Customer Reviews

Regretsy: Where DIY Meets WTF

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First let me say that I've paid some serious attention to this book. The reason is that I'm a ...um... 'contributor.' I'm featured in it, so the book suddenly has some real impact on me. If this part will make you think I am more biased for the book, then you can stop reading here.

April chose the item of mine she wanted to rip on, and I sent her some high resolution pictures and my consent. That's all the input I got as to what would be said about my stuff. I'm happy to say that she didn't make me cry! I also got to 'defend' my piece, but I honestly felt like I didn't need to defend it, so I spent that part in promoting my store. Hehe.

This isn't some bit of Etsy bashing propaganda, and it's not just to make fun of the stuff on Etsy, either. It's a sort of a window into some of the more eccentric things you can find on Etsy. Sure, you can search Etsy for stuff yourself, and you'll find some weird things...but there's no way one person could find all of the 'treasures' in this book all by one's self.

If you like shopping on line, and you like weird stuff, give it a look! It's good for a laugh at the very least.

"Regretsy" is a truly brilliant concept and book. April Winchell manages to mix amusing personal anecdotes with truly flabbergasting Etsy items that you can actually buy to absolutely wonderful effect. This is a great book for those who love hand-crafted things and DIY projects. The only thing that kept me from giving it a perfect five star rating is the omnipresent profanity in the book. I would have otherwise loved to have bought several more copies for people I know that like crafts, but the language flatly ruled that out. Don't misunderstand me, it's still plenty funny, but the expletives do not enhance the book and limit the target audience needlessly.

Having made that disclaimer, the book samples a perfect assortment of disturbing kitsch for sale on the Internet. I loved it immediately when she described this collection as "self-expression that misses the mark in some way." I'll say. There's not a single bad choice in the book, but some really do rise above the rest, starting with p. 12 which is a disgusting-looking "Brooch with Vintage Buttons" that inspired Winchell to comment "Tell her you'd marry her all over again with a prolapsed anus." What's scary is that that's the perfect comment. The "Charming Pond Scum and Amoeba Pendant" on p. 18 would go well with the brooch, while p. 30 features a "Chicken Poncho" ("modeled by Bantam Chick Lil Danya"), and in possibly my favorite thing in the entire book a "Pink Leopard Goat Coat" (p. 35; it is exactly what it sounds like and inspires a comparison with Kim Cattrall) is modeled by one extremely unhappy looking goat. Maybe she just looks sad on second thought.

The book gets stranger as it goes along, particularly in the "Toys and Dolls" section. on p. 48 there is an item titled "Wikette - Alien Doll Handmade by Kathleen" which Kathleen describes thusly: "One thing that makes her unique is the fact that a walnut was used for her head. If you have any questions feel free to contact me." Winchell did have some questions, as it turns out: "1. What am I looking at? 2. Where did the alien get the horse? Is it an alien horse? If so, does it contain nuts? 3. What if I wanted the head made out of a filbert? 4. How much is shipping to Earth? 5. Can I buy this if I have squirrels?" Perfect, April. Absolutely perfect. Moving past a frightening item on p. 51 that is so terrifying that I won't even attempt to describe it, we eventually get to "Art," but you may have wished you didn't. There are some truly stunning works here, my favorite of which (p. 90) is a painting called "Corndog on a Plane," which in the description justifying the $85 price tag says "Reminds me of the time I flew to New York and had a corndog."

Taxidermy and associated arts are featured prominently here too. My favorite is "Fish in a Squirrel Suit Taxidermy" (p. 107,) although "Baby Rat in Altoid Tin - Original Mixed Media Sculpture" (p. 110, $45) is fierce competition for sure, as is the surrealist entry "Aardvark's Frog on a Succulent Ham" which the seller claims is "For the holidays or whenever," though Winchell claims "I had this for breakfast once in Louisiana." As you work your way to the end the entries get even more bizarre: "Doll heads in a bowl of Brussels sprouts," "Miniature Fairy or Dollhouse Toilet with Frog," "Christmas Nativity Meerkats," etc. In the end Winchell reveals who made these gems, how to get them, and discusses the vendors, most of whom are self-deprecating and amused by her work, and many of whom leave comments that Winchell reprints, giving the artists the final word.

This is a great book, and wonderful commentary on handcrafted wonders in the digital age. If you can get past the language, there's no way you won't find this hilarious, if occasionally disturbing.

This book far surpassed my expectations, and I expected quite a lot. I believed it would be funny, and it was hysterical. I assumed it would be interesting, and in fact I could not put it down. What I had not anticipated was the extent to which this book would be moving. And -- in all actuality -- inspirational.

What makes the Regretsy site consistently laugh-out-loud funny, the brazen humor and bold perspective of author April Winchell, is present in full force. Also delightfully represented are the mind-boggling DIY arts and crafts that serve as fodder for conversation and amusement.

But I believe that the best part of the Regretsy book lies in the poignant, insightful and absolutely riotous personal essays that introduce each chapter. The author's unique insight and candid commentary are hysterically funny and surprisingly poignant. But they don't go on long enough! Leaves me hoping the next book will be coming out very soon.

I also truly enjoyed the Epilogue, and reading from the featured sellers themselves. It was very interesting to get the full picture of the Regretsy experience.

I seriously doubt anyone could read this book without guffawing. It's that funny. Whether you're familiar with or passionate about Etsy, DIY, arts and crafts, or Regretsy, this book stands on its own and keeps you laughing. And, by the time you get through the Epilogue, chances are you'll be passionate about it all.

A while back, a friend shared a link to a post on Regretsy. I checked out the site and got a few laughs. I noticed that a Regretsy book was coming out and asked my local library to purchase a copy. Thought it would be an entertaining read. After reading the book, I give it three stars.

The positives - The author tells some good stories, such as those found at the beginning of the chapters. The style of humor found on the Regretsy website is intact in the book. In fact, the book mirrors the website. An Etsy item is shown with its photograph and seller's description, followed by the author's commentary. A quick read.

The negatives - Found the writing too snarky at times. Some of the Etsy items were funny, others only made me shake my head because they were weird (though that fits the book's subtitle). There was more profanity than I expected, but it seems in-line with what you see on the website.

Summary - If you are a big fan of the website, you'll like the book. If you're just a casual visitor to Regretsy, peruse the book at the library before deciding to buy.

April Winchester and her army of reviewers on regretsy dot com and in this book put some depth into what it means to be snarky. Despite the whining complaints of those who think the comments are mean (and miss the points), what is happening here is many faceted.

There's a lot of good, beautiful, genuine handmade stuff on Etsy, the site that Regretsy is mainly focused on. Or at least there was when first it started out. Over the years, some crazy stuff has been creeping into the offers at Etsy, stuff that makes you say hmmmm. Or WTF. Or other things I can't put here. But you can put them into Regretsy. Some of the "artists" at Etsy create a lot of things related to body parts, male and female, as well as things that come out of your body. Some of them even create their "art" with things that come out of the body. Trust me, they doo doo. You'll find a lot of funny snarky silly comments about those things in the book and on the site.

There are also copyright thieves, people who try to pass their sweatshop work off as handmade creations, resellers and more - that's a service Regretsy provides to the real sellers and shoppers at Etsy. In addition, every month the artists and shop owners who belong to the Regretsy group, April's Army, donate their time and services to a week long fund-raiser - and others spend what little money many of them have to get the goods sold - helping a member in need. Regretsy the book is just a hand in what is a growing community.

The latest venture is a collaborative tarot deck created by 25 artists belonging to Regretsy, using "art" from this book and the website as inspiration. A good portion of the profits will be used to help artists in need - not just those who participated, but those who are part of the community and beyond.

The community doesn't respond well, ever, to those who are being mean to others. It's an incredibly giving community - read the book, but do it with all of this in mind. Even profits from the book go to charity.

I found this book on the amazon website quite by accident, really. I was looking for DIY books. DIY is in the Regretsy title, and the way the title was worded caught my eye: Regretsy: Where DIY Meets WTF. I bought the book yesterday, it arrived in the mail today, and I just finished reading it a few minutes ago. Regretsy made me laugh so hard I cried. There is some profanity in it, but many of the products shown warrant nothing less than expletives.
I especially enjoyed April Winchell's titles and comments on the products. Even some of the descriptions were hilarious. I'm now waiting for the sequel; in the meantime, I'll peruse the Regretsy website.

History: Before I bought the book, a friend of mine would show me some of the [...] postings that depicted things I never new existed. I became interested in Regretsy not only for the blunt humour of the author and her followers, but also to see the artworks one would never find in an Art History book. The reason why I bought the book was because I heard that it gave insight to the author's background - her history, the birth of Regretsy itself, and where she was coming from when she posted on her blog.

The book itself is definitely a light read. Most of it consists of pictures of Etsy sellers' items that were whimsical, weird, and sometimes outright twisted. Below each piece there is a comment from the author - essentially, what comes to her mind when she saw the artwork. A lot of times her comments are what most people are too polite to admit to. They are the comments that one might think in his or her head but never say to their friend's face.

The book is also split into different chapters or sections. Each section has a theme and a little history of the author's background as it relates to that particular section. The one section that got me laughing the most was the part about animals. She writes some snippet about how the animal may feel under each picture, but before the artwork pictures, the author also gives a hilarious background about herself and her dog during the time she also felt that animals needed to be "pretty" and the author even includes a picture of her dog showing the result of what beauty-gone-wrong did to her pet.

At first, the book may seem cruel to the Etsy crafters, but as you read on, you discover that many of the sellers featured experienced an influx of sales because of the attention Regretsy had given their shops and, at the end of the book, you can even read what the Etsy sellers themselves thought about being featured by Regretsy. I was surprised to discover that [...] had such unique artwork as whenever I browsed the website, I found Etsy's version of "traditional crafts."

In closing, the book is both funny and informative in regards to Regretsy, Etsy, and the relationship between the two. It took me about two hours to finish reading, so it is a very short book, but it is entertaining and makes for a great conversational piece. I was a little disappointed in its shortness, but I found it worth the $10 I paid for the book and even bought a copy for my mother-in-law for an early Mother's Day present (of course, she couldn't wait until Sunday, opened it, read it, and enjoyed it thoroughly). The author has a sharp sense of humour, which would not appeal to everybody, but for those who enjoy it, such as myself, the book is vastly entertaining.

I, too, am a fan of regretsy and April Winchell. I have been for awhile. And what I love about the website has been cleverly bound and collected, making sure you'll be a fan as well.

You see, it's not about making fun of others "lack of skill". Half of it is honest appreciation for the weird and weirdly iconic. The other half is truly a comment on the end result of society's obsession of being "nice" and "politically correct". When you see some of the items you can only imagine a group of friends, sitting around telling a gleaming crafter how wonderful a pile of mess is - then whispering in sympathetic tones when backs are turned. True Americana at it's best.

From the fantastic to the mundane and past what is written, there are stories abound in the pictures in this book. All unique, wild and nearly unimaginable. It's a very enjoyable and continuously entertaining trip through the minds of many. I suggest you buy it.

Regretsy, you either love it or hate it! If you love it, you will love the book, especially Winchell's section introductions and comments on every piece. The book is basically a sampling of the things you find on Regretsy. Regretsy is a humorous website poking fun of weird handmade things you find on Etsy. Please don't be offended...I'm in the book!

Regetsy is one of my favorite web sites! I just had to get the book! This book is so F-ing funny!!! I could not stop laughing at some of the ridiculous "products" in this book! Whoever was trying to sell these items really seemed to be sincere about the "quality" of their "products" and they believe that others will enjoy what they created even if it looks like something you would find at a yard sale or a rummage sale....The commentary on the items are funny and sometimes they can come across as crass or cruel as the products themselves. But be forewarned: The "F" word is a very common occurrence in this book.... Don't let the foul language deter you!