searching by color is simple and well-presented on Etsy. You simply click “Colors” under ‘Ways to Shop” on the front page, and you are presented with a color bar that you can click anywhere. Once you do, the site will produce thumbnails of ten items in the color that you chose. If you want to see more, you simply click a button and more appear. If you want to see a different color (or a slight variation of the color you chose), all it requires is another click on the color bar and a host of new items appear. It’s easy as can be to waste a ton of time browsing the site in this way, not to mention you can find countless treasures.
Glass Nugget Millefiori Style, sold by BobbiThisnThat
So what if you go searching on Etsy and you don’t find the thing you want, or you do, but it’s the wrong color? One of my favorite features of the site besides the color sorter is their Alchemy page, where you can actually post a custom request for an item you have a vision of, down to the most minute details. From there, sellers can bid on the opportunity to make the goods you are requesting. There’s something a little bit thrilling about typing in any item you can think of and seeing it come to fruition shortly afterwards!
Save The Bees necklace, sold by brookadelphia
If you’re a color addict with a soft spot for handmade items, I have a feeling you may be lost on Etsy for many lovely days to come. Enjoy!
In the first picture: Rose charm bracelet, sold by Mrs. Gibson
