David Berman

Handmade handbags line the arm of Pat Stout, the woman who created them and sells them on Etsy.com.

Maybe it’s a sign of our online times that even a personal, intimate process like making goods by hand has found a global audience.

The Web-based bazaar Etsy.com makes the connection possible by giving artisans, including several from Summerville, a way to sell handcrafted merchandise to customers the world over.

Etsy was launched in 2005 as a way to “swing the pendulum back to a time when we bought our bread from the baker, food from the farmer, and shoes from the cobbler,” the site says.

Although the site’s nearly 2 million items don’t include fresh milk or loaves of bread — imagine the problems with shipping — there’s a seemingly endless “inventory” waiting to be discovered.

Shoppers can search items by color or location. They can even request an item be made and watch while artisans bid to make it for them.

Sellers from Summerville use the site to hawk anything from handbags to candy to knitted, high fashion apparel.

The hands that make Pretty Purses’ patterned pocketbooks and iPod cases belong to Pat Stout of Summerville.

Stout has been selling on Etsy since January 2006. She says she stumbled upon the site while looking for a way to sell her products online. She found the site design attractive and the process user-friendly.

“If I can do it, anyone can,” she says.

Stout has never had enough of an inventory to participate in area craft shows, she says. With Etsy, she can list the items one at a time at a cost of 20 cents for four months.

When she sells one, Etsy takes a 3.5 percent share.

Stout once enlisted her daughters’ help to make items for sale on Etsy.

“It was really cool, as a parent, that as they were getting older and going in their own directions, we found a way to spend quality time together,” she says.

One year ago, Stout was diagnosed with breast cancer. She’s currently undergoing treatment, which has slowed her Etsy endeavors.

Slowly but surely, she’s getting back to making handbags.

“I like to stay with Palmetto themes but I’m branching out,” she says.

That means incorporating recycled materials. “I’m trying to think green,” she says.

The hands that make Custom Candy Creations’ lollipops belong to Summer Martinez of Knightsville.

Martinez joined Etsy in March 2007 on a friend’s recommendation. She had already tried her hand at Internet sales through her own Web site, lillypops.com.

After a few months on Etsy, Martinez saw a brisker pace in sales. She now sells double what she did on her own site, she says.

“The Etsy market focuses specifically on unique handmade products and allows crafters to get their name out there without a huge investment,” she says.

Martinez began making candy 10 years ago when she wanted a unique party favor for her daughter’s birthday. Along the way she became a single parent and decided to turn her candy making into a business to supplement her income.

Today, she runs the candy kitchen from her home, which also doubles as a daycare.    

“The kids all love it when I’m working on a new product or new recipe because they get to try everything first,” she says.

The hands that knit Iryna’s high fashion garments belong to Sangaree resident Iryna Toney.

Toney’s gift for knitting began as a practical skill learned in her native Ukraine, an Eastern European nation known for its harsh cold.

“You can’t live without hats in Ukraine,” she says, referring to the item that has become a best seller.

A hat might take Toney just two weeks to knit but as long as six months to conceptualize.

Each item has to meet a set of criteria self-imposed by Toney.

“It has to be faultless,” she says. “If I charge for it, it has to be an original design. It has to be flattering to a woman and show the beauty of a woman’s body.”

A handmade garment, by virtue of its creation, is one of a kind. No two are the same, she says.

Before joining Etsy, Toney tried to sell her items locally but had only moderate success.

“I couldn’t sell them here,” she says with a laugh. “They look at [the item] and say they’re hot just looking at it.”

It should come as no surprise that a majority of Toney’s customers live outside South Carolina. She has sold hats, shawls and tops to customers in France, Scotland and Australia.

And it all came at a reasonable price, she says.

“You’re exposed to the whole world for 20 cents,” she says. “What else could you want?”

Contact David Berman at 873-9424 ext. 214 or dberman@journalscene.com

Journalscene.com ® is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Journalscene.com ® does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Journalscene.com ®. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!

• Santee Cooper announces 2012 refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper announces organizational changes in operation and finance departments
• Santee Cooper employees pitch in on Day of Caring
• Aerial herbicide treatment on lakes under way
• Santee Cooper Board Authorizes Rate Study
• Santee Cooper announces refunding bond sale
• Santee Cooper, Florida Municipal Power Agency enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units
• Santee Cooper, Duke Energy Carolinas enter into letter of intent for share of planned V.C. Summer Station units 2 and 3