I have just got back from the most amazing and inspiring trip to Amsterdam for the Etsy Captain's Summit where I was representing the Dorset Team.
The trip was so full on, there was so much to take in but incredible at the same time!
Here are my top 10 things that I learnt at the summit...
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| Photo Credit : Nafsika who runs the most beautiful Etsy shop selling jewellery |
1) Talking to other Etsy Captains is really inspiring.
Wonderful to hear not only what they have achieved as team captains but also in their own businesses. Feeling super motivated after coming back to improve my own shop and ideas for running the Dorset Team too!
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| Photo Credit: Nafsika |
2) Etsy Admins and staff are pretty awesome!
All of them were so friendly and you can tell that they really cared about their work. Even to the point that several of them cried when we were doing the final goodbyes as they said they felt so inspired by the Etsy community AND not only that but lots of the Etsy staff and admin craft themselves (which in my eyes make them even cooler!) Anda who works for the design team brought to the summit her amazing crochet blanket which she worked on over the weekend (with her amazing glitter crochet hook!)
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| Photo Credit: Silja who is the captain of the Estonian team |
3) Amsterdam is full of bicycles!!
They are EVERYWHERE which is amazing but also makes crossing the road quite a scary experience. You have to watch out for cars, the tram AND about a dozen bicycles coming from all directions.
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| Photo Credit: Silja |
4) Etsy know a good cake! ;)
They provided us with so many yummy cakes throughout the summit including some on the last day which Annabel from Ka-ching Collectief informs me are from the best patisserie in Amsterdam!
5)Sometimes silence is good and often what you need to gather thoughts, reflect and gain the confidence to share your thoughts with the group. When in a group discussion situation you shouldn’t be afraid to have silence.
6)Etsy listens. We were able to feed back our ideas directly to the Etsy admin and they listened and seemed genuinely excited by some of the ideas we were coming up with! Can’t wait to see some of our ideas being made a reality and Etsy as a platform improving.
7)You can fit quite a few Etsy captains into a photo booth! (So much fun even if the photos didn’t come out too well!)
8)Amsterdam is actually pretty cold in Autumn. Lots of warming hot chocolates were needed!
9)Ideas sometimes come from the strangest places and often spark an even better idea. You know when you have some crazy idea which isn’t complete or your thoughts are everywhere so you don’t share it? Well I tried sharing a few of these and actually talking them through with other people and having their ideas about it made them become a ‘thing’. Yay for creative people working together.
10) I'm super proud of the Dorset Team, all the members and particularly thankful to all of those who volunteer their time to the team :). Made me feel super emotional thinking and reflecting on how much we have achieved as a group. Go us!
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