Etsy presents.. Etsy Italiano!

[versione italiana]

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Open Design Italia is an international exhibition-market dedicated to self-production. We couldn’t find a better occasion to introduce Etsy Italiano to the world than this one, while being among designers, creatives and thinkers.

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Open Design Italia was hosted by Venezia 2019, the european culture forum (twinned with Berlin), and took place in the magical atmosphere of Venice, from November 23rd to 25th.
There were about 70 designers and self producers from all over the world, 8 important judges to evaluate their works, 5 interesting awards (offered by: Ottagono, Garage Design and Open Design Italia) who went to 5 talented winners.
But ODI hasn’t been just that! It was, for us, an exhibition of ideas, young talents willing to conquer the world, and a chance to establish new collaborations.

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Etsy was a main partner to the event and it had a special space dedicated, a space we prepared with flyers and merchandise sent by the Brooklyn offices, pencils sent by the Berlin one and brochures and pins from EIT, and, of course, a notebook always open on the Etsy website pages, where curious could browse and discover the Etsy world. The info point was populated by the volunteers from Etsy Italia Team, who for three days took the chance to tell to visitors about the philosophy of the best handmade selling platform in the world.

Beside the exhibition-market there was a busy program of panels about self-production, and we want to tell you about the one we attended on the last day (Nov. 25th): Self-production, selling platforms and distribution. Here below there’s the list of the speakers we listened to:
- David Dolcini - designer and creator of Designeyed
- Maurizio Bazzano - CEO of Torino Lab
- Andrea Cattabriga - Co-founder of Slowd (which speech we liked a lot)
- Claudia Pignatale - Founder of the gallery Secondome.eu
- Antonia Karaisl - Localization manager at Etsy (!!!)
- Alessandro Molinari - co-creator of Garagedesign
- Elena Santi e Laura Succini - Founders of Open Design Italia
- Marco Bettiol - Researcher of Economy and management, Department of Economics and Business, Padoa University
(the panel was moderated by the journalist Valentina Croci)

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What struck us and made us so enthusiasts about the event, was the people's feedback, because almost all were very interested and curious about what we told them about Etsy world. Many of the designers who were exhibiting in there came to the infopoint asking about how to open a shop, and so many among the visitors wanted to tell us their stories, revealing to be very creative even if, when asked “are you a creative or a designer?” they had answered with a shy “nope”.
A few of them already knew the website and many were so happy to find it was in Italian; there were really a tiny bunch of skeptics, totally less than expected.
Others, - some of them with notorious names - came by and, charmed by Etsy, proposed us to collaborate and left us their contacts. 

We came back home enriched from the great experience and, above all, with the smile on our faces knowing that our efforts paid back, that all the hard work on making people aware of the handmade world is going on the right way. Italy is discovering again its origins and discovering the new craftmanships and self-productions, thanks to new technologies and internet.
Yes, we are ready for Etsy!

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And now we want to say a few thank you’s :) thanks to the italian community for believing in the made in Italy, in the team and believing that, together, we could reach our aims; thanks to Etsy for seeing the potential in us and gave us the chance to emerge; thanks to the amazing Translating team that made possible to have Etsy in Italian, and thank you to Elena and Alan of Open Design for letting us involved in this project.

A special thank you goes to the EIT members that gave their time for this project and made this experience a special one:
- Alessia from knittingcate.etsy.com
- Antonella from altmeansold.etsy.com
- Francesca from etherealflowers.etsy.com
- Ilaria from gasometri.etsy.com
- Irene from infire.etsy.com
- Irene from ireneagh.etsy.com
- Milena from lorendesign.etsy.com
- Silvia from cloudnumbernine.etsy.com

And obviously... a special thank you from the bottom of our heart to Antonia, Localization Manager at Etsy Berlin, because without her, any of this couldn’t happen!

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Written by Cloud Number Nine, translated by Ethereal Flowers.
Photo by Gasometri, Ethereal Flowers and Infire.
Browse the official gallery.

Read all the related articles (in italian):

- Etsy a scuola di italiano by Tempesta

- L'economia dei nuovi artigiani by Ela Siromascenko

- La creatività di Etsy by Giada Pasqualetto
- OpenDesignItalia, l'esperienza con l'Etsy Italia Team by LorenDesign

At last, we leave you with a little treat, a trailer of the panel where Antonia spoke about Etsy. See you soon with the entire video! 

Antonia for Etsy Italia Team from EtsyItaliaTeam on Vimeo.

Etsy at Abilmente, the Vicenza creativity fair

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[Italian Version]

From the 20th to the 23rd of October 2011 some Etsy crafters and I (madamaRobè) were protagonists at the Etsy Atelier at “Abilmente” in Vicenza (Italy) the most important Italian fair about creativity that twice each year has about 47.000 visitors each time. For the first time Etsy was there and the main aim of the Etsy Atelier was to promote Etsy, to explain how it works, the philosophy behind it and furthermore to show what it means being an active member on Etsy.

We showed our creations and we proposed several courses but above all we explained to hundrends of people what Etsy is and how to use it, trying to communicate our enthusiasm and love for Etsy. We explained that Etsy is a special place plenty of exceptional people and amazing creations and, with the help of the joyful look of the atelier and our mood, we think we succeeded to spread the love for Etsy, creativity and the handmade’s world.

To give to our Atelier the peculiar Etsy touch was definitely the wonderful mounting suggested by the organizational staff of the Vicenza’s fair: all was orange and white as the Etsy logo.
The Atelier became soon a creativity lab where ideas bloomed and developed (you’ll see the results soon in our shops!). It was easy to recreate the Etsy atmosphere in our Atelier, it came naturally and it was like we’ve known each other for a long time, this was possible thanks to the main value of Etsy: bringing heart to commerce and making the world more fair, more sustainable and more fun.
Furthermore thanks to many of our Etsy friends that visited us the Etsy vibe was amazing. Here some of their comments:

Manuel of Art in Venice:
“The Atelier was really artistic, full of sources of inspiration, really energetic, plenty of interested people! Above all the atmosphere was cheerful and it was wonderful to meet people I usually meet in the Etsy website, it was like we’ve known each other for a long time!”

Lucia of Callmemimì:

“The Atelier was a feast for the eyes! The quantity of the handicraft and crowds of  people gave the idea of joy and creativity! I felt the real spirit of Etsy at the Atelier and I felt I was in a special place.”

Federica of Federicaknits:
“Dazzled by vibrations of the orange Etsy flags I approached the Atelier and it was like entering in a magic world. The stand was beautifully adorned and the atmosphere was really warm, joyful, creative and professional. Congratulations you really did a good job!”

Vera of VeraCreations:
“The Etsy Atelier was the most beautiful of the fair! You could recognize it immediately by the orange Etsy flags. The exposure of the items was perfect and really original! Many people were interested in Etsy and I could meet my Etsy friends!”

Elisa of RelyDesign: “I recognized it from afar: I saw the orange Etsy flags! When I was near I saw my Etsy friends and the atmosphere was joyful and playful. Embraces, laughs, chats created a special harmony between people. There was the chance to know Etsy, to try new techniques and to buy beautiful items.”

Daniela of HandmadeinItaly:
“Beautiful Atelier: colourful, welcoming, in perfect Etsy style!”
Alice of Alice’s Closet:
“I was really curious to discover the Etsy Atelier and when I saw it I realized it was better than I imagined! It communicated what Etsy is: creativity and joy!”

We have to say a big thank you to Etsy and to the organizational staff of the Vicenza’s Fair that permitted us to live this beautiful experience and now some more pictures:

This article has also been published by Etsy German blog.
Here's the link: German Version

Written by: madamaRobe
Published by: oOLaPiOo