Rene Trim's arts & crafts: Japanese master potter comes to Gloucester

** Japanese master potter comes to Gloucester: ** Japanese master potter Takeshi Shimizu will present a complimentary demonstration at the Gloucester Pottery School on Tuesday 17 February. Mr. Shimizu is visiting from the region of Tanba, Japan, an area with an 800-year pottery history. The earthy forms made in the region are revered as an important part of the nation’s heritage but are often overlooked in the West. Mr. Takeshi works with his father in their family’s studio, Tanba Pottery Works. You can register for the demonstration through the Gloucester Pottery School website .

**

Something’s cooking at the Museum of Nature: ** Despite the time of year, it looks like February 21 will be a steamy one at the Museum of Nature as “Hot Potato, Ottawa’s Hottest Night at the Museum” takes over the building. An evening full of food, cocktails, live performances, DJ’s and much more. In addition, 21 female artists/entrepreneurs will be happy to cater to your night market shopping needs! The event – a fundraiser for the Ottawa Food Bank - runs from 8 pm until midnight and tickets ($25 each) can be purchased online at https://www.snapuptickets.com/events/detail/hot-potato . ** Etsy’s IPO imminent? ** Often wooed by big banks wanting to take the company public, New York-based Etsy, an online marketplace for crafts and vintage items, is rumoured to be getting ready to do an initial public offering some time in the first quarter of 2015. Etsy has had a meteoric rise from its humble beginnings – back in 2005 - in the hipster stronghold of Dumbo (an acronym for “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”), Brooklyn. The company earns its money through the quarterly 20 cents it charges to sellers for each product they list, and through the 3.5 percent commission from each item sold. It also generates revenue from advertising and payment processing. According to its website, Etsy posted $1.35 billion in gross merchandise sales in 2013. With the e-commerce market expected to reach $493.9 billion by 2018, an over 25-percent increase from the $305.7 billion it is today, investors are hoping that Etsy has a lot more room to grow.

The site’s initial appeal was that it allowed any person with artistic talent and an entrepreneurial spirit to sell their wares easily through an online Etsy shop, making it by far the most popular outlet for indie designers, as well as for shoppers looking for that one-of-a-kind hand-created piece of jewellery, furniture, décor or clothing.

And then Etsy altered its terms of service…

Independent craftspeople are now allowed to hire manufacturers to produce their artwork, meaning that artisans on Etsy no longer have to sell handmade products. Needless to say this opened the door to manufacturers and resellers from China and India who have since flooded the site – much to the chagrin of the “makers”, a lot of whom have abandoned the site and are now selling through specialty groups on Facebook. Truth be told, Etsy does try to stop resellers by means of the site’s “Marketplace Trust and Integrity Team” – basically, a customs department - but - with an estimated one million stores, that is not an easy task.

With a possible IPO around the corner, artisans are wondering what will happen once Etsy has to answer to shareholders instead of just users. Facebook users with business pages remember all too well the many changes the company introduced after it went public, such as the paid “boosts” to promote a post in order to improve its chances of getting seen - something that used to be a given (and didn’t cost anything) in the earlier days of the social network.

Only time will tell what a publicly-owned Etsy will look like.

_ You can contact Rene a feedback@ottawastart.com _