Handmade

I'm not sure who has heard about the (latest) controversy involving Etsy and resellers. I haven't weighed in on it really at all on the site, because there seems to be enough sellers doing that already. If you think about it, selling on Etsy, especially for a reseller, is pretty advantageous. Etsy has a dedicated group of buyers looking for things that are unique and, in a perfect world where everyone follows the rules, all of the sellers make their own wares.
I have mentioned in previous posts the benefits of buying handmade. You support an individual using their talents to make something out of love. A reseller, which is a loose and not always accurate term, is usually a larger company that has someone else making their product. To be fair, there may be small-time sellers who buy something wholesale and assemble it themselves, putting their own spin on it. This is, and always has been allowed on Etsy, and isn't a bad thing.
The problem isn't the existance of these entities, or having a company big enough to turn a profit large enough to grow that big. The problem is that Etsy isn't the place for them, and Etsy doesn't seem to be doing enough to keep them out. Granted, their investigations are private and that's also a good thing.
I guess what I'm really getting at is that there is something very authentic about something being handmade, from start to finish. Thought up, drawn up, items procured, and then assembled all by the same person.
So without further delay, the hands of Silver Fox Gems:

They aren't always pretty (espeically after a few painful hours of wrapping rondelles for chains) and they apparently don't pick up after themselves, but there you have it. Silver Fox Gems will always be one piece, thoughtfully made one at a time.
Food for though in a world so used to whatever you want whenever you want and however much of it you want.