Many of you are aware of the featured (re)seller scandal on Etsy. Shop owners everywhere were (and in some cases still are) inflamed over the issue, and chose today to protest by putting their shops in vacation mode for a day. While I admire the sentiment, I can’t help but feel that promoting REAL handmade sellers would be a more productive idea, so today I’d like to take some time to show off some wonderful finds.

I saw this shirt and immediately fell in love. It really is unique and striking, and appropriate for multiple situations. It was created with love by Romi Eff Maor of Agoraphobix.

This soap is so lovely looking, and features two of my favorite scents, lavender and rose! If I weren’t living in a dorm with a floor bathroom, I’d have this out by the sink right away. Kudos to the great soapcrafter behind Coco and Lola bath & body!

All I can say of this bracelet is I wish I’d thought of this first! It’s really lovely and delicate, and I can say from experience that designing with crystals is a hard thing to pull off for a casual piece. The creator, Candy P. of Candy Bead, really is a great designer.

True, these are Christmas items, and it’s not even July yet, but I still think they’re a great find. The creator of Baby Expresso has a lot of great, “arts-and-crafts” style things, all wonderfully and charmingly done.

Ah, the dandy narwhal, by Shannon and Evan of The Ostrich Farm. I simply cannot get enough of these narwhals! This is one of those cases where I actually stumbled across the shop and just had to push my college budget, because I absolutely fell in love with it. I didn’t get this particular one, though (I got a medium gray one), so this cultured little guy is still available.

And that’s it. Those are five of my favorite recent Etsy finds, brought to you on a special day. Hope you enjoyed them, and remember: keep Etsy honest and support the realEtsians.