Garlands of Grace Banned from Etsy

[Rhonda]

23 hours ago, Fruitcake said:

One of Jill’s fundie friends shared this. Persecution! There’s some comment gold but most of it reads like an exchange between a Handmaid and a Martha.  

I wonder if Jill will share in order to jump at the chance to stand for truth and righteousness or if she’ll keep quiet since this person has obviously trumped her in the “I’m the mostest modestest throw down” 

Place your bets now, ladies. 

I’m glad you brought this up. Garlands of Grace shared this post in an Etsy group I am in the other day. I got ragey reading the comments because most of the group members were praising her and agreeing with the verse. 

best comment was (paraphrasing)....comment: why did you even put this in your profile on Etsy?

Garlands of Grace replies: We put it is as a quote of the month last year and then decided to leave it for as long as God would allow.

Comment: well I guess God decided not to allow it then.

Garland and Grace: NO NO, it was the devil!

I bout died.

Edited September 15, 2019 by Coconut Flan

[sparkles]

33 minutes ago, SuperNova said:

This poor innocent christian woman! Look at her, so modest with her hair covered and head down. All she was trying to do was sell her crafts and spread a hateful message of exclusion and shaming other lifestyles. Then here comes Etsy and shuts her down. Its so sad when businesses choose not to support or align themselves with people who hold bigoted and archaic views. She is now relegated to the christmas craft fair in the church basement. 

Seriously, how the fu*k is putting that kind of statement in your shop profile in any way relevant to selling homemade crafts?? You don't need to "stand by jesus christ" to sell a shitty head wrap. And even if you did feel the need to stand by jesus, you can do so without being such a judgemental asshole.

Garlands of grace has been on Etsy for ages and used to be featured a lot back when Etsy had curated items on the home page. Someone must have complained about the message, which is recent—and with good reason. GoG mentioned that they put it up for pride month and then decided to leave it indefinitely, so its original intention was definitely to poke. Of course, now that they got poked back, they and their fans are crying persecution. It’s a hateful message in violation of the TOU and if GoG doesn’t want to abide by those terms, they’re free to take their shop elsewhere. Maybe they can start their own super duper Christian-only marketplace, much like someone tried to do a few years ago when Pinterest was too ungodly for their sensitive souls. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

We've discussed them a few times before, for example here 

They are friends of the Maxwells who make their living sewing basic-ass headbands that they sell for $20 each. In addition to being anti-Catholic, they also spend their time railing against abortion and homosexuality, which is how they just got banned from etsy: 

 

Their followers are jumping to their defense and they are positively reveling in the possibility of genuine persecution. They still have sales through their own site and it's possible that the publicity will actually be good for business. They've also gone viral enough that they're getting trolled pretty hard in the comments on the post. 

They were on American Family Radio to discuss this the other day. I don't think I can stomach listening but maybe one of you guys will. https://afr.net/podcasts/airing-the-addisons/2019/september/gumbo-friday-garlands-of-grace-booted-from-etsy/

[Sonic the Whoredgehog]

They were absolutely, 100% poking the bear here. They have their own site for backup. There is absolutely no reason for a fucking headband company to have their stance on marriage on their websites. They wanted this to happen so they could cry "persecution". I'm sure they're very happy with themselves right now. Also, BEC, but in that picture the shitty headband makes that woman's head look like a burnt croissant.

[hoipolloi]

Maybe I'm cynical, but didn't Etsy also raise fees for sellers & change some policies in the past year or so? IIRC, the new terms created a less profitable environment for sellers. Some of the Etsy merchants whose stuff I've purchased -- NOT Garlands of Grace!! -- announced they were leaving the platform because of this.

Consequently, Garlands of Grace may be poking the bear but this might also be a way to get off Etsy and cut their losses while playing the fundie persecution card.

 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

I peeked at their website, and had a quick skim of the blog there. This entry from a few days ago was not surprising, but still disgusting.

[hoipolloi]

59 minutes ago, NachosFlandersStyle said:

They've also gone viral enough that they're getting trolled pretty hard in the comments on the post. 

 

Yes - and then there's the holier-than-thou contingent who are in the comments, arguing hard about how many saved fundies can dance on the head of a pin, especially when the wrong Bible verses are quoted!!

What a bunch of asshats.

[FilleMondaine]

I tend to do a fair amount of shopping on Etsy. I can find my china pattern. I like the feature where I can filter for local artists. 

But I also understand that Etsy can be a double-edged sword, effectively cutting prices (and profits) from artists who have to compete with so many people and drive down prices. But on the whole, I'm a fan of a site that generally promotes women.

Still, anyone else remember Regretsy? Ah, yes. Also, to avoid nightmares, don't make my mistake and search "human teeth necklace" on Etsy!

[Caroline]

15 minutes ago, hoipolloi said:

Yes - and then there's the holier-than-thou contingent who are in the comments, arguing hard about how many saved fundies can dance on the head of a pin, especially when the wrong Bible verses are quoted!!

What a bunch of asshats.

All the real Christians trying to outChristian each other is astounding and boring.  It happens everywhere these people congregate.  The need to be right all the time really stands out.  It's got to be a certain personality type.  I don't get any of it, and fortunately wasn't raised in any kind of repressive religious environment.  GoG - agog with persecution . Yikes!

[PennySycamore]

I can get prettier and funkier headbands at Soul Flower whose values I like or at Loza Tam which is black-owned and caters to women with natural hair.  That GoG one that's pictured is just fugly.

[thoughtful]

There are a lot of wonderful, anti-bigotry comments on the Facebook post, including people who ask if the headbands are made from mixed fibers.

?

Edited September 16, 2019 by thoughtful
riffle

[SolomonFundy]

5 hours ago, FilleMondaine said:

I tend to do a fair amount of shopping on Etsy. I can find my china pattern. I like the feature where I can filter for local artists. 

But I also understand that Etsy can be a double-edged sword, effectively cutting prices (and profits) from artists who have to compete with so many people and drive down prices. But on the whole, I'm a fan of a site that generally promotes women.

Still, anyone else remember Regretsy? Ah, yes. Also, to avoid nightmares, don't make my mistake and search "human teeth necklace" on Etsy!

I loved Regretsy. That's one of the few closed websites that I genuinely mourn. Helen Killer was a balm to my soul.

#goatse4lyfe

[danvillebelle]

 

Oh well - more business for the Catholic, Jewish and Islamic headcovering shops on Etsy.  

I've covered my head off and on for 20+ years.  I bought one from Garlands of Grace many years ago.  It was certainly nothing to write home about, and the material was much thinner than I was expecting.  

[kittenesque]

21 hours ago, Sonic the Whoredgehog said:

There is absolutely no reason for a fucking headband company to have their stance on marriage on their websites.

This. When I used to sell embroidery patterns on Etsy, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to include some of my own unpopular opinions on my profile!

Although just to be clear all of my unpopular opinions are related things that have no bearing on someone else’s fundamental right to exist.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

34 minutes ago, kittenesque said:

This. When I used to sell embroidery patterns on Etsy, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to include some of my own unpopular opinions on my profile!

Although just to be clear all of my unpopular opinions are related things that have no bearing on someone else’s fundamental right to exist.

If any of your patterns are like these, your opinions might come through anyway.

Spoiler

 

[AuntCloud]

48 minutes ago, kittenesque said:

This. When I used to sell embroidery patterns on Etsy, I definitely wouldn’t have chosen to include some of my own unpopular opinions on my profile!

Although just to be clear all of my unpopular opinions are related things that have no bearing on someone else’s fundamental right to exist.

I’m not holding back my unpopular opinion, no matter the costs or how many downvotes I get. Ron and Hermione are the least compatible couple, have zero chemistry, and gluing them together was a transparent cop-out. Change my mind. 

[Giraffe]

1 minute ago, AuntCloud said:

I’m not holding back my unpopular opinion, no matter the costs or how many downvotes I get. Ron and Hermione are the least compatible couple, have zero chemistry, and gluing them together was a transparent cop-out. Change my mind. 

No, because I don’t think they should’ve gotten together, either. However, I also disagree with Rowling’s after-she-finished-it apology for not putting Hermione and Harry together. I like Harry & Ginny. I think Hermione & George would’ve been good together. 

[Rhonda]

22 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Maybe I'm cynical, but didn't Etsy also raise fees for sellers & change some policies in the past year or so? IIRC, the new terms created a less profitable environment for sellers. Some of the Etsy merchants whose stuff I've purchased -- NOT Garlands of Grace!! -- announced they were leaving the platform because of this.

Consequently, Garlands of Grace may be poking the bear but this might also be a way to get off Etsy and cut their losses while playing the fundie persecution card.

 

Etsy implemented a new free shipping policy. Anyone who offers free shipping on orders over $35 get priority in search results. Many of the sellers are going ape shit about it and leaving Etsy. I can see both sides of the issue with this, but it won’t stop me from creating an Etsy shop or buying there. 

I had never heard of Garlands of Grace before this episode. I own a business and I always always always keep politics and religion out of it. The discrimination makes me sick.

[justwatching]

Off-topic a bit but that model on their website has a stunning head of hair! I would love to know how she styles it like that.

[SolomonFundy]

12 hours ago, AuntCloud said:

I’m not holding back my unpopular opinion, no matter the costs or how many downvotes I get. Ron and Hermione are the least compatible couple, have zero chemistry, and gluing them together was a transparent cop-out. Change my mind. 

Okay, I'll try to change your mind. 

The least compatible couple was actually Tonks and Lupin, and their entire joint character arc was immature (Lupin), overtly predatory (Tonks), fundamentally lacking in chemistry (both), and had some pretty uncomfortable overtones of manipulation and harassment (Tonks again). I remember feeling relieved when Lupin abandoned his pregnant wife, if only because it mercifully (though temporarily) put an end to the on-page dialogue between the two of them.

But I hated Ron and Hermione second-best. I feel like the Big 4 romantic pairings were an exercise in "subverting expectations" that had literally no other thought put into them. 

[AmazonGrace]

All the romance in HP felt like an afterthought to me, I didn't see any of it coming and for all that magic they were surrounded with I  never thought there was any convincing sexual or romantic chemistry between, well, any of them. 

 Maybe it's because they started out as kids and I never caught up with them growing up

[elliha]

I always thought Ron should have died and Harry and Hermoine should have hooked up a couple years later. I am perfectly OK with Ron and Hermoine being a couple in the book as teens because as teens, well, we try things out. In general I find the epilogue to Harry Potter to be the very worst part of the book. This is a people who have experienced two civil wars but there seems to be no tragedy in this. It is like they don't notice half their people died just a couple years ago. Yes, I get that this is a children's book that needs a happy ending but I would have liked at least a hint of the bittersweetness that must have been felt.  

[AuntCloud]

4 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

All the romance in HP felt like an afterthought to me, I didn't see any of it coming and for all that magic they were surrounded with I  never thought there was any convincing sexual or romantic chemistry between, well, any of them. 

 Maybe it's because they started out as kids and I never caught up with them growing up

I absolutely agree, the romance was forced and totally an afterthought. If I was a HP fanfic writer I would set up Professor Sprout with Aberforth Dumbledore (don’t listen to any of the goat rumours). Also, Professor McGonagall and Mad-eye Moody. 

[AtTara]

So... they put up a "marriage is between a man and a woman" quote during Pride month, and are stunned, just stunned, that those they intended to offend...

... were offended.

Lordy.

On the plus side, I searched Etsy using my local area and found an amazing octopus hat that my 16-year-old will be sporting in a few weeks.  Score!

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

38 minutes ago, AtTara said:

On the plus side, I searched Etsy using my local area and found an amazing octopus hat that my 16-year-old will be sporting in a few weeks.  Score!

I'm a total neophyte when it comes to Etsy. How do I search using my local area? I was checking out shawl pins, and the ones I liked best come from Latvia. I'd rather shop a wee bit closer to home, if I can!