Cat People

You know some. I know some. I am one. I love all animals, really, but cats have a special spot in me that I know others can relate to.

There is endless evidence of our love of cats and what we do to and with them to entertain ourselves...and them. Lots of folks know about http://icanhascheezburger.com/ ('Lolcats'), but before Lolcats, there was http://www.mycathatesyou.com/. I have them both bookmarked for whenever I need a laugh, guests are over and there's a need for quick entertainment, or whenever the creative juices are flowing. You can add your own captions to pictures and share them, but mostly both sites just make me laugh. Any cat person can relate.

There are a couple of videos I really like because they hit close to how cats truly behave, and how we (cat people) perceive them to behave. There's Sparta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo , or the 'Mean Kitty' song. This guy made a great video and song for his new kitty...very appropriate. And there's Simon's Cat: http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat?blend=1&ob=4#p/u , a series of cartoons that are so true to what cats do to their humans that it's hard to imagine anyone doing a better job. Watch them all.... the one with the fly is my favourite.

Cat people never shut up when in company of other cat people, but that's ok. Cat people understand; besides...we're often telling each other stories we've already experienced. The fun part is knowing that other cat people have similar cat experiences.

So, when you come across cat art that hits you (if you're a cat person) in that "Holy crap, that's MY cat!" spot, it's hard to resist. From bad kitties like this one from cathypeng: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29418407 or this one from bingbangdesigns: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29418407, to sad kitties from hollandarts: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29418407 and even clever kitties from cathypeng again: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29418407, the good, crafty folk at etsy have us covered.

I know there are lots of other places cat people can get their cat fixes on, but I'm big on supporting etsy. And if some of the above linked itmes are sold already, just poke around their shops, as I'm sure they have other cat related goodies for sale.

Etsy Continued

Likely because of my current type of items I sell (crocheted wire necklaces), I sell slowly. I don't have a lot of time for promotion, though I have made several pieces that need to be photographed and added. Simply listing seems to bring in a sale, so getting more listed is on my 'things to do'. My shop: www.kettaconvolutia.etsy.com

Up until recently I worked at the Mill End Store (http://millendstore.com/), a massive fabric store in Portland, OR. I left recently to head back to college to pursue my long-time dream of delving deep into a biology degree; a subject for another time.

As a result of working there, I've encouraged several employees (as well as discovering a few others who were already on Etsy) to join Etsy. It's such a great place to start, particularly if you've never sold online before and you know Ebay isn't the right place, as well as if you've no experience setting up your own site (which I still don't).

I wanted to give a couple of them a little nudge. There's Nic, who is a multimedia artist. He has acrylic painting originals, magnets, and some truly wonderful sculptures listed. www.hollandarts.etsy.com. Then there's Ruth, who is a fantastic, very very talented artist who has had her art featured in several greeting card series, art stamp series, and also makes her own patterns. She sews perfectly and does a lot of stitched art. Currently on Etsy, she's got some of her original and very cute patterns listed. I keep encouraging her to do more! www.bingbangdesigns.etsy.com.

At the least, check out their sites. Very much worth the time.