Date joined etsy -2/24/09
Sales to date - 383
Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Dana Gils (nee Cowie- that's my artist name) I live in Toronto with my husband and our 2 cats but we are relocating to my home town of Hamilton to open a studio on Locke St. next month! Chocolate ice cream with stuff in it is my favorite (peanut butter cups etc.).
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
I wake up and check my emails, see if I have any orders and get to work. Each piece is hand cut and hand beaded so they take several hours to make. I usually listen to British programs on my computer while I'm working. I just finished re-watching/listening to the entire Upstairs, Downstairs series which was awesome.
Once I'm done making and packaging the orders I'll walk over to my friendly post office for speedy delivery! I like to make my orders up as quickly as I can to ensure the happiness of my customers.
If I don't have any orders then I will set to work creating new items. Once a new piece is done I will have my photographer hubby take the pics of me wearing them (I am blessed). His website is www.harrygils.com.
I'm also a painter/illustrator so along with my Etsy shop I do that. Here's my other website: www.dcowie.com
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Oh yes, I was always drawing, painting, singing and listening to music and obsessing over fashion. My walls were covered in Elle magazine pages throughout the 1980s. My mother raised my brother and I on our own. She was very clever and talented so she made most of my clothing. I remember a beautiful rose coloured suit from a Donna Karan pattern that I wore to a family Christmas party in 1990. It had a wraparound styled jacket and palatzo pants. Pretty nice for a 15 yr. old! I could go on and on about the beautiful clothing she made. I enjoyed watching her make things. Sewing and knitting all the time. Too bad the internet and Etsy wasn't around back then, my mom would have made a fortune!
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
My sister-in-law mentioned that I should sell paintings on Etsy years ago and finally I decided to try it out one day. I had made a couple of headpieces for my wedding and thought that they were pretty good and why not see if others liked them too so I opened a shop. Over time I began to iron out the kinks in my product and stuck to what I loved making which is the hand beading. It's like drawing with beads.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
It took me 2 days! Since then I've had super busy months and slow months as well.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?I love comfort food like roasted chicken and vegetables, most Asian food ( I love rice) and chocolate. I love food and try to buy organic as much as I can. I'm really into British shows like Coronation Street, Only Fools and Horses, Darling Buds of May (stuff like that). My fav. bands are the Cocteau Twins, The Sundays, Heavenly and I'm big into Gospel music as well.
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Yes, I love to try making anything. I do mess about with baking and cooking and I like to knit. My next thing is to buy a sewing machine so I can make my own clothes.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
I'm still fairly new (1 year) so I'm also trying to figure this one out. I think the best thing is to make items that you love. Spend time on them and put love and care into them. Find a way to take good quality photographs of your items. If that's learning how or finding a photographer and doing a trade - whatever. It's very important. Then list them in your shop and pray for lovely people to find them.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
I really like greatestfriend.etsy.com she has amazing stuff, great communication (key!). She's also really nice and that's important to me. I've been eyeing hoakonhelga.etsy.com for a while and hopefully will buy something soon. I just disccovered Lwangslife.etsy.com today. Lovely dresses and jackets!
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is... 1000.
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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 :)
