As you may know, one of my very favorite topics around here is the feeding frenzy that kicks in on Etsy whenever someone of note dies. I call it, TragiCrafting™.

But let’s be clear about one thing: TragiCrafting™ is not fueled by the desire to make a buck off a dead celebrity. That would be so very cynical and wrong, and not at all steampunk and upcycled and covered with mass produced octopus pendants.

No, TragiCrafting™ is different. TragiCrafting™ is all about healing.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Yes. Yes, it is.

And yet, TragiCrafters™ can be so very fickle. They’ll tag a cake dish with “Steve Jobs” faster than you can download another iTunes update, but Thomas Kinkade dies and no one even plugs in their glue gun. And only one person bothered to put together a treasury for George “Goober” Lindsay.

So when Donna Summer hustled off her mortal coil, I didn’t know what to expect. Would the sensitive crafters of Etsy come through? Or would we keep refreshing this page to no avail?

Well, I’m sad to say that the TragiCrafting™ I’ve been hoping for on this one has not materialized, aside from the obligatory shitty plastic wall clocks with unlicensed photos:

It’s not much, but the important thing is, CRAFTERS BE GETTING THEIR HEALING ON

BONUS: It’s hard to believe that someone actually used “Last Dance” as the name of a treasury, but God love them, they are made of stronger stuff than I am.

Extra points for the inclusion of Doc Martens, which as you know, were a staple of Donna Summer’s wardrobe in the ’70s.

ROCK ON

SUPER BONUS: TRAGI-TAGGING: This is the act of taking a completely unrelated piece of crap that’s been mouldering in your Etsy store for months, and finding some pathetic connection to the recently deceased.

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, HOT STUFF

BEEP BEEP

More Tragicrafting™:

- Amy Winehouse
- Davy Jones
- Steve Jobs
- Whitney Houston
- Dick Clark

- Submitted by Dragon8lady

I’m putting this right next to my Thomas Kinkade.

I think we all knew that Petja Palooza was going to be special.

But it wasn’t until I actualy saw Petja on the streets of Manhattan last week, that I knew we were talking about a whole other level of Dafuq?

There really are no words to describe what the hell happened last weekend, so instead, I’ll share some of the more tasteful images, and let you draw your own conclusions.

One thing we do need to talk about is the gift bag. This bag had more fuckery per square inch than any bag could reasonably be expected to contain. And we had one for everybody, meaning that every seller who participated donated well over 200 pieces of merchandise for your fat, jelaous pleasure.

Here is a list of people who donated to our swag bags, filling them with everything from handmade jewelry to vibrating naughty things:

The School Locker
Beanie Gee
Music for the Goddess
Naffrodisia
Wendy’s Origami
Epic Blossoms
Blue Cat Books
Ravenshold Creations
Simply Smiss
Xjaeva
Princess Buzzkill’s Crying Glitter Eagle’s Emporium of Whimsy
Bound in Chain
Rainy Day Paperback Exchange
Wylie Elise Beckert
Epic Toy Chest
This Charming Candy
Gabbus
Found Philosophy
Lux Soap
Creative Heart’s Design
Live Clay
Risa Rocks It
Gallardo Works
Misfit Dynamo
Jewel Renee
L and K Beads
Catbird Craft
Nebbish Without a Cause
Lil Gypsy Treasures
Donna The Dead
Extreme Restraints
Diana Voisin
Bloodstream City
Third Half Studios
Arsenal Soap Works

If you contributed to the bag and you are not credited, please let me know

That right there is a list of approved fuckery vendors, so please visit their shops when you’re looking for something wonderful that hasn’t been imported from Bali.

And by the way, we have about 15 extra gift bags, and we’ll be offering those for sale in the next day or so. Proceeds will benefit Bronc’s AIDS Ride, June 3rd – 9th.

Finally, I’d like to thank someone very special for putting this all together.

That’s the heartstoppingly awesome Patrick McNaughton, preparing to give me a lap dance at Lucky Cheng’s.

Patrick is an event designer and Regretsy fan in NYC, and we were able to hire him to coordinate everything for us before we got out there. This poor bastard did everything from choosing the menu to packing up the gift bags and transporting them all to the venue.

By himself.

With no help from us.

Because we suck.

And after all that, he still had time to dance seductively for me while I shook my balloon penis at him. Try getting that kind of action from human resources.

So if you’re looking for an event designer in New York, email this bastard immediately.

Honestly, if I were looking for a full time employee in NYC, I would hire this guy so fast it would give new meaning to New York minute. And you know I’m sincere, because I never say anything good about anyone.

A sincere heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to the bags, to Petja’s travel fund and the incredibly wonderful event that was Petja Palooza.

It still gets me, right here.

- Click here to buy Wylie Elise Beckert’s incredible Petja Palooza poster