Date joined etsy -5/2/09
Sales to date - 337
-Give us some basic info about youmy name is neil jeffery and i live in london, canada (quite a bit smaller than the big london) with my wife sonja, daughter jada and our little dog pablo and cat steve. like a typical canadian i like to watch and play hockey. i'm also into eating cupcakes.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
a typical day for me starts with getting my daughter off to school.i check emails and etsy stuff while drinking coffee. then i take the dog for a walk.
my working day is usally divided between illustration work and my etsy stuff so i basically just work on whatever is the priority at the moment. i like to get my etsy orders shipped the same or next day so quite often i will finish them up in the evening to get them ready for the post the next day.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
i always had a real compulsion to draw. i would design cars and buildings, superheroes...whatever interests i had at the time i would just funnel them into drawing. i liked to build stuff as well but was always a bit angry that my brother could make better lego spaceships than i could.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
it was about 3 weeks after i had my shop up and running. at the time i sold strictly resin on wood art pieces and had not yet started offering vinyl wall art. i sold 3 pieces to same person- that was an exciting day for me!
Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
food-i'll mention cupcakes again, i also fancy myself a bit of a veggie burger connoisseur, sushi, beer
tv shows- hockey night in canada
bands- lately i've been listening to some tegan & sara, hawksley workman, metric...and every now and then i get to hear some justin beiber
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing?curling, flying an airplane, surfing, driving an army tank or race car are all things i would like to try.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
marketing for me is a necessary evil...i'd rather spend my time making stuff rather than tweeting about it and i'm sure most people feel the same.
i do suggest just getting yourself out there as much as possible, use twitter, facebook, any kind of free craft websites, start a blog, network with other crafters, chat up the etsy forums.
and relisting your items works too but it's important to be strategic about it, think about what time it is in key markets before relisting.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
i'd be in trouble if i didn't say my wife's etsy shop:
http://hotacrossbuns.etsy.com
she and her friend play roller derby and they have a lot of fun creating underpants with sayings on them ,'ass-o-grams' if you will.
my friend jennifer squires is a fantastic photographer and she really helped me with some great tips when starting my shop (and was one of my first customers too)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jennifersquires
there are so many fantastic shops out there, i'm choosing this shop because i love the flat, colourful rendeings:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Hellomarine
One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is 1200.
--Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
