Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Let's Peek into the Shops of VMTEAM Members... BlueHawaiiVintage

Cardigans are the PERFECT addition to any closet- especially as temperatures shift around day by day. This darling example from BlueHawaiiVintage makes me giddy for Spring! Just imagine all the ways and places this could be worn...

Until next week- XOXO, retrotrend

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Treasury Challenge #28 Manly

This challenge runs March 27-April 1
Welcome to the Vintage Market Team's newest Treasury Challenge! Treasuries allow us to promote one another, stretch our creativity  and hopefully make the Front Page! The 3 treasuries that get the most visits and comments will be chosen for next weeks voting and If your treasury wins the vote one of your items will be selected for the next weeks challenge! 


Last week's winner was:


Please include this Bakelite Pipe Case in one of the first three prominent spaces of the treasury:


Treasury Challenge Rules:

1- Follow our blog!
2- Link back this blog post in your treasury comments. This helps others find the challenge and enter.
3- Add the link to your treasury in the "comments" section below.
4- Your treasury must contain the winning item shown above, in one of the first three slots.
5- Your treasury must contain the tags "vmteamchallenge", "vmteamchallengeManly" and "etsyteamtreasury".
6- When tweeting your treasury, use the hashtags #EtsyTeamTreasury and#VMTEAM .
7- You must include at least 8 Vintage Market Team members' items (found using the search term "vmteam" under the vintage tab).
8- Your treasury must contain a mix of handmade and vintage items - AND NOT ONE OF YOUR ITEMS.

Have fun making these treasuries! And feel free to be as creative as you want with the theme!

Time to Vote: VMTEAM Travel Challenge!
We have three great treasuries to choose from this week. Vote for your favorite  in the sidebar poll to the top right:









Be Sure to to make a Manly treasury and enter the challenge this week! If you win one of your items will be FEATURED next week!!!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Amy's Old School Tips April Merchandising

Spring has sprung and the Etsy April Merchandising letter is out. Of course the annual April holidays are listed for the month but the exciting news is that Etsy is going to be looking for treasuries and items that are unisex, men-centric and our favorite VINTAGE! Here are some VMTeam members who are hitting the bill with men-centric in mind!




Another interesting development for this month is the popularity of Little Red Riding Hood with Catherine Hardwicke's movie rendition so look for red capes, wolves, forest themes and consider how you can incorporate that with your vintage item tags! 



Vintage trends that are still going strong are: Globes, maps, crates, baskets, barware, industrial appliances, farmhouse, typewriters, cameras, letterpress, brass and cast iron animals.



Lockets, secret hiding places, skeleton keys, feathers, arrows, diamonds paper cuts, silhouettes, fortune cookies, wishbones, fortune tellers are also  remain popular. 

In Fashion look for black paired with white, gold, or navy. Orange, camel, chartreuse, lace, neon, brights. It's all about the shoulders: structured, elevated, outlined, embellished. Faux reptile skins, the 1970s revival, structured wearable art, sporty, nautical, American classics, tribal influence.


If you look through the items in your shop it is a great idea to refresh tags from time to time such as changing a color or trend key word based on the merchandising letter. When creating treasuries keep in mind what is popular during the month. This will increase the odds of your treasury making the Front Page!! It is also the time to start planning for your summer merchandise, dresses, swimsuits, picnics, bar-b-q's and all the fun that summer entails is just around the corner. Plan ahead! 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Let's Peek into the Shops of VMTEAM Members... Blue Dog Jewelry


Looking for an unusual piece of vintage jewelry? Look no farther than BlueDogJewelry! This Art Deco hat pin is lovely- perfect as a stick pin o a blouse or cardigan. I'd use it to secure a scarf, or perhaps as a decorative object on a fabric purse. Lovely!



And this bronze artifact is amazing! I see it as a detail clasp on a purse, or as a pendant on a simple silver chain.
Great pieces at great prices- might as well buy them both- if I don't beat you to it!

Happy Spring- I'll be back next week with more fabulous VMTEAM finds! XOXO- retrotrend

Monday, March 21, 2011

Treasury Challenge #27 EUROPE

This challenge runs March 21-25

Welcome to the Vintage Market Team's newest Treasury Challenge! Treasuries allow us to promote one another, stretch our creativity  and hopefully make the Front Page! The 3 treasuries that get the most visits and comments will be chosen for next weeks voting and If your treasury wins the vote one of your items will be selected for the next weeks challenge! 

Last week's winner was:



It is Euro week on Etsy and as a result our theme for this challenge is Europe. 

Please include this Lemon Drop Hat in one of the first three prominent spaces of the treasury:



The rules have one difference this challenge which is to inlcude 50% VMTeam  and 50% European shops in the treasury. You can Search for European shops in a variety of ways, one of which is the Geolocator or you can go to the Shop Local section and change the search to Europe or a specific country. When tagging the treasury use tag EtsyEuro and Tweet it as #EtsyEuroThe rest of the rules remain the same as follows:

1- Follow our blog!
2- Link back this blog post in your treasury comments. This helps others find the challenge and enter.
3- Add the link to your treasury in the "comments" section below.
4- Your treasury must contain the winning item shown above, in one of the first three slots.
5- Your treasury must contain the tags "vmteamchallenge", "vmteamchallengeEUROPE" and "etsyteamtreasury".
6- When tweeting your treasury, use the hashtags #EtsyTeamTreasury and #VMTEAM .
7- You must include at least 8 Vintage Market Team members' items (found using the search term "vmteam" under the vintage tab).
8- Your treasury must contain a mix of handmade and vintage items - AND NOT ONE OF YOUR ITEMS.

Have fun making these treasuries! And feel free to be as creative as you want with the theme!

Time to Vote: VMTEAM Travel Challenge!
We have two great treasuries to choose from this week. Vote for your favorite  in the sidebar poll to the top right:








Be Sure to to make a European treasury and enter the challenge this week! If you win one of your items will be the FEATURED ITEM next week!!!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Amy's Old School Tips

Creating a Treasury 101

For those of you who know how to make a treasury I have included two tid bits below about emailing all the people in the treasury at once as well as how to make a "Widget" of your treasury for promotional purposes!

But  for all you Etsy Newbies here is a lesson on how to create a treasury! Why should I learn to do that you ask? Because it is one of the BEST marketing tools we have on Etsy with the possibility of getting on Front Page! Any other reasons you ask? It is a fabulous way to promote your team mates who will in turn create a treasury and promote you! Is that all? Of course not! It also drives people to your shop as they check out who made this awesome treasury!

*This is a PC (not Mac) tutorial



Head to the front page of of Etsy and look toward the box that says "Ways to Shop" in the left corner. Here  you will see a link to "Treasury" click that.


The list of all the treasuries will now open and you then look to the right box of "Curator Tools" and click "Create a List"

You will find yourself on a screen that looks like this. Now in your browser click a new tab to open and open a second page for Etsy and in the search tool type "VMTeam" and click Vintage to see all the items the team has to offer. 


Find the item you like and look in the top url address bar and look for the list of 8 numbers (highlighted in blue toward the top of the image). Highlight that with your mouse and right click it and select "copy" image. 



Now go back to your treasury tab and put your pointer in a box that says "Listing URL". Right click your mouse and hit "Paste"  and the number will appear in this box. Click "OK" and the image of your chosen item should appear. If it doesn't check to make sure you didn't include the "/" or an extra space before or after the number.  Now do this 15 more times! 


Now, I prefer to put in the title, description and tags before I hit save but this can lead to a deleted treasury if you hit the back button or  close it by accident. If you don't have time to complete the treasury at any point in its creation you can click the "only you" button and then save and it will be saved for later editing. If you do this you need to be sure to click the "Everyone" button when you are ready for everyone to view. So, enter in your title and a description and fill in all 18 "Tags". Tags are the words that can be searched in the treasuries, include such tags as colors, styles, vintage, any descriptive word that applies and the VMTeam treasury tags that are in the blog. Hitting "Add" after each tag or placing a comma between words. You can click and drag items to different boxes at any point in time to rearrange the order of things. 

Finally, hit your "Save" button in the bottom right corner.

Now that your treasury is completed email everyone you included so they can come click, comment and post it to their Twitter and Facebook accounts. The more "buzz" a treasury gets the higher it moves up the list of treasuries and then the  more likely it will make the coveted Front Page. Now I have added an "AP" or Application that emails all the people included at once. What a time saver it is. Here is the link on Browser Extension. 




Here is the complete "School Isn't Out Yet!" Treasury.
If you like you can get a "Widget", a picture like the above one to use in your Facebook or blog to advertise your treasury from Craft Cult.

Important note: If you don't have time to create a treasury yourself take a moment to go to the team discussion page to see what treasuries your team mates have created. You can click and comment on those and help promote them! It is considered a new view if you visit a treasury again after 30 minutes has passed. You can even make another comment at that point!

Feel free to post any questions, if you have a question that means someone else is wondering the same thing!

Now you are ready to participate in our weekly Treasury Challenges! If you win the challenge one of your shop items will be chosen to be used in the next weeks challenge!!
Happy Treasuries Everyone!  

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Let's Peek into the Shops of VMTEAM Members... BlackRain4


Something about this satin clutch from BlackRain4 makes me excited about Spring and so many warm- weather events on the social calender. Ideal for glamming up a simple vintage dress for your friend's wedding, etc. What's the old adage, Change your bag- change your life? Let's try it!

Until next week! XOXO- retrotrend

Monday, March 14, 2011

Treasury Challenge #26...TRAVEL

This challenge runs March 14-18


Welcome to the Vintage Market Team's newest Treasury Challenge! Challenges are great because they not only allow us to promote one another, but it also allows us to stretch our creativity and have some fun! If your treasury wins the vote one of your items will be selected for the next weeks challenge! 

Last week's winner was:





The theme for this challenge will be "TRAVEL"
Please us the fabulous Tin Featuring A Scene of London in one of the first three prominent spaces of the treasury:



The rules:

1- Follow our blog!
2- Link back this blog post in your treasury comments. This helps others find the challenge and enter.
3- Add the link to your treasury in the "comments" section below.
4- Your treasury must contain the winning item shown above, in one of the first three slots.
5- Your treasury must contain the tags "vmteamchallenge", "vmteamchallengetravel" and "etsyteamtreasury".
6- When tweeting your treasury, use the hashtags #EtsyTeamTreasury and #VMTEAM .
7- You must include at least 8 Vintage Market Team members' items (found using the search term "vmteam" under the vintage tab).
8- Your treasury must contain a mix of handmade and vintage items - AND NOT ONE OF YOUR ITEMS.

Have fun making these treasuries! And feel free to be as creative as you want with the theme!

Time to Vote: VMTEAM Spring Challenge!
We have three great treasuries to choose from this week. Vote for your favorite  in the sidebar poll to the top right:




Be Sure to enter the challenge this week! If you win one of your items will be the FEATURED ITEM next week!!!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Amy's Old School Tips

When perusing the wonderful items on our Vintage Market Team I notice two main styles of product photography which I will classify as Crisp and Rustic. Crisp photos usually have a white background and are uncluttered and well focused. The rustic style often has a darker background and may also include a wood surface under the item. Both styles are wonderful and it is just a matter of taste when deciding what style you prefer!

Crisp

 Black Patent Leather Purse Crown Lewis 

by: TheWayTheyWore 

A white background helps an item to POP off the page. It creates a high contrast between your merchandise which shows off your items great features. It is clean and crisp! 



 Watermelon Heliotrope Rhinestone Bracelet 

by:ZephyrVintage

ZephyrVintage often uses a mirror as a background. This creates a bright backdrop that reflects the shine of this lovely bracelet. If you choose to use a mirror it is important to make sure it is very clean as this one is or the smudges will show up in your image. 


Rustic

Silverplate Oneida Paul Revere Reproduction Bowl 

by: Jacquierae

Here is a fabulous example of a rustic style of product photography. It contrasts wonderfully with the classic silver bowl which reflects the wood grain on its surface. This would also be a good example of using the horizontal layout I discussed last week.

ArtDecoDame has taken advantage of a rock as a rustic background. When available, it is great to use natural light such as this and she has also added a vignette which rounds off the corners giving a retro look. Finally she has used a diagonal line  which gives a more dynamic feel to the image. 

Play around with the type of background you use and see what you feel most comfortable with. I recommend that once you find one you prefer to stick with it as it will help you create your store image. Using the same color background or type of background can help your customers recognize you without seeing your shop name! If you would like more information on creating a recognizable shop you can read about it in my Tip's from January 14th.   Keep up all the wonderful product photography as it gives me great images to discuss! 

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails