Date joined etsy - 10/21/06
Sales to date - 715
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hi! I’m Melanie and I live on the west coast of Florida in New Port Richey, which is a little north of world-famous Clearwater Beach. I have been married for 15 years to my wonderfully supportive husband Dave and have 2 kids - Gage (12) and Nikki (10). We are owned by 2 1/2 Eskie - all are rescue dogs - 2 are purebred American Eskimo Dog and 1 is a mix.
-Describe an average day in life of “you”.
Since I currently have a day job, I get up at 6am (ugh!), and get ready for work.
Commute 1 hour to work.
Work 8.5 hours as a Graphic Designer at a direct mail advertiser (think blue envelope)
Commute 1 hour to home.
The rest of the evening is spent with kids, dinner, dog walking, and working on my art/business.
Sleep.
Repeat.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Both of my parents are creative. My dad was a newspaper writer/editor and my mom majored in art in college. She taught oil painting classes in our living room and, since I had little else to do as a nerdy teenager, I took the classes along with her students. I wasn’t a great painter, so she made me paint pictures of buildings and doors - no fruit paintings for me! I would also draw and write stories. Other than that, I loved to read. Still do.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I have been wanting to work from home for some time, and I saw Etsy mention on a WAHM site. Once I saw that, I did a lot of research into what I would like to create. I’m not a WAHM mom yet, but hopefully soon...
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I believe it was about 10 days.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
I am a junk food junkie, but in order to manage my weight I’m trying to stay away from most processed foods. Sigh... But when I get to be bad, my favorites are pizza, ice cream, tiramisu, anything you can put butter on. Oh, and I’m seriously addicted to coffee. With lots of stuff in it.
I don’t have much time to watch tv anymore, but when I do, I watch decorating/staging/house hunting shows on hgtv. And I love movies - comedy, romance, thrillers - love ‘em all!
I don’t really have any favorite bands, but my listening tastes run the gamut from old standards to 80’s to new age and top 40.
-Is there anything you’d like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
I would love to learn to sew - at least well enough to make pillow cases and simple curtains.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Listing and renewing items has been the most effective promotion for me. I’ve bought banner ads on blogs and bought space in some markets and that has worked out pretty well, also.
I have been extremely fortunate that Etsy has done a lot of marketing for me - the FP, the Gift Guides and Etsy Finds. In order to be featured you need great photos and a unique product. No one will care what you’re selling if the photo is blurry and Etsy is always looking for something fresh.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
It’s really mean of you to make me choose just three!
Dolan Geiman • One Black Bird (Diana Fayt) • Foundling
--Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
