Byhand.Me

Byhand.Me is a community for artisans. It's free to join, and it is not a selling venue. It's a group of artisans coming together for networking, support, and promotion. As a participating artisan, you have your own profile with links to your shop(s) and blogs. There is an artisan directory to help others find you or for you to find others. There are Clubhouses to help you get together with other artisans bound by some kind of common ground to discuss anything and everything. I *love* the wishlist feature! You can put together your own wishlists of handmade goods from a long list of selling venues. So all in one place you can have your favorites from Etsy, Artfire, 1000 Markets, etc. Never forget which site you saw that "must have" bag! Another fun feature is the Spotlight. Create galleries of your own work, or others, in any theme or non-theme you'd like from a combination of selling venues. To me it's like creating a treasury on Etsy but without the endless waiting and competition for a treasury spot to open. There is also a very supportive Forum where you can ask questions, comment, wax poetic, all in a comfortable environment. Because it isn't a selling venue, it has much more of a community feel, like we are all in this together. Check it out at http://www.byhand.me/

Glass Circus

I just happened to be browsing around on Artfire and saw an amazing fused glass dish on the front page. When I clicked on the dish, I fell into a whole world of fantastic fused glass work by Glass Circus. Love at first "site". I think this longer dish would be great as a soap dish, actually, because everything comes down to soap for me. ;) She also makes some adorable pendants, smaller dishes, plates, incense burners...you must go check it out. You can find Glass Circus on Etsy here: http://glasscircus.etsy.com and on Artfire here: http://glasscircus.artfire.com. Be prepared to fall in love, just in time for Valentine's Day.