Date joined etsy - 1/15/07
Sales to date - 652
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.I'm Patricia Valery and I live in a tiny house in Oviedo, FL - just outside Orlando. I have a Boxer/Terrier pup and a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix, but they're currently living with my parents because my place is too small. Ice cream is okay, but with the weather I'm all about the hot cocoa.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
Everyday is a roller coaster ride. Some regular tasks are answering emails followed by packing orders. I then sew, Soon it's dinner time so I skip dinner. (I also usually skip lunch. At 6:00PM everyday I walk the dogs. When I get home I finally make dinner. I then go back to sewing. I sew until about 1:00AM. I then take care of website stuff and get to bed around 2:00AM
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Yup, I wasn't too into dolls. Instead I was always making things. I actually started my own cake making business when I was little. The problem was I didn't really bake so I made a bunch of sales, then my mom had to bake the cakes.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
People on Etsy are nice and polite. Other online venues really bring out the worst in people, but Etsy seems to really attract clean, intelligent, responsible people; and those are the kind of people with whom I like to work. So it seemed natural to gravitate to Etsy.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
It didn't take too long. I'd say it was just a day or two. Etsy was relatively new so the categories weren't totally flooded.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?Food:
Vegan steak from Reggae Shack
General Tsao's chicken from Garden Cafe (vegetarian chicken)
plantains
homemade cookies
my boyfriend's vegan tacos
TV shows:
Tim & Eric
Lost
Burn Notice
Dexter
I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant
Bands:
Dex Romweber Duo
the Yardbirds
Jens Lekman
Nakatomi Plaza
Jawbreaker
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, etc.
Funny thing, I've done all of that except woodworking, my brother does that. I'd like to learn how to play the fiddle.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Make something good. Good products promote themselves. Everyone has excuses why they're not selling. If it isn't selling, make it better. Take better pictures of it, describe it better. People want good stuff. If what you're making is good people will find it.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MajoReyStore
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleHouses
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DivaDogBakery
-By New Years Eve 2011 I hope my number of sold items is 10000000000000000000000000.
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Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
