The Australian Flood Disaster

As many of you would know, Queensland in Australia has been affected by massive floods. The floods have affected 75% of the state, and the disaster area is twice the size of Texas! The death toll so far is sadly at 20, and the damage bill is expected to reach up to $20 billion. Many people have lost everything.

Flash flooding in Toowoomba- Daniel Munoz, Reuters

Many Australian sellers on etsy are working together to try and raise funds to help those affected by the disaster, and there are lots of ways you can help- either by donating an item, buying some cool stuff with the proceeds being donated to the flood relief fund, or by helping to spread the word about these efforts.

The Australian Etsy DUST team has established a shop taking donations from sellers all over the world, with all funds (minus etsy and PayPal fees) to be donated to the Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal (over $3800 has been raised already). There are new goodies being added all the time, but you have to be quick before someone else snaps them up because things are selling quickly! You can visit the ausdisasterrelief shop on etsy here.

A couple of my favourites from the shop:

Customised Amigurumi Toy by rosieok


Visual Journal Slip Cover by iheartcharlie

The Queensland BrisStyle team has also launched a Handmade Ark Flood Appeal, where participating members are donating proceeds from their sales. You can find out info and browse the lovely things for sale via the team's blog- they have raised over $2000 already!

Picks from the Handmade Ark Appeal:

Follow Your Heart Garland by LittleMaryMoo


Banana Cupcake Soap by warmsigh

Etsy Teams: Etsy Dark Team

Bunny Tea Party by GrandOleBestiary

This is the first in a series of blog posts showcasing some of the awesome teams on etsy!

SWStitchery, team leader for the EtsyDarkTeam, kindly agreed to answer some interview questions about the team representing the dark side of Etsy...


Cirque de noir black and white veil by SistersOfTheMoon

1) Can you tell us a little bit about the team and how it started?
The group started out of the need for a dark team on Etsy. There wasn't one, or if there was one it never really took off. It started collecting like minded artisans on what is now our private team site then offically became an Etsy team a couple years ago and has been gathering more and more ever since.

Batling Ornament by SWStitchery

2) The dark team has a pretty strong online presence- what are the main team sites and events that people should keep an eye out for?
Our main public forum is on Facebook with over 1500 followers: http://www.facebook.com/EtsyDarkTeam
The brand new, up-to-date, Etsy Team page can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/teams/5820/etsydarkteam
And, our public online hub of all things EtsyDarkTeam will be: http://www.etsydarkteam.com/ (under construction but projected to be done before the end of the year)


Gothic Neo-Victorian Statement Necklace by EJPCreations

The event to keep an eye out for are the Black Friday weekend deals (11/26 to 11/29)! Be sure to follow our team blog or join us on Facebook so you don't miss out. The sneak peek blog post will be up by 11/19.

Gothic Spider Purse by RavenOfSkys

3)I'd love to see more of the dark side of etsy- what kind of cool stuff can people expect to find if they search for items from dark team members?
Type "etsydarkteam" in Etsy's search box and you will find everything from vampire dollhouse accessories to offbeat wedding items to coffin couches, missing nothing in between. There are gifts for your kids, gifts for your pets, and - believe it or not - even gifts for your mom! Our members currently have items in 28 of Etsy's categories which means that whatever you are looking for you can probably find it!

Monstress Zine - Malfunction by MonstrousIndustry

4) How can etsy sellers get involved if they'd like to be part of the team, and what is the basic philosophy behind the group?
As I mentioned there is a shiny, new, up-to-date Team page on Etsy which will have all the needed info when the Team is open for applications here: http://www.etsy.com/teams/5820/etsydarkteam and the "Captain" of the team (moi, SWStitchery) can be contacted via that page also.

In the Twilight of the Evening by RusticGoth

Our philosophy, in short, is best said by our tagline "Some call it odd, we call it Art!" We are a group of Etsy.com sellers made up of Artists, Seamstrix, Jewelers, Miniaturists, Milliners and much more that cater to The Dark Side of Life. Love zombies? Sunglasses at night? Tim Burton? Vampires? Taxidermy? Midnight walks through cemetaries? Black, black and more black? Twisted cuteness or down right spookiness? So do we!

Custom Couple's Zombie Portait by CustomZombie