Spring is almost in the air. Almost! This week alone we've partied in parts of the World - In New Orleans, Louisiana, we call it "Mardi Gras," in countries like Brazil, it is called "Carnival"- before ushering in the Lenten season for Christians. We're also celebrating Women's History Month in the United States, and on Saturday, March 8th, International Women's Day that has a theme designated by the United Nations, "Equality for Women is Progress for All."

All of this has to do with today's post in that it is all a sign of change. Change in how women are treated and viewed globally, albeit we have a long road to global equality, and in how we think and behave. Lent is really a chance to shed old perceptions and habits and move into new enlightenment. Well, if you believe in the idea of enlightenment and the practice of shedding old perceptions and habits.

I am a huge believer in change. Sometimes I don't always like it, but I know that change is the only constant in life. Half the battle of dealing with change is accepting that there is a part we can not control. Scary! Change rarely brings out the bad, it usually brings out the good.

We at the EtsyNewYork Blog are undergoing a bit of change. We're under new management and we're looking to get feedback to bring about change. Don't worry, we're not going to do anything drastic. We'd just like to know a bit about our readers, YOU, and what you like, dislike, and would like to see more of in the future.

The survey below has only 10 questions and I promise it won't take you longer than five minutes. There are no prizes for completing the survey, just undying gratitude and the knowledge in the coming weeks, that you had part of the changes you see on the screen.

So please, won't you help our team usher in change?

Thank you!
Sara

Our group tag line says "hand crafted in the NY Metro area." And if you've ever been to a team meeting, you know there are quite a few of us. But really...who are we? Who makes up the NewNew?

I decided to find out with a little help from Survey Monkey & their free 10 question survey. So, let me introduce you to the NewNew...survey-style

We are overwhelmingly female. Not that we don't have some boys join in our fun. We do! But, for the first time in the NY Metro area, they are in the minority.

We are mostly a group of 30-somethings. We do have representatives in the 20 somethings category & several people in each category above 30-somethings so the age range is really long in this group. Isn't that cool? I feel like I am honing a craft now that I could potentially keep up. Or change! Hand crafting is ageless!

We seem to be a highly educated group. Most of the group who responded have a 4 year undergraduate degree with a large percentage with graduate degrees. Look at us - all little smarty pants :)

So who are we so far? So far the NewNew is a 30-something female with at least a college degree...and she isn't married. The largest number of answers on our survey in the marriage category were for those who had never been married, but it was almost a 50-50 split with those who are married. So, not the strongest question to determine who we are, I suppose.

We also don't have a lot of kids. Actually more than 80% don't have any at all. Perhaps this is a good time to mention that we have close to 200 members & only about 30% of them answered the survey. This is not a scientific analysis, but I would go out on a limb to say that we have plenty of members with kids & that perhaps that's why the response rate was a little low. It's cool, ladies! Next time...

Our most popular borough to live in? Brooklyn. Followed closely by Manhattan. The only borough not represented in our group appears to be the Bronx. Go figure...

And now for the nitty gritty...what do we make?? The answer: Jewelery. Lots of it. Here's my very first pie chart since high school, showing the break down. The list of categories in the key on the right are the categories you will find NewNew shops in & comes from the list on the Etsy homepage, fyi.

After jewelry, the majority of our makers are in the Paper Goods & Art category, though we are represented in almost every category. We are a pretty diverse set of crafters. Also interesting to note is that a lot of our members do more than one thing. One jeweler in our group also makes cake toppers. One photographer also silkscreens.

Almost done! I also thought it was interesting to know whether or not our 30-something Brooklynite without kids who has a killer jewelry line sells anywhere other than Etsy. And the overhwhelming answer is YES!

Where does this lovely lady like to sell? All over! Seriously almost each respondent had a different market that they look forward to. Of course, you can almost ALWAYS find representatives of the NewNew at the Brooklyn Flea. If you had a visit to Governor's Island this summer, we had a nifty pop-up store there. Also check out Better than Jam NYC in Bushwick & Black Bear Vintage in Windsor Terrace (Hello! Both Brooklyn!). To really find us, try our events page, right here on the blog. See the tab at the top? Local NYC Events? There you go...

I hope you'll come out & see us at one of the events! Look for a 30-something woman, who looks like she lives in Brooklyn, is probably wearing her very own killer jewelry without a stroller in sight...Very generally speaking anyway...

A Survey, You Say?! Calling All Blog Readers!

Who is the NewNew?