For those in the know, Etsy.com is a craft-centered commerce site best known for being the place where your sister-in-law can sell some earrings she made for $8.00 (hey, sell one pair a month and that’s almost $100 a year!)

Well, when you put together every crafty sister-in-law in the world, you’ll find that the amount of items available and Etsy is rather larger and diverse. In an effort to sort through the crap, we entered the search keyword “Milwaukee” and identified some of our favorite goods from the bunch. Pick up one of these as a holiday gift for the Milwaukee lover in your life!

What better way to start a journey of Milwaukee than to view the skyline of the city? Sure, this is a view you don’t get unless you’re out on the water and we question the accuracy of the balloon’s mechanics, but this water color-ish postcard the sort of whimsical find that is so typical of Etsy, and for $3.99, your wallet won’t even realize there’s any cash missing.
Milwaukee Balloon Print

Here we have a map from a purported 1897 atlas. You can see the torn-out edge on the left side.

We’d think that tearing pages out of an old atlas would actually decrease the value of the entire thing but if they can fetch $25 per page, then maybe it’s worth it to the seller. By the way, can any history buffs spot any differences between Wisconsin then and now? The only one we notice is that Chippewa and Rusk counties were combined back in 1897.
Wisconsin map from 1897

This purse came up in the search as a “Milwaukee clutch.” What’s so Milwaukee about it? We have no idea as the seller provides no explanation. Maybe it came from a Lost and Found bin at Summerfest.
Milwaukee Clutch.

OK, these Milwaukee Bucks fingernail decals are ugly as sin and will probably fall off if you just look at them but at $2.25, that’s only 22.5 cents per finger! And don’t you want to see Andrew Bogut use these on game day?

Milwaukee Bucks Nail Decals

Time to level with you folks…we think we know what’s hip but is there some Milwaukee underground shit that we’re not aware of? Like…some subculture of people who dress as rabbits and commit murders? Because, upon finding this “Milwaukee” t-shirt we felt like the lamest L7 in khaki pants planning a trip to Branson.

What the shit is going on here? Can we buy and wear this shirt or will doing so get us involved in some culture war that we best leave alone? The fact that the seller is based in Hong Kong makes us think we’re safe but some doubts remain.
Milwaukee Rabbit Hunters t-shirt

This photo of saucy flappers hanging out in 1920s Milwaukee may get you a little worked up but calm down! One of these gals may be your grandma.
Flapper photo

Speaking of photos of long-dead folks who may be your relatives, check out these beer-swilling dudes having a good time in 1941.

At $5.00 for the picture, you’ll have a gift that will warm the heart of any history buff or alcoholic you know!
1941 Milwaukee Beer photo

We don’t care how sexy you are from the knees up, you’re not getting laid while wearing these.
Ugly socks

As far as fashion goes, you’ll do much better in this fetching item made by Junior House of Milwaukee in the 1950s.

At $22, you can have a piece of Milwaukee fashion history that looks almost futuristic in 2010.
“UNIQUE and INTERESTING” vest

If none of the items we shared inspire you, search Milwaukee on Etsy.com for yourself! Every dollar you spend will go to pay off the student loan of some disgruntled college student somewhere.