You can get just about anything these
days customized, personalized, and completely fit for your style and desired
look when you delve into online shops.
They go beyond the big box stores and department stores to offer
products you can handpick from creative designers who are both operating their
own storefronts somewhere as well as those working out of their homes. If you have something less mainstream in
mind, just see what all you can find online.
Websites like Etsy.com provide an
online marketplace for custom shopping.
From home décor to clothing to jewelry to wedding accessories, designers
are selling products in their online Etsy shops they are making themselves. You can search by any number of things, from
item type to colors and styles and pull up pages and pages of goods to choose
from.
Etsy designers are great sources for
sewing projects, especially if you are not crafty at that skill yourself. Can’t find throw pillows in a store to suit
your fancy? Someone is sewing them
somewhere, and they will ship you what you want right to your door. Want to give a baby shower gift personalized
for the recipient’s nursery style? You
can find outfits not sold in stores as well as wall art you haven’t seen
before. Working on a wedding, shower, or
other big event? You can find neat
products and work with the designer through email to custom design the item you
want. The purses I gave to my
bridesmaids to carry down the aisle came from an Etsy designer, and I selected
all of the components. The beaded sash I
wore on my wedding day was handmade by an Etsy designer, and the vintage
buttons added to part of my wardrobe came from an Etsy shop all the way from Ireland.
Zazzle.com is my source for all
things of the paper goods variety and more.
Invitations, stamps, stationery, and a slew of other products like
t-shirts, mugs, office supplies, canvas art, pillows, and so forth can be
customized and bought without leaving your home. Again, there are a ton of products in the
galleries to choose from and customize if you like, or you can start from
scratch using Zazzle’s easy software and work on your own designs to both buy
and sell. I create invitations and
custom stamp designs in Publisher and then upload my finished products into my
gallery or order for both personal and professional use. For your next shower or party, you have
options you can fully personalize for a look that’s all your own from what you
mail out to what guests see when they arrive, all without struggling with
printing on your own.
It’s fun to shop in person, we all
know that. But it’s also a real treat to
find something new, different, and even something you had a hand in designing
without ever leaving your computer.
DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star August 11th.
