Ditch Etsy for CIRQY, the Middle Eastern Alternative

We love Etsy as much as anyone, but we also feel it is our duty to support local efforts to collate cool design, handmade arts and crafts. CIRQY from Egypt does just that.

Everywhere in the Middle East, in cities or rural villages, you will inevitably find people sucking on tall, usually cheaply made shisha pipes made from glass. This earthen Hookah from the Netherlands adds class to the popular past time. Just in time for Christmas?

This year, why not try a few unconventional valentine ideas that will expand your lover’s heart, rather than her waist or rear end! Chocolates are fattening and the flower industry is often horribly destructive to the environment, so your special eco-friend is unlikely to be impressed with these last minute valentine gifts. (Unless of course […]

Not like Istanbul’s historic Grand Bazaar, the famous Emirati souk hosted by the Artisans of the Emirates, or ARTE, is a baby – only seven years old. But it has quickly grown from its humble beginnings of about 30 “artisans” or craft exhibitors from the United Arab Emirates in the network to over 3,000. ARTE “markets” […]

Colorful plastic bags are both the canvas and the paints in Aviva Sawicki’s artworks. Plastic bags are a ubiquitous and un-eco-friendly material that many sustainable and upcycling designers have tried to reuse. One designer has turned plastic bags into shoes, another has made plastic bag wallets, and plastic bags can even be used as crocheting […]

Origami and some creativity saved these Earl Grey tea bag wrappers from the recycling bin and made them functional again. We are constantly surrounded by paper. It is in our mailboxes, surrounding our dry food items, and pretty much everywhere. It is all too easy to toss unwanted or used papers into a wastepaper basket […]

Used copper bullets found at a firing range transform into sculptural objects incorporated into rings. Bullets are, objectively, ugly things. They have an ugly purpose, and are not much to look at, either. But what would happen if you removed a bullet from its violent context? Could it be beautiful? Israeli designer Adi Zaffran Weisler […]

Made mostly from used and vintage scraps of fabric, Timo Handmade’s new creations have a warm, old-world feel. Fabric scraps can be used for lots of things, and we’ve seen designers refashion them in all kinds of ways – like use them to make repurposed fabric shoes, purses made from upholstery fabric samples, and even […]

Regional Etsy shops unite to form old-fashioned collaborative studios, online. Etsy, the online handmade and vintage shopping platform, has done amazing things to help people buy handmade, eco-friendly and local products. Artisans who are marketing their own products can easily set up online shops on the site, and on the buying end, Etsy has made […]

Instead of standard apples and honey, put some creative green thought into your Rosh Hashanah gifts this year. The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah 2011 is quickly approaching next week on September 28, and for many Jewish people this is a time of gift-giving in the new Jewish calendar year 5772. Gift giving is […]