Sakura hand felted wool coat from Chic Complement

Many of you come here because you appreciate handmade goods. You go to local craft shows, you support artisans, artists, designers, and makers. Some of you are even crafty yourself and sell your goods online or in boutiques. But for the most part, I love that you all know the cost of handmade items. I don't mean cost just in $$, I mean the care and attention the artist puts into creating their items, the quality they seek for their raw materials, the time that goes into taking an idea from their head and making it come alive with their hands. Quality handmade goods are all of that - not only are the artisans making what they love, they are setting a true value on their talents. We show them that we appreciate this talent by buying handmade goods.

This doesn't mean never buying from Walmart or Target or Zellers. It means realizing that the handmade item you are buying is completely different in every respect from the $5 item that seems similar at one of those discount stores.

Let me introduce you to Worthsy, the brainchild of Jessica Hepburn of Oh My! Handmade Goodness. It's a new auction site that embodies everything I'm talking about here. Have you heard of Heartsy? It's a place to get handmade goods for the cheapest possible price. When Jessica heard of Heartsy, she was disgusted - she knew it was wrong. Like so many of us, she knew that buying handmade goods is about appreciation and support of an artist, it's not about the lowest deal you can get. Out of this disgust, Jessica got the idea to set up an auction site that would allow people to really show their appreciation and support - by paying a HIGHER price. She got together with Zoe of A Quick Study (who is also one of the experts over at ARTrepreneur) to create the site.

The philosophy of Worthsy in a nutshell? Paying more is saying with your money: I support your work and creativity, I value what you are creating, I think you and your art deserve more.

Each week, the site will feature an artist's one-of-a-kind handmade item. The starting price is whatever the artist would sell the item for at wholesale. This way, the artist starts out being properly valued even before the bidding starts - a good artist makes sure that even their wholesale price properly values their time and the raw materials. The highest bidder on the item at the end of the week wins - with all the money going directly to the featured artist.

I think this is a brilliant idea, and I fully support it. I've already signed up to be alerted every week on the new items - I'm asking that you show Worthsy your support and do the same! Go out there and spend some money!!