Index of Indie

I support independent crafters & artists - and am in awe of the effort, time and commitment that they put into their handmade goods. So to support crafters, artists, designers, etc., I’ve begun this Index of Indie. “Indie” means lots of things, but mostly it means being out there on your own, doing it yourself, being creative, doing what you love, and if you’re lucky, doing it for a living.

Can I include your marketplace or social site? I’m happy to include you if you fit into one of my categories below. Drop me an email at miriam@crafterbynight.com. [Note: Many apologies to you artisans on your own, but I cannot include individual shops right now. I list marketplaces that represent multiple artists, consignment shops, provide space for sales (Etsy), or otherwise are portals for crafters.]

Contents (click to go directly to that section)

Seasonal Indie Guides

MarketPlaces (aka Places to Do Some Serious Shoppin’)

  • Anezka Handmade - (note shop closed temporarily 11-16-07, still closed 2-20-08)
  • Blissen: website selling the handmade goods of artisan/entrepreneur Jill Blissen along with her friends & partners
  • Buy Olympia - these folks run an e-store featuring handmade goods out of Olympia, WA and also provide online stores for music labels & events!
  • New! Canduru is a new social shopping community that allows sellers (”micropreneurs“) to share their stories along with their products, with the hope of hopefully enabling a more personal buying experience. Web 2 format with the ability to interact and rate what you see. Not all crafts.
  • Circle Circle Dot Dot: “Handmade cuteness… a collection of unique, handmade wares by the best and brightest emerging designers.” This store features a few selected artisans and their wares, in addition to the site owner’s own creations.
  • Updated Crafters for Critters: selling handmade goods - all proceeds of sales benefit animal rescue organizations. Goods are donated by artisans, and a rotating organization benefits each month. See my article.
  • Curiosity Shoppe: I think not all is crafts, but a good bit is handmade, and they clearly support crafting & indie businesses.
  • Cutique: a portal w/ links to handmade goods. Created by and featuring a group of independent sellers.
  • DaWanda - “products with love” - a store selling “handmade and hard-to-find items” in three languages - German, French & English. They’re a portal - you’re buying direct from the sellers.
  • Etsy: all handmade goods + vintage goods + patterns. A monster US marketplace well and truly patronised by the online crafting community.
  • New! Etsy Shops Directory: this portal site is literally what it says, a listing of Etsy sellers. Not a direct marketplace, but links to them, and supports sellers by posting reviews, featuring rotating shops, and providing helpful categories for searching for shops. Shops must feature 75% or more handmade items.
  • HomeGrown Market: “unique, hand-crafted products from American Small and Home-Based Businesses.”
  • Indie Collective - a market place and of course a collective of independently owned businesses showcasing their arts. Not all handmade, but all indie. Convenient category links above.
  • Indie Designer Labels - a smaller (but definitely growing!) listing of indie (handmade/crafty/indie design) labels. Some great stuff here.
  • Indie Finds - a directory made by a group of independent designers (over 150!) to promote independent designers, carry their work, and strive for greater publicity for small artisans.
  • Indie Fixx Shop - now open for business! Excellent! Obviously, from the writer of the delightful Indie Fixx blog.
  • Indie Friendly - a collection of designers who have submitted themselves and been reviewed for consideration. Som spotlighting, and pretty good categories.
  • Indie Love (I love Indie) blog - “the place for indie shopaholics.”
  • Indiesave.com: Tracks down and sorts through deals and promotions and the like from independent sellers
  • I Shop Indie: a collaborative of artist, crafters, etc. to promote buying online indie.
  • Little House Mercantile: This brand new marketplace specializes in handcrafted primitive items and country decor, candles, “raggedies,” and folk art. Also find craft articles, coupons, eBay listings, etc.
  • New! Little Paper Planes - a group of “friends and friends of friends” who banded together to sell their artwork online. A lot of real artisans, a lot of great art here, from prints to t-shirts, jewelry to cards, zines to bags.
  • Lov.li: “a community of people who love art, crafts and handmade products.” Oh, and you can buy stuff, too.
  • Mintd: independent marketplace for handmade goods only - a down-under site.
  • Mod Cloth: bills itself as indie designer lines, vintage clothing “and more.”
  • Modishoppe: Jena Coray’s e-boutique featuring handmade goods from independent designers. Also see the Modish blog for regular updates of indie finds!
  • My My Art + Craft: offering handmade goods by independent artists on consignment since 2004.
  • Poppytalk Handmade - Just launched October 2007. They call themselves a monthly “online street market” for handmade goods to showcase indie/new artisans. Nice new format!
  • Shana Logic - grew out of a little hobby to a big, pretty, wellknown marketplace to find and support indie. Has a blog you can subscribe to to keep up with shop updates as well.
  • Trunkt: “the buyer’s guide to independent art + design”

Design Blogs - Promoting and Highlighting Independent Design & Crafting

  • Decor8 - not all indie, but a lot of indie here. The author of this well-known and well-respected blog writes about new and interesting design she finds, much of it independent and some of it crafting.
  • Funky Finds - a blog devoted to featuring independent artists, crafters and designer. The writer, Jessica, is also doing themed giveaways the last week of each month.
  • Indie Fixx - a blog devoted to indie finds and tips, featuring new artisans daily, weekly interviews and reader picks. Indie Fixx has great seasonal indie shopping/gift and jewelry guides. The Indie Fixx Shop is her other offering.
  • Indie Finds on Etsy - Blog owner Dotty features new Etsy shops as well as her own Etsy wares.
  • indie*galore - a blog featuring indie shops & wares from a woman supporting indie businesses
  • Indie Quarter Blog - UK based team Jenny and Richard Hudson (also web designers) bring you news about indie designers and crafters.
  • New! (3/12/08) Indie Yellow Pages - Directory of Independent Designers, self-described as a blog “created to spread the word about independent designers and to the wonderful products they create and sell.”
  • Lucky Girl Trading - an Etsy seller who regularly highlights other Etsy sellers.
  • Miss Malaprop - a Mississippi/Gulf Coaster who showcases “unique and independently made products and small businesses” alongside writing about living a more sustainable lifestyle and the recent Gulf Coast disaters.
  • New! (3/12/08) Mixed Plate - promoting independent designers - websites, products, people.  Sign up for the newsletter and be entered for a chance to win handmade goodies!
  • Modish - Self described as a stylish blog for indie shoppers, she features new designers and their work all the time. Owners of the Modishoppe.
  • Poppytalk - “a canadian design blog collecting inspiration and promoting emerging design talent.” - Also see their “online street market,” called Poppytalk Handmade (above).
  • New! Smidge - a blog created to showcase independent artists and their wares and create connections. Includes a monthly giveaway and forums.
  • Whip Up - a well known blog written by a variety of authors dedicated to bringing together the best in handmade - to inspire, inform and share, and build community.

Craft Shows & Show Directories

Giveaways Featuring Handmade Items (New in 2008)

Social Media Sites and Forums for Crafters and Independent Designers

  • Craftster - inimitable forum for indie crafts (hip and off-beat particularly). I love their motto of “No tea cozies without irony.” Lots of discussions and forums, lots of projects, plus city guides, swaps, challenges, etc.
  • CrochetMe - the recently-reconfigured crocheters Heaven (once an online newsletter), brainchild of Kim Werker, crocheter & entrepreneur extraordinaire & editor of Interweave Crochet. Find projects and community here.
  • New! Etsy for Charity - a Ning group centered around a group of folks who have gotten together to support charity through Etsy sales and community. They have monthly charities they support, monthly challenges, a blog that features members and a gallery of members’ creations.
  • New! Etsy Vintage Buyers and Sellers - the owner of the Vintage Indie blog has created this network on Ning to connect buyers & sellers of vintage indie goods sold on Etsy. Discussions, photos, a way to promote your shop!
  • Get Crafty - forum and blog. “Home of the craftistas.” The project of Jean Railla, author of Get Crafty: Hip Home Ec, craft promoter, columnist in the Craftzine, and worth a read on her ideas about third-gen feminist crafting. More focus on articles here, plus community.
  • Indiepublic - independent art and design community on Ning- whether you’re an artisan, a buyer or just love indie art/design. The community is a great place to network, promote and find stuff to buy.
  • Ravelry - a knit and design community currently in beta & still invitation only. Great place to find patterns (for sale or free), find people de-stashing (buy yarn!), get inspired, track your projects, sell your projects, or just talk about your love of yarn.
  • Sk*rt - a social media ranking platform for cool finds. Try the Design and Craft section.
  • Stylehive - this is not all craft, but there are “hives” by Craftzine, Etsy, etc., and you can try tags like craft, do-it-yourself, handmade, etc. to find stuff that’s stylish. Or to figure out what is stylish.
  • New! We Love Etsy - linked to the Etsy Shops Directory, this Ning social network is just that - a community of people who love Etsy. Features reviews and sub-groups to find your Etsy niche.