Date joined etsy - 11/12/06
Sales to date - 366
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Liz, I’m located in the historic mill town of Lowell, Massachusetts. I live in an old textile mill on a canal and have a studio in another old textile mill on the same canal about a mile away. Brick mills on canals? We got ‘em.
My husband and I have a tabby cat called Chester. Or Chet. Or Chubby, Cheddar, Chuckles, really whatever comes out of our mouths, he doesn’t speak English so it doesn’t really matter, does it? He is a master at shunning. Also napping and inducing guilt. He took workshops.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
Chet wakes me up, something my husband was careful not to do when he got up an hour earlier. I check my email, nod at my husband who writes his fiction in the morning before his 9-5 gig. Then I get over to my studio and make things, make make make! Also, I interact with the other amazing artists who might be in. When it gets to be evening I go home and make dinner. Then it’s listening to Podcasts while I make more things. Bedtime comes early because we like sleeping. Wake up and repeat!
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I have always been doing this. I have been making things since I was able to. My mom is an artist, she said she realized I would be one too when I was a toddler. She said she wasn’t surprised but was delighted. We used to have this big roll of brown craft paper taller than me and mom would unfurl a giant stretch of it and lay it on the floor. I drew on that giant paper all day long! She always had great projects and ideas going all the time. I learned to knit from her and crochet from an elderly neighbor. I wanted to learn everything.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?I wanted an online shop and had tried an e-commerce site on my own a few years earlier, it was a bust. No-one knew it existed and the social networks weren’t in place to advertise it. Plus it was super expensive. When I saw this new craft revolution coming on, I knew that all the cool kids would be going to Etsy so I jumped on that bandwagon and I’m glad I did! It’s inexpensive and easy to maintain (no HTML for me to screw up!) Plus it brings its own customers and I can supplement with the ones that I draw in.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I’m going to have to look that up. Let’s see, I joined in November of 2006, but I know I didn’t list anything until December…aha! It was on January 9th, 2007.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Top 5 fave foods:
5. Mojitos
4. Sweet potato fries
3. Fatty steak tips
2. Honeydew melon
1. Strawberries
Top 5 fave [PodCasts] (we cancelled our cable):
5. This American Life
4. The Political Scene (The New Yorker)
3. The Slate Cultural Gabfest
2. The Slate Political Gabfest
1. Planet Money
Top 5 fave bands:
5. Ron Sexsmith
4. The Shins
3. Gotan Project
2. Thievery Corporation
1. Nada Surf
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.I want to learn to spin! Over the years I have gone through the phases of trying every new whim that came my way, but I learned that I can only devote my energies (and craft supply budget) to so many tasks so now if I want to learn something it has to be relevant to what I am already making.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
I would strongly recommend that a new Etsy seller MAKE FRIENDS. It’s really important that you start building community with other Etsy sellers. Be friendly and helpful and interactive with other sellers online. You can do this in the forums, on Twitter, on Facebook, and especially through your own blog. The most important thing is to be a real person, be yourself! It's better not to just post links to your items in all these online locations, make yourself useful and approachable and people will seek out what you make on their own. Posting your item links all over is spammy and icky and you will be shunned. Better to be the kind of person who promotes others, it will come back to you I promise!
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
http://theintuitivegarden.etsy.com
http://memake.etsy.com
http://seaurchin.etsy.com
-By December 31, 2010 I hope my number of sold items is still going up.
--Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
