Artists share love of Earth and crafts

COLUMBIA — A group of online friends will be making their crafts debut at Columbia's Earth Day Festival on Sunday.

Etsy.com is a Web site that allows people to buy and sell handmade and vintage items and crafting supplies. The site has street teams where members can form mini-organizations based on location, type of craft or other interests. The teams network, help with promotion and share advice and skills.

"It's kind of another social network," said Lisa Bartlett, a member of one of the Etsy.com groups. "There's so many social networks online. This is funny because this is like an online situation that forms a social network of people who actually meet in person."

Columbia gained a street team of its own last summer. Kansas City and St. Louis already had established groups, but there was nothing for mid-Missouri.

It started with three friends: Laura Pugh, Jolene Kington and Beth Costello. The three had been doing art shows together and selling on Etsy.com. They decided that Columbia needed a team of its own and founded the group. The requirements are simple: be on Etsy.com and live in mid-Missouri. The group has 32 members.