As finals week approaches its end, I like to find a way to reward myself after hours of sleepless nights and long days of panicking over finals. One reward system I have is buying a must-have item from an Etsy shop. There are certain shops I just cant get enough of and also certain shops that are a bit on the expensive side. Here are a few of my favorite “one of a kind shop finds” on Etsy that are also affordable.
Based in Calgary, Canada Melanie Trottier has a knack for creating beautiful earrings and knitted headwear. All items sold in her shop are handmade and her earrings are all hypoallergenic. I really love that her earring line is hypoallergenic because it’s rare to come across unique earrings that won’t make a girl’s ear swell up after a few days of wearing them. Most of Melanie’s jewelry ranges from about $20 to 25.
These earrings are made of raw apatite crystal.
This is a cream headband that she also knitted.
As you can see, I’m obsessed with earrings. Here we have a cute shop that sells what I think of as pop culture earrings. The owner, Thais Marchese, is from Portland, ME and has a knack for making earrings like these Ryan Gosling earrings! I think she knows exactly what every girl needs in her jewelry box.
She even makes these avocado earrings! How fun are these?
If you’re looking for something original and spunky to match your style, Sleepy Mountain is your Etsy shop.
My personal favorite shop to browse through from time to time is Foraged. Based in Redlands, Calif., Foraged is a simplistic vintage shop founded by Melissa. This Etsy shop may not be updated constantly with new articles of clothing every week but checking every so often brings up a trove of treasures. Each item is hand selected by Melissa with a great eye. She always seems to find items that are chic and yet have a traditional and vintage feel to them.
Lastly we have Burrowing Home, an Etsy shop that sells beautiful artwork as well as temporary tattoos. Kelly Mitchell Gazdowicz, from Detroit, Michigan, is an artist that focuses her work on narratives told by nature and animals. This focus is very much reflected in her work, as her drawings, prints, note-cards and other products are all natural and realistic.
These are some of my favorite temporary tattoos that you don’t necessarily have to put on yourself, but can put on many other surfaces, such as a folder or photo album cover.
Etsy is a platform for many different artists to showcase and profit from their talent. It’s a great feeling to not only support another individual, but to also find something unique. Esty is full of unique items and I’ve only shown a few, so get on the site and reward yourself with a one of a kind find.
This article was contributed by Karen Garcia.