NakedCity Wichita

Wichita, Meet Etsy

Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by Nick in culture

words > SARAH NIEMAN

Sometimes the idea of selling handmade Wichita products overseas or even on the coasts can feel like a feat of astronomical proportions. But luckily for us, there’s Etsy.

Etsy is a website with a pretty straightforward mission: to buy, sell, and live handmade. The idea is to make buying personal again. They want to provide you with the option to buy a handcrafted piece of art (whether it’s clothes, toys, candy, paintings, or soaps) from a person with a face, not a mass-produced object from a characterless corporation. Etsy has only been around since 2005, but they already have buyers and sellers from more than 150 countries; it’s only right that Wichita merchants join the party.

Kyle Leandra Kolkovich hasn’t always lived here, but she’s fallen in love with what Wichita has to offer. After graduating with a Bachelor in Fibers, an opportunity in the Aircraft industry brought Kyle and her husband to Wichita. Kyle designed fabrics and carpets for various airlines, but she quickly tired of the corporate tedium: “I started my Etsy store hoping that it would take off so that I could quit my job; When my layoff finally came last year, the release of all of that pressure sent me home skipping.”

Kyle has been selling her handmade pillows, headbands, coasters, and other textile art on Etsy since December of 2008: “I’ve been addicted to poppies lately. I’ve been inspired by natural stuff – flowers, birds, anything organic and natural. I try really hard to ensure that all of the materials I use are natural or recycled. I haven’t bought manmade fabric in a long time.”

Jelena Louie is from Yugoslavia but moved here two years ago in order to be with her Wichitan husband. Jelena’s background is also in textile design, but she found herself creating jewelry almost by happenstance. While living in Alaska, Jelena was separated from the dye equipment necessary to continue silk painting. When a local jeweler had an opening for an apprentice, Jelena was stuck in a boring job and jumped at the opportunity to get back into the creative. She’s been making jewelry ever since.

Jelena opened her Etsy shop in April last year after some locals told her about the website at a craft fair. She’s sold her playful, gorgeous jewelry to buyers from the UK, France, Spain, Australia, Japan, China, Canada, and, of course, The US: “It is mind boggling to think that a bride in New York or bridesmaids in North Carolina would be wearing one of a kind jewelry made right here in Wichita!”

You can check out Kyle’s textiles and Jelena’s jewelry at The Onion Tree (120 North Hillside). Be sure to check out their Etsy shops for locally made items that are being discovered by eager buyers from all over the world.

Kyle – leandrageorge.etsy.com, leandrageorge.com

Jelena – hartjewelery.etsy.com, changeofhartonline.com