Date joined etsy -8/7/07
Sales to date - 319
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc. I am Judit Wild, and I live in Budapest, Hungary. I have done many things in my life so far: first I studied photo journalism, then I was journalist for 10 years. While writing articles I finished my sociology studies, and started to work as a sociologist as well. I stopped writing articles 3 years ago, and now I work as a sociologist besides making jewelry.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
I have a part time job, so I spend half of my week (2-3 days) in an office. I work as a market researcher for a big publishing house. On my office days I dont make jewelry, but usually I spend 1-2 hours with my jewlery shop: uploading new products, answering convos, updating my team’s blog (blog of the European Street Team, called: Hand Made Europe, link: http://handmade-europe.com/ ) and chatting a little bit with my team mates. The rest of my week is devoted to jewelry making. On these days I check my shop, convos etc in the morning, and then I make jewelry the whole day along. I have a lunch break (checking mails, uploading new products etc.), and then I continue with making jewelry. Usually I stop it around 7-8 pm, and I like to go out a little bit for a few hours to clean my brain.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Yes, I was. I remember myself as sewing clothes for my Barbie doll, sewing bags and pillows for myself in elementary school. In high school I was making earrings, but I stopped it after a while, and did not even do anything "creative” for 10 years. I continued making jewelry 10 years later (in 2002) where I stopped in high school.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy? I have been selling my jewelry since 2003 in small shops and via e-mail, so I just wanted to try a new method. And Etsy looked so inspiring, with full of inspiration and visual inputs.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
5-6 days. I was thrilled
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Croissant with butter and orange juice, Jasmine tea, Oi va voi (this is a band).
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Yes: I want my own sewing machine – it has been a dream for me since high school. At the moment I live in a very small flat, and my fabrics and jewelry supplies are already taking over my flat, so I dont have room for a sewing machine. But I am sure I will have one in the future!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?I would suggest for the very fresh sellers to participate in giveaways (they can always submit it to etsygiveaways.blogspot.com), and to trade with others. A lot of people dont believe in paid advertisements, but I do - with limitations. If you see the ad campaign as a tool introduce your brand to new people, and do not expect instant sales from it, than I think blog advertisements can help. I dont say, that everyone should spend a lot on this, but it worth a try on well-establised blogs, that have reasonable prices for the beginners. Also, listing/ relisting couple of times a day is very good.
And one last thing: I just bumped into this post on rikrak’s blog – she is offering a kind of tutorship for those who want to develop their handmade business. She is a very experienced and helpful seller, maybe it is a good idea to ask her advice once or twice.
http://rikrakstudio.blogspot.com/2010/05/hire-cheerleader.html
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/fleurfatale
http://www.etsy.com/shop/irisoconnor
http://www.etsy.com/shop/annarubyking
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is... 700.
--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 :)
