Tips for Creating Etsy Treasuries

I don't make a whole lot of treasuries, but I do have some creative and time saving tips I use to make the creation of my treasuries quick and easy.

The Mechanics

Finding and Adding Treasures

To begin, you want to have either 2 tabs or 2 windows open in your browser of choice.

In one tab/window you want to create a new treasury by going to http://www.etsy.com/treasury/ where you will click "Create a List" under Curator Tools on the right top side of the page.

In the other tab/window, you want to be anywhere you like in Etsy where you have access to the "Search for items and shops" to find items for your treasury. You don’t want to do this from the first tab/window because it will cause you to navigate away from your treasury page and, if it hasn't been saved as a draft, you'll lose it.

If you want to search for items to make a treasury featuring members of the FAETeam, enter "faeteam" and a space, then a value pertinent to the treasury you are creating, such as "faeteam valentine" or "faeteam red".

When your search results appear, don't click on a item you are interested in adding to your treasury. If you do, you will navigate away from your search results and have to do the search parameters again. Right-click on the item and then click "Open link in new tab". Now you have 3 tabs/windows open.

If you decide you want to use the item in the 3rd tab, look at your browser's URL address display. All Etsy items have the same address structure:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/[LISTING NUMBER]/[item title]

You do not need the entire address, only the LISTING NUMBER:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/11736735/red-garnet-and-fine-silver-heart

If you double click on the listing number, it will be highlighted as shown above so you can then right-click on the number and select "Copy".

Now switch to the tab/window that contains your treasury. Hold your cursor over the next available "Listing URL" box, right click and select "Paste". Then click the "ok" button (or hit Enter) and the item thumbnail will appear.

You can close the 3rd tab/window right after you copy the listing number, or you can do it now. Return to your 2nd tab/window that has your search results and look for another item and repeat the process.

Other Fields that Need Filling

It is recommended that your "Title" reflect your theme, and that your "Description" builds upon that theme. You can mention the inspiration behind your treasury, what you were feeling when you made it, an excerpt from a poem or a quote that is pertinent. You can also leave the description blank, but I don't recommend it.

The last thing you want to do before releasing your treasury to the adoring public is create your tags. As with your listings, try to use words you think people will search.  By visiting the main Treasury page, you'll see "Today's Trending Tags".  These tags might give you ideas for your tags (if they're applicable) or be your inspiration to create a treasury.

If you cannot finish your treasury in a single sitting, you can chose the "Only you/Draft" option under the Privacy section. Change it to "Everyone" when you're ready to unveil. Then click "SAVE" in the lower left hand corner of the page and you're done.

Design and Composition

Etsy encourages treasury makers to have a theme for their treasury and to "make it beautiful". Here is where you will employ your creativity and color sense. So before you unveil your treasury, consider some aesthetics.

To make the treasury cohesive, try to have each row of your treasury contain items that are similar in hue and intensity.

Once I've filled all 12 spots, I start to look at composition.  I always have this in the back of my mind while searching, and it helps to guide my selections.  If after the last item has been entered I see discordance, I don't hesitate to delete items and replace them.

I look first to the background of the photograph to create cohesion. Sometimes I click-and-drag the items so they are in order of darkest background to lightest (or vice versa) or place the darker background on the outside and the lighter background in the center 2 spots (or vice versa).  I like to keep white/light colored backgrounds together, too.

If you are working with a color scheme, you will want to place colors of similar value next to each other (cherry red with cherry red, apple red with apple red).

There are many other ways to design the overall look of your treasury. When you open a treasury and it is aesthetically pleasing as a whole, even before you look at the items, you may be looking at a great example.

To Convo or Not to Convo

The final decision is whether or not to convo the people whose items you are featuring. This is not a requirement, but many people do it.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, because at any time a seller can find out if they are featured in a treasury by searching treasuries for "shop:username." For example, aquariann.etsy.com would search shop:aquariann.