Magpie Sue

This past weekend I was lucky enough to visit the Fall Home Show in Toronto.  (Thanks to tickets from SNLCreations on Etsy - visit her shop here https://www.etsy.com/shop/SNLCreations).  One of her items was featured in a booth sponsored by Etsy.  I was excited to see her item and visit the show.

I don't want to sound like a snob but I was quite disappointed with Etsy booth and the show in general.  It was held in the Better Living Center which is an old an tired building and the show was significantly smaller than others I have been to.  I was able to see all the booths in just over 1 hour, and that includes stopping and talking to some of the vendors.

On to the main reason for my post, the Etsy Canada booth.  The booth was off to one side and I suspect many people missed it as it wasn't in a main aisle.  You would have had to go looking for the display or covered every single inch of the show floorspace to find it (Strike #1).  

This is the view as I approached the display

Just off to the far right you an see someone seated who I assumed was manning the booth.  She was busy texting on her phone and did not speak to me at all during my time there.  (Strike #2).  The display looked quite homey and nice but I don't quite understand how it encouraged people to shop on Etsy.  There is no website link, nothing to tell you that all these wonderful items are from on-line seller.

The item I was in search of was in the corner on the ladder (sorry, I'll work on getting the photo right way around)

Each item had a number beside it.  Umm, but what does that number mean?  Oh wait, you had to go to the bookshelf at the left and dig out one of those little orange booklets (Strike #3).  That was the where you could learn about the shop that made a particular item.  The booklets were not prominently displayed nor were they very well produced (in my opinion).

Finally let me show you the wonderful work of SNLCreations

Stunning right?  I know the maker (and I suspect all other Etsy members who were chosen for this event) were very excited to have their item showcased.  Sadly I don't expect any of the shops will see increased view or sales from it.

I hope Etsy tries again to showcase the artisans of Etsy, but I hope they get some marketing and merchandising advise before they do.