Saturday, March 27, 2010

New Store Front - Handmade Artists' Shop

A couple days ago I became a full member of the Handmade Artists' Forum which allowed me to set up as a vendor in the Handmade Artists' Shop. Now this may seem like a redundancy as I already have an etsy shop, however after some indepth research I've found several things that make HAF stand out. For starters they support ALL of US; whether you are a seller on Etsy, ArtFire, Zibbet, your own storefront, twitter, facebook or a blogger if you craft with your own talents on any level they support and love you for it. Secondly I don't know of any other format that has the experience and dedication behind it that HAF does, Andrew and Kimberly head up a team that provides round the clock support for all levels of their site. E.g. It's 4am and I just tried to create a new seller profile only to realize that I clicked the wrong link and created a buyer profile instead... emailed their admin page... fixed in MINUTES! I know emails to other companies can frequently have a 24-48 hour turn around time... You might be thinking perhaps I got lucky and they happened to answer my email quickly, well perhaps but I made several more mistakes/had questions throughout the day and each one was resolved in a matter of minutes. What other format has their admins working so hard not only to get you set up but also to promote their sellers? It has been disclosed they use 5 twitter accounts with a following of over 50,000 to keep everyone upto date on the latest and greatest from their shops and forum. I started out joining as a way to expand my online community and have found an extended family that is there through thick and thin. I accepted the offer of a 90 days shop for $1 as a very low risk way to try out another format, to see if I liked it better or if it was mearly another version of Etsy and Artfire (and there is nothing overtly wrong with either of those) and have discovered a whole new world that is woven into the online community. Fantastic people who put crafting and handmade first, yes, we all want to make money but we also want to be respected and appreciated for what we do. I am very proud to be a member of a new and rapidly growing community that is truely shaped by our own hands. Whether you appreciate handmade works or you do them yourself this is truely a fabulous place to be... please visit them and experience the love that is freely given! Come back and share your expierences, we can only grow through the input of those involved.

You can also find them at:
Facebook Fan Pages: Handmade Artists' Shop page and Handmade Artists' Forum page
On Twitter: @HAFshop and @HAFEtsyTeam

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting about this Kris. It's great to know what other options there are out there, and I know you'll do just wonderful at any of them :)

jewelry by NaLa said...

I'm a proud member of the HAF and HAFteam, and I love Andrew and Kimberly also. They are truly helpful, and the members of HAF are supportive and wonderful. Thank you for writing this article about HAF! ;)

Anonymous said...

You have just made my morning! It is so cool to know that you see the effort we are trying to make supporting handmade artists. We love to do it and know that the HAFshop will continue to grow!

Handmade Artists' Forum and Shop said...

Thanks so much for your kind words! We really do try hard to help, It's nice to know that you and others see and appreciate our efforts. Believe it or not there are real people behind all these monitors and maybe that is what sets us apart. We haven't forgot that there are actually real people and not just another member.

Thanks again for your words they mean more than you know!
HAF

Larissa said...

It's true, they're great!

Joan said...

I too am proud to be a HAF member. I've been testing sites all over the internet, learning what works and how to market my jewelry. I don't even remember how I found HAF, but I'm so very glad I did! It's become my favorite destination – a fantastic community of helpful, wonderful artists! People are so open, I feel like I personally know quite a few HAF members. Andrew and Kimberly are doing a fantastic job. I love this group!

Mewes Mountain Arts said...

I'm also a PROUD HAF member! I just also set up my own shop for the $1 offer. I can't wait to see what happens! Thank you so much for posting this!!