Date joined etsy -5/2/09
Sales to date - 1249
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hi! My name is Kate and I'm from Princeton, NJ. I have two cats, Chloe and Hypatia. I'm a huge classic film fan and have the obligatory blog to prove it - silentsandtalkies.com. I'm don't eat ice cream, but I do have an unhealthy obsession with grapefruit juice and potatoes.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
I'm a night owl, so my day begins around 12pm. I've become ridiculously attached to my blackberry, and keep it on my bed table so that I can anxiously check for overnight sales when my eyes first open in the morning.. er.. afternoon. I stumble over to my laptop and respond to any emails, convos or tweets and check my favorite blogs before dragging myself to the kitchen for my first cup of grapefruit juice.
If I have any orders to pack, I usually spend the afternoon doing that... my dad runs a tiny home-based mail order business, so I always try to get everything packed up and ready by the time he leaves for the post office each day at 3pm. This effort usually fails, and I end up running inside the post office doors two minutes before they close.
By 6pm, I'm fully awake and ready to start working on new products, drawings or packaging. This is the part of my job that I love the most! I'll often put on Turner Classic Movies or pop in a dvd while I work into the wee small hours. Lastly, I'll post my new products on etsy and my blog (flapperdoodle.blogspot.com).
Around 3am, I usually crawl into bed and read for an hour or so before finally calling it a night.. er.. morning?
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
When I was little, my parents had a small workplace for their mail order business with about 4-5 employees, and one of the criteria for being hired was a willingness to participate in impromptu plays. I used the empty water cooler jugs to make my own drum set, and utilized the large empty walls as my own personal gallery space. Without having other kids to play with at work, my parents encouraged me to use my imagination instead. My favorite creative activities were probably drawing and making forts out of cardboard and blankets.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?When I first started trying to sell my artwork in 2005 I was peddling my art at outdoor craft fairs, and that was about it. The craft fairs up north always seemed to stop between October and April, so I needed a way to have some kind of income during the winter. I first signed up with etsy in 2006 (sinatrafan103) but only started selling in 2008.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
My very first sale took place about one month from the date I had started listing. That was when I was selling funny artwork under my buying account, sinatrafan103. I was absolutely shocked that my first Flapper Doodle sale took place the same day I listed.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Foods:
1. Mashed potatoes
2. French fries
3. Home fries
4. Baked potatoes
5. Grapefruit
Tv shows:
1. The Good Neighbors
2. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
3. The Twilight Zone
4. Alfred Hitchcock Presents
5. I Dream of Jeannie
Bands/musicians:
1. Frank Sinatra
2. Fred Astaire
3. Cleo Laine
4. Lotte Lenya
5. The Spice Girls (weird choice, I know..)
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Yes!! I'd love to sharpen my sewing skills. I am determined to become an expert seamstress if it kills me. Also, learning to play the piano would be lovely!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?Since I'm a complete novice when it comes to promotion and marketing, I just try everything I can think of and hope that something works. I have a twitter account, a facebook page, a blog and a mailing list. I constantly add new products to my shop, and when I don't have something new to add I renew something old that's been getting dusty on the last page of my store. I try to respond to convos quickly, accommodate custom requests and ship as fast as is humanly possible. Having a variety of items at different price points also helps, so there is something for everyone.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
Can I cheat a little bit here? I have four, and one is technically three...
1. My favorite etsy artist is Vivienne Strauss and she has three etsy shops.. I can't choose just one, I love them all! :)
viviennedstrauss.etsy.com
viviennestrauss.etsy.com
vivstrauss.etsy.com
2. I have three paintings from Elizabeth, and I think I literally stare at them every single day. Her work is just gorgeous.
artbyelizabethbauman.etsy.com
3. I love the handmade bags from Vauvani. I have a perfect little humbug bag and I love the fact that it was made without a pattern.. considering I can't even sew things right with a pattern, this amazes me. vauvani.etsy.com
4. And my mom's coffee bean jewelry shop! baublesbanglesbeans.etsy.com
-By December 31, 2010 I hope my number of sold items is... 1800.
--Have an etsy shop with over 300 sales and want to be a featured seller? Contact me at phletcher@gmail.com
As always, thanks for reading :)
