Punctuation and Etsy

I’m a big theoretical fan of Etsy–crafting, design, whimsy, DIY ethic, empowerment, endless possibilities–what’s not to like? But I’ve only bought one item from an Etsy shop before, a ninja t-shirt for my sister, and I’m not quite sure why that is. It is too overwhelming? Maybe, but I think also I’m still a bit old school, a bit reluctant to buy something sight unseen from someone I don’t know. I think it’s also why I try to stay out of bookstores, because I know I will spend too much once I get started–happened just this week at the girls’ Scholastic bookfair, in fact!

Anyway, I forget how I ended up there, but I started searching for punctuation-related items on Etsy a few nights ago and came up with some real gems:

My favorite mark of punctuation is the interrobang. Again, I say, what’s not to like? It’s graphically distinctive, it expresses “attitude, curiosity and wonder,” and since I spend much of my life with fourteen-year-old girls, I definitely see a need it would fill if we had more access to it. On Etsy, I found Interrobang necklace and among others, a set of punctuation cross-stitch patterns including the interrobang.

I searched mainly for house goods and necklaces, because necklaces are the only kind of jewelry I wear regularly (apart from wedding rings). I found some cool ones using typewriter keys, like this one with a semicolon and colon. There’s also a lovely !?@ necklace that isn’t keys, but has the same vibe. Finally, there’s a Ampersand necklace that appears to be laser-cut from an old vinyl record.

I’m not going to splurge on it all, because then I’d be that Crazy Punctuation Lady. But there’s something kind of amazing about them all, and very soon, you might see me around, wearing my grammatical love around my neck.