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I can't remember the exact day I discovered Etsy, but I can only imagine it was a dreary day with no light or sunshine, a day awash in mass manufactured mayhem—no knowledge, no understanding of the way commerce could be. But then a whole new world, a dazzling place I never knew (sing it, Jasmine) was revealed to me. Small, carefully curated vintage stores, handmade textile designers, independent woodworkers and artists—all creating and selling their original work online, in one place, directly to me.

But as is to be expected with any hugely popular online marketplace, it has its share of good and bad (hello Regretsy) and can be wildly overwhelming to navigate. Back in 2009 we published a guide to our favorite Etsy stores and asked you to share your favorites, and it elicited a whopping 200 comments! So we thought it was time for a new edition. We'll tweak our list of favorite Etsy stores, and in return you can tell us a few of your favorites!

Here are a few of our favorite Etsy stores for 2011:

Vintage Home:

• The Old Red Hen
• Trampoline by ethanollie
• AMRadio
• Lucky Little Dot
• Hindsvik Vintage
• Little Byrd Vintage
• High Street Market
• Blue Bell Bazaar

Handmade Decor, Ceramics and Furniture Designers:

• MudPuppy
• AHeirloom
• Grey Works Design
• My Grey Sky
• Circa Ceramics
• Paulova
• Cynthia Vardhan
• Alyssa Ettinger
• Paloma's Nest

Textiles and Pillows:

• Claudia Pearson
• Sukan
• Girls Can Tell
• Oh, Little Rabbit
• House of Bouton
• Summersville
• Swanky Swell
• Erin Dollar
• Skinny Laminx
• Tuuni
• PippiJoe
• Inklore

Artwork:

• Blancucha
• United Thread
• Bicycle Paintings
• Oh My Cavalier!
• Artquirk
• Olive Dear
• Sea Spray Blue

Obviously this is just a small, teeny-weeny sampling on our end. So much to love!

Now, it's your turn!

Have a seller you always go to for vintage homewares? Handmade textiles? Artwork? We want to hear it all!

(Images: Hindsvik, Skinny Laminx, Grey Works Design, Blancucha)

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