Date joined etsy -2/11/09
Sales to date - 2030
Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.my name is kirsten hadley and i live in oregon. i have a silly husband and 3 little sprouts (kids). my kids are still very young (2, 5 + 7), that coupled with the fact that i have a full time business means a little less than zero free time. but i love what i do and my family is just the coolest, so i'm good!
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
i'm a night owl, so my day starts a little later- around 11am. my guy is a stay at home dad, so he gets the kids up and ready to go while i snooze! i'm not a very scheduled person, but my day goes something like this:
wake up.
coffee.
snuggle the littles.
shower, dress, food.
work, emails, work, emails....
intermittently play with littles.
work.
intermittently kiss my guy and remind him that he's saved the day, again.
work.
make my daily mad dash to the post office.
dinner, play, clean up, tuck in littles.
work until about 2 am.
sleeeeep....
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
as a kid i was always into drawing/painting/making huge messes. my mom and grandmother are both artists, so it was inevitable. my favorite form of expression was singing, unfortunately after hearing myself on my little sony recorder, i realized that was not an option. crushed, i picked up some charcoal sticks and drew my voice instead.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
about 3 years ago i threw my (then) 5 year old a birthday party. i had remembered making poms in elementary school (we called them fluff 'ems) and thought they would be a cool alternative to balloons. so i made some and all of the parents kind of went nuts for them. i decided to add them to my shop (ekohdesign). i didn't think anything would come of it, but in about a week i had over 10 orders placed. after a month or so i opened up PomLove and the rest is history. my first sales for PomLove were immediate. quite strange. my first shop was open for a month before i had any takers.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?favorite foods? oh, man. there are so many. okay.
1. sushi
2. chocolate
3. pizza
4. green olives (yeah, i know)
5. i love a good steak!
t.v. shows:
1. buffy the vampire slayer
2. bones
3. project runway
4. supernatural
5. arrested development
music:
1. kings of leon (pre sell-out)
2. the white stripes
3. regina spektor
4. kate nash
5. velvet underground
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
someday i want my own screen printing business. i'd love to own a turn of the century printing press. i'd also love to make my own inks.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
first of all, no matter how many sales you make, remember that your creations are special, because you took the time to make that idea happen.
1. try to provide something to the masses that is creative, practical and is set apart from other sellers with similar items.
2. take great photos. it's the first thing customers see and it's the most important element. use natural light and no flash. macro settings are a must, we need to see what your item looks like up close before we will even click on the listing!
3. renew!! renew!! renew!! several times a day if your little heart desires!
4. facebook, twitter, blog... get your name out there. go to moo.com and get some rockin' business cards made!
5. heart others. etsy is a community. some of the most fun i've had on etsy is just looking around at all of the amazing finds. see a shop you like? heart it! if you believe in karma, maybe you'll get a heart, too.... and maybe that heart will lead to a sale!
my favorite etsy shops this week:
paulova.etsy.com
margamarina.etsy.com
islanewyork.etsy.com
-By December 31, 2010 I hope my number of sold items is...
in one year i hope that my sales reflect how hard i've worked and the amount of pride and fun i exude every time i think about where i started and where i am now. life is very unexpected!
--Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
