Date joined etsy - 10/2/05
Sales to date - 653
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.
My name is Derya Aksoy. I’m originally from one of the most beautiful and oldest cities in the world: Istanbul/ Turkey. I’ve been living in United States for about 7 years, currently in beautiful Orange County, CA. I’m married to a wonderful man, who is also Turkish and very supportive of my creative endowers. I have 2 tiny finches as my first pets ever, named Glitter and Pistachio; I believed they were very much in love, and then I found the boy (Pistachio) bald after leaving them alone for a few days. Now they are in different cages.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
My jewelry business is my full time job now, so most of my energy goes to my work no matter if it is week days or weekend. I usually go with the flow honestly; I was never a type of person who will stick to the schedule. I have a studio in Santa Ana artist village, but sometimes I prefer to work from home also, that means my mess is divided between home and my actual studio! But I always manage to get things done even if I have to lose sleep over it! Evenings and nights are my productive hours as I’m a night owl. During the day, I check my e-mails and etsy convos several times for questions and requests , photograph my new designs and then list them. If my sales are very busy or I need to finish a wholesale order in a short time period, I usually do everything at the same time multitasking. If I have more time in my hands, then I work on designing new pieces and stocking on my popular items.
Other than work, I like to spend some time with my friends, having a lunch or a short shopping trip. I also love going to thrift stores and antique shops to get some inspiration as well as to find little odd things to use in my designs.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
It all started when I was 6-7, my best friend’s mom was our neighbor, who was an artist. She used to draw and make paper dolls for my friend. Whenever we set up our paper house (like classic doll houses but everything paper) with my friend, she always had new paper dolls with beautiful outfits added to her collection, which I’d fall in love (a little jealous too!) Then one day, I asked her mom to draw one for me and she did. First I started copying the silhouette from the original drawing, but before I know I was drawing my own dolls and creating new different outfits! That is when I started dreaming about being a fashion designer one day and that took me to study fashion design in high school, then Set and Costume Design in College.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I started making jewelry when I was fairly new at living in US, and at the time my English level was closer to below zero! As a person who just graduated from college, and is not used to staying home all day I had to do something with myself, and that’s why I wanted to try my hands on jewelry making. After a while our little 1 bedroom apartment turned into a bead shop, and that’s when my husband met my messy crafter side (poor guy). As I had many finished pieces in my hand, I started thinking about finding an outlet to try selling them. One day I saw a link to Etsy from somebody’s blog (unfortunately can’t remember the source now) and that’s how I found out about etsy, which was fairly new at the time but looked like a perfect outlet for. Has been my favorite since then.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
It has been long with me and Etsy, so I’m not really sure as I didn’t put anything to my shop right away, then I was on and off on it until I decided to really make the best of my shop almost a year ago. Also, compared to now I pretty much didn’t have any idea about how to promote, even how to tag my items correctly for a long time! It was pretty much me trying to sell on Etsy blindly.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
I’m not very picky when it comes to food and I like to try new cuisines at every chance I get! Pretty much anything from Turkish cuisine, and as individual foods; cheese (feta the most), onions and garlic, veggies, watermelon and paninis are my favorites.
I don’t watch tv that much, but I try to follow project runway when it is on.
I’m very eclectic when it comes to music. I like to listen Pandora station when I’m working and my favorite genres are ranging from 50’s-60’s oldies to Rumi. That doesn’t mean you won’t see me enjoying some hip hop also!
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Is there anything I’d NOT like to try my hands on when it comes to arts and crafts? Nope, not really. I’m even surprised I could keep my main focus on jewelry designing this long, otherwise I want to attack every kind of other ventures. Recently though, I have been seriously craving to get dirty with some clay to sculpt things. Sewing also, especially to incorporate it with my jewelry!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
The most important thing is having great photos, then doing everything they can to spread the word; facebook, blogging, great customer service, vending at local shows, having a mailing list, submitting their shops or items to other online publications. I like to follow the Etsy Storque for tips and Etsy forums also! Improving your shop should be a never ending work I believe.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
It is so hard choosing only 3, but here it goes;
yellowfield7
Ninainvorm
HAREandDRUM
-By December 31, 2010 I hope my number of sold items is 1500
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As always, thanks for reading :)
