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  1. Etsy Design Awards 2015 – Submissions are Open!

    Carl Holder Designer-makers of Australia and New Zealand, it’s time to polish your wares, tweak your marketing and social media strategy and get your Etsy store in order - submissions are now open for the Etsy Design Awards 2015. If you haven’t got an Etsy store yet, now is a great time to open up shop as it’s an amazing opportunity to make your name in the creative community - and the prizes are pretty good, too. You could win a trip to Etsy’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and be featured in the October issue of Inside Out magazine. Amazing! Top image: Carl Holder of Foreply.etsy.com, winner of 2014 Etsy Design Awards for New Talent. Photo courtesy of Etsy. 1626_EDA_AU_#_640x640-Instagram_v3 The Etsy Design Awards celebrate the people and talent that make Etsy a destination for creativity and original design in Australia and New Zealand. You can enter your work across five categories: Art, Illustration & Papergoods; Home & Living; Fashion & Accessories; New Talent; and Business as Unusual. A winner will be selected from each category, along with a sixth ‘Community Choice’ winner voted by the public.
    Letterpress print sampler by oliveandthevolcano.etsy.com, 2014's Art and Illustration Winner.

    Letterpress print sampler by oliveandthevolcano.etsy.com, 2014's Art and Illustration Winner. Photo courtesy of Olive and the Volcano.

    Olive and the Volcano

    Jo and Andy Olive (aka Olive and the Volcano) in their studio.

    This year’s judges are Helen Souness, Managing Director of Etsy; Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator of National Gallery of Victoria; Claire Bradley, Editor-in-chief of Inside Out magazine; and Jen Bishop of Interiors Addict.

    8 tips for making the best of your submission & preparing your Etsy shop

    1. "I think not leaving things up to the last day could maybe influence the outcome positively. I remember that I started making a selection of jewellery pieces to choose from just after I heard about the Etsy Design Awards, so I had plenty of time to prepare and to decide the choose the piece I would like to proceed with." - Britta Boeckmann of boldb.etsy.com, 2014 Fashion and Accessories Winner. 2. "Preparing your submission is a great opportunity to refresh your shop; ensure the photos you have of your work are of a high standard and the Shop info is up‐to‐date and engaging ... tell people your story and share your passion in a concise way."  - Carl Holder of foreply.etsy.com, 2014 New Talent Winner. 3. "When you’re writing your submission, start with a checklist of key points that you think will really impress the judges. As you put your submission together, continually refer back to this list to make sure you focus on showcasing these points. You get a lot of traffic to your shop as part of the competition so you want to make sure you’re looking as good as possible!" Fairina Cheng of fairinacheng.etsy.com, 2014 Community’s Choice Winner. 4. "I thought I better start early, because I always find it very hard to make decisions. I also put a lot of emphasis on taking good photos of the piece for my submission to increase the chance of becoming a finalist." - Britta Boeckmann
    Britta Boeckmann of boldb.etsy.com, 2014's winner of Fashion and Accessories.

    Britta Boeckmann of boldb.etsy.com, 2014's winner of Fashion and Accessories. Pendant photo courtesy of BoldB.

    5. "It's uber important to have a great, original story, and to celebrate what being you is all about – how is what you're selling different to everyone else? Etsy is looking for those wonderful, quirky, unusual, inspiring people who do great things, so how can you let people know through your about page, your photos and your copy what makes you special." - Kylie Gusset of tonofwool.etsy.com, 2014 Business As Unusual Winner. 6. "If you haven’t done this already, use the award period to motivate yourself. Make sure your shop is well presented with clear, consistent photography, informative product descriptions and a good range of products available. Look through the Etsy Seller Handbook, join an Etsy Facebook community and take part in some of the free workshops that they run in your area!" - Fairina Cheng
    Fairina Cheng of fairinacheng.etsy.com, 2014 Community’s Choice winner.

    Fairina Cheng of fairinacheng.etsy.com, 2014 Community’s Choice winner.

    7. "I would recommend not labouring over the process, to get it “right”. Be yourself, keep it concise, keep it alive – overworking and overthinking your submission will dull it down, just tap into your enthusiasm for what you do and go for it! Also put your best foot forward – submit the work you are most proud of and believe in thoroughly! " - Jo and Andy Olive of oliveandthevolcano.etsy.com, 2014 Art and Illustration Winner. 8. "I gave the text I had written for my submission to two friends to check if my writing is clear and correct, as the content of your own writing often appears very clear to yourself but might leaves questions to others." - Britta Boeckmann You can read all about We Are Scout’s coverage of last year’s Etsy Design Awards here. By the way, if you do open up an Etsy shop and enter the awards, Etsy are giving away 20 free listings, simply by using the promo code: EDA2015. Nice incentive, huh? Entries close 13 July 2015, so hop to it, Scouts! Earn your craft badges -and maybe a trip to New York! Good luck! All photography courtesy of Etsy.
    Posted at 7:00 am in Design, DIY + Craft Tutorials
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