Date joined etsy -9/29/09
Sales to date - 375
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Charynn, and I live just north of Pittsburgh, PA. I have 2 kids--Madelyn (she's 3 1/2) and Keaton (he's 2). If I'm going to have ice cream, I'd prefer it to have hot fudge on it :)
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
Let's see...it all begins with coffee. I'm definitely not a morning person. I'll stay up until 1am working, but then the kids wake me up a little too early for my liking. after coffee, i check my convos and answer those (anyone from etsy, if you're reading this, PLEASE find a way to organize that better! i go crazy trying to keep track of convos!)
then most days i work on some orders, then have lunch...hang out with the kids for a bit, and then run errands, package up orders and go to the post office.
then it's usually answering convos again and making dinner. my husband gets home around 7pm-ish and he graciously gets the kids ready for bed and then my work day really begins--from 8pm to 12am, that's when i get my best work done.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I have always been creative. I can remember being like 7 or 8 years old and sitting inside in the evenings drawing all of the nintendo characters that were in the game information books. I was a total nerd, though--I preferred studying and painting to going out with friends in high school. I decided on a science path through college/grad school. Not sure I made the right decision there. Ha!
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I was kind of bored with life, really. I love making huge, custom cakes for people and had got into doing it when my husband and I moved back to Pennsylvania from grad school. There was so many people that loved them when I posted pictures on Facebook, etc. that I decided to do something that could help friends make their parties awesome without all of the work. The trick was that it had to go in the mail. I spent some time browsing the web, and no one was selling online what I envisioned my work to be--so I went for it.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I'm not sure--a couple of weeks maybe? It was after I started taking good pictures I think. Great pictures are so important on etsy and don't let anyone tell you different.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
foods:
1. pizza
2. coconut anything--but real coconut, not that sweetened, shredded nasty stuff in the baking aisle. i'm absolutely addicted to coconut water.
3. thai food
4. lemon meringue pie
5. anything that is cooked on a grill :) i'm so ready for nice weather!
tv shows:
1. house
2. castle
3. project runway
4. community
5. anthony bourdain: no reservations
bands/music:
1. billy joel
2. flogging molly
3. frank sinatra--or just that old-school style. michael buble is cool too.
4. i have to say taylor swift and miley cyrus just b/c that's what my daughter makes me listen to in the car ALL the time. you learn to like it so when she's sitting in the backseat screaming the words you don't go crazy.
5. i miss the old blink-182 and green day records. i need to go pull those out.
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
I'd really like to get better at screen printing..but other than that, I really really want to learn proper clothing design/construction. I love to sew, but if I don't have a pattern, I'm pretty much lost--sometimes even with the pattern.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Find and create your own niche. There are so many copycats on etsy. People see stuff that is selling well and being featured on the front page and they must think "hey, i can do that!" just be yourself, be creative, and pave your own way. if you have a good product, good photos, and great customer service, you'll be selling in no time.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE? oh so many! i think i have almost 200 saved right now. i shop on etsy all of the time!
i guess some of my new favs are:
http://amandagentry.etsy.com
http://pixelthis.etsy.com
http://moop.etsy.com
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is ______.
1000. I think that'd just be cool. I see other etsy sellers with 1000 sales, and i think that it seems like a big achievement. If i don't go crazy on doing custom designs that i think will take an hour but actually take 4 hours, I'll probably get there :)
--Have a successful etsy shop and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
