Want to be Featured?

Are you an independent artist with a shop on #Etsy.com? Please contact me through my shop Beltane Moon on Etsy. There is no cost, this is my way of helping small businesses rebuild the economy and sustainability.

Shop Security 

What do people want to know?

So many are interested in starting a new business but are unsure of the process. Through your stories, others discover your shop and talent while empowering themselves to do better in life. People want to know how you got started in your line of work. The ups and downs - what motivates you and your goals.

Motivation for Steel

Tell your story through photos: Your process (without divulging trade secrets, of course), funny stories through pictures and the direction you see for your dreams.

Provide links to social media if you so choose, whereby customers can order and ask questions.

Every story counts. Leave footprints on the path of positive discovery!

~Steel

Open Range Preserve Vintage

From Knoxville, Tennessee, I present Jane, from Open Range Preserve vintage on Etsy.com. 

I recently nudged Jane into sharing her shop story with me on this blog. Pull up a chair and stroll through memory lane with Jane!

 I had been making handmade items for decades, using crochet, macramé, sewing, quilting, embroidery, and needlepoint to make clothing, decor, accessories, Christmas ornaments, household linens, and anything else I could think of. Five years ago, several people began urging me to sell on Etsy. But I had a job and other activities and just didn't think I had time for it. So I let it go.

Fast forward a few years, and I'm in my sixties, too old for my former job and with health issues and changing family circumstances that moved me to a much smaller living space. And here were all these wonderful items I had collected over the decades, but that I would no longer have room to keep. 

A friend already had an established Etsy shop (Victorian Wardrobe), and she pointed out that I could sell vintage on Etsy. 

Well, I was well supplied with that! So I looked into Etsy and started my shop on May 2013. While I haven't sold a lot, it has been enough to keep me going. I have out-of-print fabrics, vintage patterns, pre-loved toys, heirloom household items, nearly-antique jewelry, and old books (including some first editions). 

Now, every time I sell an item of special significance, I recall how I got it, and I think of how much the buyer is going to enjoy it. Recently I sold an old hippie kind of book that I thought was wonderful, and not long afterwards I sold an old pair of hippie bellbottom tiedyed jeans that I had grown out of long ago. And I was so excited for the buyers! They get to have these neat items!

Someone asked me what I'd do when I ran out of things to sell. I had to laugh! No danger of that for quite some time!

Thanks, Jane! 

Vintage In Saratoga Springs

Vintage finds new homes

 Old Times Keepsake on Etsy ~ Pat DeSio 

Pat - graduating nursing school

My name is Pat and my husband and I reside in beautiful Saratoga Springs, New York. A lovely small community of artisans, historical preservation and notably, horse racing.

My schooling was nursing in which I worked in a variety of specialties such as geriatrics and hospice. I served on a plethora of boards in hospital and community service over my lifetime. 

For years I have collected vintage and refinished antiques. Our home outgrew my personal collections, but not my love for iconic rememberances.

Retro Vintage 

My father was a builder/carpenter when I was born. He taught me about building, craftsmanship and the like. His skills were such that he did it all: from the basement build out to the intricacies of detailed handrails.

The trade was a family affair: my younger sister and I helped my father; our mother did the book keeping and our older sister got to go on the truck; our brother learned the trade. Well into their 80's, my parents even put a roof on their house!

My grandfather gave me many pieces of his furniture and I learned the art of caning .

Fenton Milk Glass

Over the years I have retained the love for antiques, architecture and all things vintage. Each piece has a story to tell.  Most of the pieces had one owner - ME! My love for vintage has outgrown my home. 

My daughter told me about Etsy and encouraged me to open shop. She has been on Etsy since 2013 - Beltane Moon (Steel Grey Art).  Incidentally, she is the author of this blog!  We have other family member across the US who also have their own Etsy shops. Each one unique and individual.


Join me on the adventure of storytelling through shared love of vintage!

~Pat