Ubaguito.us

I really have neglected this blog for far too long. I promise more words of wisdom–of sorts–for my not quite new year’s resolution. I have been tooling away on my sewing machine hoping that my beautiful Japanese kimono scarves will make a big splash this Christmas season. Etsy tells me I can embed some here in ubaguito.us for the perusal of anyone who visits. And Voila!

Another Voila! Teaching Children to Draw is finally out. Here is a picture of the star of the new edition holding the book with her (slightly) younger self on the cover.

Pig-in-a-poke is an idiom that refers to a confidence trick originating in the Late Middle Ages, when meat was scarce but apparently rats and cats were not.

The scheme entailed the sale of a “suckling pig” in a “poke” (bag). The wriggling bag actually contained a cat—not particularly prized as a source of meat—that was sold unopened to the victim.

A common colloquial expression in the English language, to “buy a pig in a poke,” is to make a risky purchase without inspecting the item beforehand. The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of its basis. Similar expressions exist in other languages, most of them meaning to buy a cat in a bag.

*From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Often I think that buying certain items on the web, in spite of some sellers’ (often mammoth) efforts, is much like buying a pig in a poke. I have been buying fabric for some time now, and although I consider myself to be a discerning consumer, I am often disappointed, sometimes even dismayed, by the difference between the image that the seller chooses to show and the reality of the actual fabric. And, of course, obversely, I am sometimes delighted. Maybe a pig in a poke isn’t a completely accurate analogy. One can certainly tell whether what is pictured is a pig or a cat; what can’t be known is what kind of pig or cat it is. A better analogy would be the blind man and the elephant. The (blind) buyer who sees the leg will imagine an entirely different product from the buyer who sees the trunk or the buyer who sees the ear. (more…)

So I’ve been checking out the web to see what kinds of products there are out there and to figure out just how likely it would be for me to sell my bags. Although I think they’re great, perhaps they are too esoteric for the masses, but then, of course, they are not designed for the masses, but for a particular audience. I only need to find my audience, or perhaps it needs to find me. Even though Google has made that kind of research easy, sorting through the plethora of stuff out there is still daunting–or more daunting because Google finds more stuff. One of the sites that kept repeatedly occurring for all kinds of keywords: bags; handmade; fabric; Japanese fabric and a dozen more was a place with the short but intriguing name of Etsy. I think the name is inspired. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, et cetera/etc./Etsy denotes:

1. A number of unspecified persons or things.
2. etceteras Additional odds and ends; extras

I could go on about naming which, in this age of the web and the thousands (more!) of sites becomes more and more important, but I digress.

Etsy is “an (two-year-old) online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade. There are over 300,000 items for sale by 30,000 sellers from around the world.” so, yes, etc. etc. etc.

One day I decided to systematically go through all the pages and items listed on Etsy under bags and purses but never did get through them all. It is truly amazing to me that there are so many young folks doing such amazing work. I say young because Etsy recently did a sort of demographic and the median age of all sellers/artists/craftspersons on the site is less than half my own. Check them out; I’ve been thinking that this is a wonderful source for Christmas gifts. I, for one, have put myself in their hands.