I have been checking the last few releases of Folksy Favourites 
, and I never seem to find any of my listings in them. So my question is how do you get selected. If it is manual selection by Folksy staff, then what is the selection criteria? I have read the âHow to be featured on Folksyâ guide and I believe that my items/images meet the criteria, so I am at a loss as to understand why my items never seem to be included. Any thoughts would be great.
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Folksy staff select Folksy Favourites. One of my tote bags is currently in the selection of items but this is only the 2nd time I have had an item feature in the 9 years I have been selling on here. No idea really how they choose.
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They are currently as far as I can see concentrating on selecting things from all the new shops. Presumably to encourage them.
If you check latest six or so now you will see they are all shops without any sales âŠ
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My sales are through the floor Joy, have been all year. So it would be great to know how you get some Folksy exposure. Maybe I should shut up shop and reopen 
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Do you actively promote your Folksy shop on social media ?
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We have had this conversation before Joy, so I donât see the point in repeating it, but I also donât see how that has any relevance to being included in the âFolksy Favouritesâ. Surely, you donât need to promote your Folksy store on social media to be eligible for inclusion.
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Yes the folksy favourites are picked by Folksy staff. The official criteria focus on image quality and style - not sure if your bright white back ground fits with the folksy style if you look at the images of the folksy favourites - a life style shot of a bracelet on a wrist might be more in keeping with the Folksy style.
I have a few theories about what else helps you get picked. Do you mention/ tag Folksy on your social media posts? Doing this makes the Folksy staff aware of your existence so next time they are updating the folksy favourite list they think of your shop and go and look to see if you have anything new/ seasonal that would be good to include. If you have anything seasonal make sure its titled/ tagged well so it comes up in searches (fathers day gifts, valentines gifts etc) so when they go searching for items youâre near the top of the results.
I also think they look for a high level of âhandmadenessâ or creative input - if you look at the jewellery they select it tends to not be made from commercial elements like charms or mass produced beads. They have lots of jewellery to choose from so the bar gets set very high for inclusion.
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I donât think the white background argument stands up Sasha as there are items in the current âFolksy Favouritesâ that are on plain or white back grounds. Again with regards you comment about âhandmadenessâ and commercial elements like charms or mass produced beads (I assume you are aiming this comment at my items, so I feel the need to point out that all the beads on my leather bracelets are hand cut, hand stamped and hand polished in house), there are items in the âFolksy Favouritesâ that contain these as well, so Iâm not sure that the bar is not actually set high enough to exclude mine. With regards creative input, are you trying to imply that my items are not creative? Now, where you may have me, is I donât do social media, but Iâm sure that this is not enough to exclude me?
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Itâs just my theories based on what I see in the Folksy favourites linked from the home page. You obviously disagree.
The âcreative inputâ was about the cards that get picked - they tend to be commercially printed rather than hand made so the creative input had to happen at an earlier step in the process when the artist came up with the design rather than in the making - sorry for confusion/ offense on that.
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Sorry I canât quite remember every single conversation I have. That one must not have been memorable. 
I was only trying to see if I could helpđȘ
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I have been on the folksy favourites 3 times in 12 yearsâŠI keep offering admin cream cakes and biscuits but that doesnât make any differenceâŠonly joking.
I suppose it is just a case of items that admin like and preferâŠnothing more than that really.
I canât complain as one of my items is currently featuredâŠ( the 3rd one)
I still love FolksyâŠno good getting upset about itâŠjust keep creating beautiful items and wait.
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Ive been fortunate to have been added to Folksy favourites a number of times. Ive noticed that at least one admin adds items in a âthemeâ that sometimes ties in with the monthly tags, but not always. There are little groups of 10 - 15 new items sharing a common link added at the same time. If its not tied into tags, then the admin must have done a search on something they may well have selected at random.
Im not sure there is a magic formula, to be honest. If i knew that, id be featured every week and have sold a heck of a lot more. Im sure each admin makes their selection in their own unique way.
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Something Iâve asked and got frustrated about before too.
There definitely seems to be a lot of new sellers getting picked but as @JOYSofGLASS says thatâs probably to encourage them.
I too have tried to follow the âhow toâ guide, Iâve tried, plain backgrounds, Iâve tried, âdressingâ with different items, Iâve tried different areas of my home and even outside, I believe my photography lets me down, but I am not a photographer, Iâm not great with tech either so other than cropping images my photo editing skills leave a lot to be desired, I had one of my Christmas cards picked last year, which I was delighted about and it definitely increased traffic to my shop, but, I honestly donât worry about it now, I take the photos I think look the best they can within my limits and I try to write good enough descriptions, include all tags and hope for the best.
There are so many shops on Folksy Iâd imagine itâs quite hard to get selected, but all we can do is the best we can and hope.
Times are hard for most of us I think, I hope things pick up for you soon. X
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Your reference was directed at jewelley Sasha, not cards: -
âI also think they look for a high level of âhandmadenessâ or creative input - if you look at the jewellery they select it tends to not be made from commercial elements like charms or mass produced beads. They have lots of jewellery to choose from so the bar gets set very high for inclusion.â
You have helped Joy, I think there is an element of a need for you to promote Folksy on Social Media to have the favour returned.
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Iâm not upset Brenda, just wanted to see if I could work out why in six years I have never been included in the Folksy Favourites. But I will take your advice and keep on creating beautiful items and wait.
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Thanks for the reply Lois and I am happy for your inclusion. I will just keep plugging away and see if I get lucky!
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Thanks for the reply Painted Horse Art, I think your pictures look fine and as good a quality as those included in the Folksy Favourites 
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I wonder if youâve tried flatlay photography Lynne? I think it can be a really helpful way to focus your ideas for creating an image for a piece, plus it tends to be more of a lifestyle image, which is what Folksy (and many others!) seem to like right now. Itâs also easier to control and move about your home to find the right light.
There are loads of free tutorials on YouTube - you just need to find a YouTuber that you like / can bear Essentially though, youâre kind of creating a mini environment for the thing youâre photographing and that small area kind of forces you to create around it with props connected to the subject. So for one of your pretty flower paintings, your props could literally be flowers, or maybe art supplies, like youâve just finished painting it?
It really does take such a lot of energy to do these things doesnât it? Although it can be fun too! 
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I have never been featured despite being relatively new ( a few months ) and no sales so @JOYSofGLASS your theory hasnât worked for me 
I guess itâs whatever catches the eye of admin at that particular moment.
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