Beware the Etsy addiction

Fans of Etsy.com—the online buy/sell community for crafters, artists and the like, pronounced “et-see”—know how terribly addicting the website can be: Once you sign up and start to shop, it’s nearly impossible to stop. (Especially for PayPal users; careful, or your credit card will transform into something like Monopoly money.) What’s worse, with inventory updated ’round the clock, there’s always new stuff to look at—prints, dolls, clothing, antiques and more from retailers based as far away as Nova Scotia and the Netherlands to stateside sellers in Portland, St. Louis and Riverside. Overwhelming, yes, but also a great source for one-of-a-kind goods. When a friend recently asked if I knew of a good place to score a cute iPod cozy for his girlfriend, I was clueless—until I thought of Etsy. Logging in to look for one myself, I found a stockpile of iPod, cell phone and digital camera holders, including Fambee’s fabric “poppet” pouches with doll faces; bumblesandlu’s vinyl snap cases (stitched, with vinyl windows featuring such shapes as anchors, pears, lemons, apples and ampersands on the front); Podskirt’s “Sheep 3.0,” featuring a thick woolen outer layer; and RumahKampung’s too-cool cozies made from recycled men’s suits. Two hours and three other purchases later (adorable prints from rosiemusic, ashleyg and carambatack), I finally settled on a gray fleece cozy with felt leaf accents in orange, green, blue and white and added it to my cart. It arrives in a few days—along with my credit card bill.

AVAILABLE AT ETSY.COM 

Tags: addiction, Buy Curious, cozies, crafts, etsy, ipod, shopping