Welcome to HandmadeNews’ Handmade Venue Update! Here, we summarize all the recent events for the week of the top most used craft marketplaces on the web. That way, whether you sell at one site or several, you need only stop in here to get the news you need.

The venues listed below are all arranged in alphabetical order with links for additional information.

There have been no new updates for 1000 Markets, DaWanda, Folksy, Ethikl, iCraft, SilkFair or Winkelf this week.

As it has been over a year since ShopHandmade.com has updated, they have been removed from the venue update.

ArtFire
ArtFire is offering a new Friends and Family Promotion, which will allow current Pro members on ArtFire the opportunity to refer whomever they choose to the site to sign up as a Pro user at the locked in $12 monthly rate rather than the new $15.95 monthly rate.

This Promotion works by giving each Pro member on ArtFire 5 invite codes they con distribute to basic members or artisans not yet on the site. These invite codes will allow members to sign up at the $12 rate and lock that rate in, so that they never have to pay more for their monthly Pro subscription. Members have until June 1st to give out these codes, after which unused codes will become inactive. Read more here.

ArtFire has also opened a new CafePress store for ArtFire themed merchandise. In this store, shoppers can purchase clothing and accessories with the ArtFire logo at no overhead profit for ArtFire. Artists can also submit their own designs, and the best ones will later be listed for sale. Read more here.

Year over year traffic for ArtFire in February has also been posted, showing a 538% increase in sales, a 120% increase in unique visitors, and 88% increase in page viewers. Read more here.

Etsy
Etsy has posted their third Postcard from Europe from Matt and Benedikta, who just returned from a trip to Finland. There, they met with over 40 Etsy artisans in Finland to discuss upcoming changes to the site, including the possibility of currency, shipping, and payment changes to open Etsy to a more global marketplace.

Etsy has also had another meeting for their Community Council. In this meeting, they discussed Treasuries and brainstormed ways to prevent sellers form being featured on the front page too often. However, they were unable to come to a consensus on what would happen if sellers item were pulled from a completed treasury if they had been recently featured before. They were so wrapped up in these discussions that the topic of communication between Etsy and the community was pushed off to the next meeting.

Zibbet
Zibbet’s newest columnist, Brittni, has just posted a new article on Design and Style featuring picks from Zibbet. One of Zibbet’s other columnists, Crissy of Indie Biz Chicks, posted an article on finding photos for blog posts. An interview with Featured Zibbeter and jewelry designer Mamasakio has also been posted.

Zibbet is holding a week long contest to promote their limited number of Premium $7 accounts. Members can enter by posting a special message on Twitter, Facebook, in a forum, blog post, or another website. Then, all members have to do is post a link to their message in the comments section of the annoucement post before midnight on March 14th for a chance to win a $50 shopping spree to Zibbet.com.
 

Sara Moore is the Head of the Content Department on ArtFire.com.

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