I can't remember how I stumbled upon the website, but I managed to blow a large chunk of time looking at neat-o items that the craft kids have been making in their living rooms. Etsy is a year old site for selling sundry types of handmade goods. Knit sweaters, paintings, prints, engagement rings, and sock monkeys can all be found on their cute little sampler pages. The site makes their money in much the same way eBay does; $0.10 listing fees, and 3.5% of the sale price. Listings come with a firm price for purchase so there’s no bidding involved. My favorite portion of the site is the Alchemy section for taking bids from members for commissioned pieces. You too can be a generous patron to a bedroom Michelangelo!

Digging through such a large amount of handcrafted goods can be a hassle since no two crafters like to make sock monkeys the same way (1, 2). The digging is simplified by a couple of advanced search tools that can show items based on time criteria, geography, or featuring a dominant color. Their Color Shopper is one of the best I’ve seen, and greatly simplifies the hassles involved with trying to tie together the four walls of a room. Take their flash powered search tools for a spin; they’re just as fun as they are informative.

I know that Apartment Therapy covers Etsy occasionally, and the ReadyMade mag did a writeup on them a few issues ago.