Date joined etsy - 6/27/07
Sales to date - 261
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Rachel Pfeffer. Right now I live in Greenfield, MA, with my boyfriend, in a big old house (maybe haunted.) I like all ice creams, especially coffee and heath bar crunch. Actually, I hate chubby hubby. And anything with cherry.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
-On an average day, I wake up, attempt to make coffee using my new coffee press (am I the only person in the world who can't make a good cup of coffee with it?), make some breakfast, and head to my studio, which will hopefully be in my house soon! A commute upstairs sounds good to me. Then I fill orders, if there are orders to be filled, or I go through my supplies and treasures and try to make something wonderful!
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I like to think I'm still growing up. But yeah, if I'm a grown up now, then I was. It all started in 8th grade with a duct tape purse company called Lucky Duct Designs. That's what I originally started selling on Etsy, and that also explains why my Etsy address is Luckyduct.etsy.com.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
Like I said, I started out with duct tape purses. Then, I don't remember how exactly, but sometime in 2007, I joined! I think my older and cooler brother told me about it. So I started selling them online. I was still in college then, so I wasn't really making jewelry yet. I majored in sculpture though, which was how I began making Bullet Buddies, which I also started to sell on Etsy. And then a couple of years later, I started making jewelry, which I right away started to sell on my Etsy shop.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I don't exactly how long it took. Which is weird, you'd think you'd remember your first sale! Looking back at my records though, it looks like a bullet buddy was the first thing to go. I think it took a couple of months for the sale.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?Okay. Top five foods: Refried beans, Gala apples, tuna salad with cranberries, olives, and...chocolate. Tv: Arrested Development, Degrassi, Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock, Project Runway. Top 5 bands: Regina Spektor, She and Him, Felice Brothers, Dr. Dog, Mason Jennings.
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Well, not to toot my own horn, but if I didn't quit band in high school, I would have been first chair. So I always want to try that out again. I always say I'm going to start to cook, but I just can't do it. My boyfriend is the cook of the couple. Someday, though, someday. I just recently ruined a blueberry cobbler, actually. Same with knitting! Took classes, still can't knit. I really want to try revamping old furniture, though. I have visions of chairs stenciled with honeycomb prints!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Photos!! Good photos are key, as everyone knows. I only use natural light, I can't get flashes to ever make jewelry look pretty. And you just have to try to get your name out there as much as possible. I keep a blog, which I try to post in regularly, and I use sites like craftgawker.com, weloveindie.com, those sorts of things. The more presence you have on the internet, the more likely you'll show up in a search, etc.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
Ooh, tough. http://www.etsy.com/shop/sohomode, http://www.etsy.com/shop/MapleShadeKids, and http://www.etsy.com/shop/marywibis. Just some examples of shops with pretty things I like to look at.
-By December 31, 2010 I hope my number of sold items is
500. I would be positively thrilled. Maybe a little optimistic though!
--Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
