I'm hoping one of these days the Etsy team will come up with a wish list app. In the mean time I have discovered a few ways for buyers to let their friends and family know what they have had their eye on. When my friends decided to give me a baby shower for my 3rd child I thought, what do I register for? I have both boy and girl clothing, I have most of the things I need for the nursery, and people are always giving me hand-me-downs. I realized the things I enjoy getting the most are handmade items. I spend more time browsing Etsy than I do any other "store."
At that time I was a novice at Etsy and came up with the simplest way I could think of to make a baby registry. When I found items I wanted I gave them a heart. When the evite went out for my baby shower a link was sent to my hearts. You can only imagine the excitement I had when I received my first Etsy gift! It was a framed print of a family of owls called "The night belongs to us" by Lauren Alexander. It is even more brilliant in person than the picture shown in the listing. I love the rich blues and greens. Every owl has a unique personality.
I have since thought of another way to "register" for Etsy listings. The problem with using the hearts list is that I have more than just baby items I love on it. What I recommend doing instead is creating a treasury. Treasuries let buyers group together items they like. In addition to letting your friends and family know exactly what you like, they'll be able to see an overall theme with all the listings shown together. Tags will also give them an idea of what you are looking for. As I didn't know what gender my baby would be, I was drawn to woodland creatures, owls, warm browns and greens, neutral vintage type fabrics. When my baby boy arrived, I searched the pages of Etsy for rocket ships and robots. To my delight my Mom has given me many of these items to cherish.
Have you "registered" on Etsy? Have you come up with another way? Let me know what you think!
-Melanie
