Mad Scientists of Etsy: etsy

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Inspired by Science on the Etsy Blog

The Etsy blog just posted an article titled Inspired by Science. It features comments from and work by Mad Scientist of Etsy team members artologica, nervoussystem and minouette, and other art/science goodies, as well as a shout out to the Mad Scientists of Etsy team! Check it out.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

NASA & Etsy Space Craft Contest!

All you mad scientists (& enthusiasts) are in for a treat. The Storque announced a contest and partnership with NASA!
"Etsy is partnering with NASA to host an exciting contest.

After 50 momentous years and over 130 missions to the cosmos, NASA's Space Shuttle Program will draw to a close in 2011 as it reaches its long-term goal of completing the International Space Station. To honor the program and celebrate its many accomplishments, we're calling for designs inspired by NASA, its programs and the wonders of space exploration. Invigorate your inner maker with all that is known (and unknown) about our universe.

So get on board! There are three categories under which to enter your design(s):

* 2D Original Art (painting, drawing, hand-pulled print, mixed media or flat collage)
* 2D Art Reproduction (photographic or computer-generated print)
* 3D Art (any size or material — this includes anything not 2D, wearable art and soft sculpture are acceptable)

With the whole cosmos for inspiration, the contest prizes are beyond stellar:

* Grand Prize Winner (1): The Grand Prize winner will receive a $500 Etsy shopping spree and an all-expenses-paid trip with a guest to attend the shuttle launch at Kennedy Space Center in Cocoa, Florida in February as NASA's VIP guests. Includes a VIP tour.
* Best in Category Winners (3*): Best in Category winners will receive $250 and swag from Etsy and NASA.
*Please note: the Grand Prize winner will be taken out of the running for Best in Category.
* Winning designs (or photographs of designs) may even be flown up into space on the shuttle!"

"The deadline to enter is November 2, 2010. For information on how to enter, judging criteria, official Rules and Regulations, etc., go to the NASA Space Craft Contest site. We apologize in advance that the contest is limited to United States residents only, 18 years and older."

Click on the images for a direct link to NASA's image archive, a great source of inspiration for this contest, and well, generally, when contemplating our cosmos and human acheivement.

Best of luck to all entrants!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Biology and Math combine...

...to create our "Annual Rings" and "Fractal Geometry" challenges!

Annual rings in trees often represent a tree's growth each year, and can often give clues to the enviromental conditions over the years. Fractals, in the most basic sense, can be thought of as a shape made up of smaller copies of the same shape (ie a triangle made of of other triangles), and these fractals can be found in every day life, espeically in nature.

So this time we have two different challenges to vote for! We have entries for the annual ring challenge from:

inalather

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30412862

janssendesigns

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29300253

pandphomemades

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30156899

And our Fractal Geometry entries from:

pandphomemades

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23472064

minouette

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31531306
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31698594

Polymath

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29126209

And be sure to check out our Etsy treasury, which will be up until Wednesday (Oct 7), featuring these and other great team items!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=85856

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Easy as G C T A

June's theme featured a famous scientist, and this month was Rosalind Franklin. While you may have heard of Watson and Crick, who identified the double helix structure of DNA, it was actually thanks to Rosalind Franklin whose x-ray crystallography data allowed them to make their discovery. However it took many years before the role of Rosalind was revealed, as Watson and Crick were rather reticient with this info. Although Watson and Crick received the Nobel in 1962 (in addition to Maurice Wilkins) for their work, sadly Rosalind had already past away from cancer and thus was not part of the award (the Nobel is never awarded posthumously). So several of our team members took on the challenge to interpret this theme and celebrate the life of a scientist whose groundbreaking work is often overlooked.

This month's entries include

molecularmuse

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27062450

Ulixis

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27126664

AliciaMae

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=27060984

janssendesigns

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=22802689

Please take the time while you're here to vote for your favorite entry on our poll!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Mmmm... tastes like chicken!

Ok, so maybe none of the fab entries for the team's Ornithology challenge are edible, but they're still pretty tasty viewing :D

No treasury yet on Etsy (they're harder to nab more than ever!) so this time we're going with a bit of a different layout this month so you all still get a sneak peak of all the entries :)

UPDATE: Thanks to ginpins who nabbed us a twest treasury! Check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=56909

Be sure to vote for your favorite in our monthly poll here on our blog!

buffalonerdproject

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24535118

minouette

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24536997

deWiUK

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16452844

iWunder

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25222524

Ulixis

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25922243

ginpins

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25695365

DuhBe

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25768533

jackbear

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25793753
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25794068
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25793438

pandphomemades

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25776632

wildstrawberry

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24334828

And you can find more great team member items on Etsy by searching for "msoe team" and other challenge entries by searching for "msoeteam challenge"

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Is that a FUNGUS in your pocket...

We had a bumper crop of entries for the team's Feb "mycology" challenge! For those who aren't in the know, mycology is the study of fungus. We have mushrooms aplenty plus other great fugus inspired items!

And for the first time you (that's right, YOU) can vote for your favorite entry! The winner gets bragging rights as well as an awesome graphic to use! Check out the entries, then vote in our poll hosted on this blog.

Items can be viewed in the treasuries until late Sat/early Sunday on Etsy, in our Flickr pool, or click on the individual listings below!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=43855

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=44057

Monday, February 23, 2009

MSOE Team EXPOSED!!!

The Mad Scientists of Etsy team was recently exposed as part of VickiDianeDesigns' "Artists of Etsy Exposed" treasuries! You can check out the treasury on Etsy until Thursday morning at
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=41570

And a pic for posterity - We're a rather good looking group aren't we :)

A big thanks to Vicki for making our team a part of her treasuries! And thanks to Alecia (Arctida) for helping to organize this!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

August's Microbiology Challenge!

We had a great selection of entries for August's Microbiology Challenge! This challenge was picked from a variety of science fields and microbiology was a hit! (And included some very interesting discussions on fungus! :D ) We had enough entries that they wouldn't all fit in just one treasury, so we nabbed a second one on Etsy and filled it with the remaining entries plus other great team items!

Entries for the Micro challenge included:
iWunder: Cyanobacteria, hand knit wool skinny scarf
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9711522

buttonbowerbird: Mouldy cupcake
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14009705

minouette: Radiolarians - Original lino block print
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14144432

Ulixis: Bacterial Notecards
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14195644

Olumna: ACEO card
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14227390

pandphomemades: Fantasies in Microbiology
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14211689

sweettweelab: Mixed Media Reflection on Microbiology
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14516917

buffalonerdproject: Phage Party Festive Apron
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14569944

thecuriousbiologist: The Anatomy of a Cell
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14576454

FurWillFly: Plush White and Red Blood Cells
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13477666

Arctida: S. pneumoniae necklace
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14777210

soap: Gram of Neis Cocks Eye Soap
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8198695

EverettCole: Drop of Sea Water
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14792871

molecularmuse: Pinned microbes
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14787274

audelaine: When diatoms meet
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12306724

You can find photos of the treasuries as well as other great team photos at our Flickr page too! For these and other great team items, you can search Etsy with the phrase "msoe team" or "msoeteam challenge" for items made for our various challenges :)

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Platypus Challenge Treasury!

Our team challenge for July was the Platypus - a great choice seeing as this creature could practically be our team mascot! Recent genome research showed that the platypus is a conglomeration of a variety of organisms, having genes from mammals, birds, even reptiles! I kind of like to think the MSOE is a similar conglomeration of scientists and artists :)

This month we have entries from:
Skydragons - Flatypus
FurWillFly - Purple Pete the Plush Platypus
pandphomemades - Platypus Cloth Tote
sweettweelab - Platypus Taxonomy Wire Sculpture
buffalonerdproject - Evolution of the Platypus Totebag
deWiUK - Platypus Genome Bracelet

Check out the platypus entries in our treasury as well as other great items from the team (it'll be up til 1am EST on Etsy)!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Scientists Love Art Too!

So, just who are the Mad Scientists of Etsy? For that matter, you may be wondering what in the world Etsy is?

Etsy, http://www.etsy.com, in an online marketplace for handmade arts and crafts, art/craft supplies, and vintage items. Its not only a marketplace, but a great community too! The idea for the site is founded in a grassroots type of idea and movement, to promote hand made goods, rather than mass produced commercial items. Etsy is often mentioned in a variety of magazines, newspapers, and even the Martha Stewart show. Part of the Etsy community are 'teams'. Teams are groups of Etsy members, usually mostly sellers, who share a common interest - whether it be location, type of art/craft, or other interest. These teams then help to promote each other as well as the team, develop goals for the team, and have lots of fun!

The Mad Scientists of Etsy team was an idea brought about to unite scientists who were also artisans/crafters on Etsy. It was started up a few months ago, with a couple members and has since grown to almost 100 members! Scientists of all types are on the team, including geoscientists, biochemists, mathematicians, physiologists, primatologists, ecologists, and more! The team is even more diverse in the art and crafts everyone makes, from photographs to plushes to jewelry and glass work - with a number of items with science themes! To find team items you can use Etsy's search menu and type in "msoe team" to find team member's items.

One of the great things we have fun doing are monthly team challenges. We have a rotating list of themes, and vote on different ideas for the monthly challenges. Our very first one was called the 'Science as Art' challenge, as a way to showcase our individual interpretations of art. Last month we had our team challenge focus on a famous scientist, which was Leonardo Da Vinci and had some great entries! This month the challenge is 'platypus' (yes as in the duck billed variety) and there should be some very fun results! To find the items entered as team challenges, you can use Etsy's search menu and enter "msoeteam challenge" to bring them up.

We're finally to the place where the team is ready to grow an online presence, hence the start of a team blog, soon a website, and hopefully online advertising in the near future! On this blog there are plenty things to be featured here, such as team news and updates, results of team challenge entries, features and more! So please stop in regularly for a very lively and fun (dare I say even educational sometimes?) blog, and be sure to check out team members stores and blogs. Feedback or ideas are always welcome - feel free to leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you!

More info where to find us online:
Team Profile on Etsy: http://team.etsy.com/viewteam.php?id=265
Team Flickr Page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/msoe/

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