Date joined etsy -6/5/08
Sales to date - 897
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.hello! my name is roberta montgomery. i live in a cute little town called gardnerville, nv. our home overlooks a historic ranch and we have unobstructed views of the mountains and valley…we are blessed! we are about 30 minutes from lake tahoe, where i lived most of my life until we moved to this valley 6 years ago. i have 4 kids { 3 biological, 1 step..all beautiful!} 3 girls, aged 15, almost 16 and 17 today! 1 boy, age 4….and we thought we couldn't have any more children! our home is filled with kids all the time, 2 dogs, and we have a school of koi in our pond as well…. my parents live with us as well. we are a big, happy, loud family! i love cake batter ice cream with brownies in it ,or, i will settle for vanilla bean with mini chocolate chips :) i love flowers; peony, sweet pea, hydrangea, oh lets be realistic. is it even possible to choose a favorite!? i collect things…mostly by accident….vintage fans, vintage books, vintage buttons…vintage anything! for as long as i can remember, i have dreamed of traveling the world. in 1990, i had the chance to go to russia as a student ambassador at the age of 16. as of yet, that is the most notable travel i have done…but i plan to do much more…my family and i are big time ocean lovers and go to the beach as often as we can...just came back from santa cruz as a matter of fact!.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
to be honest, my life is very chaotic…a sort of organized chaos, but chaotic just the same. the one thing i can count on being the same each day is my bed…i am one of those people who cannot start the day without making my bed…after that, my world is free to go on as it wishes :) from then on it is like a race all day long…but i wouldn't have it any other way. i make 6 sandwiches each morning; 4 for my hubs and one for the 2 girls { sadly, i only have my step-daughter here in the summers }. then it's off to check emails. the little guys usually sleeps in so i get him ready for the day and then start filling orders. since my parents live with us, almost every morning, the little guy goes on a "hike" with "crumpa" as he calls him. it is so great that they get to spend so much time together. by 3pm, i am scrambling to get to the post office to ship orders….and then, i try to re-group before i start dinner, etc. somewhere in there, i do manage to get laundry, dusting and other bothersome chores done as well! by the time 11pm comes around, i am ready to get in bed with a good book and usually fall asleep reading….
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
as a child, i was very creative. i am the one-and-only child of bob and rosie, so i had to be creative to keep myself busy. my dad is a dental technician and i spent many days in his lab along side him, making small objects from wax and other materials…we lived at the base of a mountain which was forestry land, so dad and i hiked and collected things all the time. i would later turn them into "decorative" items for the house. she saved them all….and still has some of them! i have always loved the mow meticulous, labor intensive projects, even as a child. my dad gave me an xacto knife when i was about 8ish to cut my paper dolls out with precision….i was hooked…paper, glue and glitter just came naturally. i was also very active in local theater and dance...it was my life!
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
actually, what started me on easy, was my daughter's 16th birthday, last summer. she wanted a "mad hatter's tea party", like the rest of the world at the time, and i couldn't find things to use for it anywhere on the internet…at least anything that i liked. so, after spending months making everything from invitations to decorations, etc. for the party, my mother suggested i sell them on the internet. i had always loved easy, but never thought i would be able to sell anything…i was just a browser :)
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
it took 2 months for me to get my first sale…at the time, i was selling some quirky dr. suess items and crocheted hats. i also tried selling some of my other designs with no luck. i had 2 sales for about 8 months! i had sketched out a bunch of items that i had wanted to make for my daughters party, but never got around to and decided to try them out…about 2 weeks later, i got a sale and then Boho Magazine contacted me about being featured in their holiday issue…from then on, it was super-chaos! i have been swamped since november of 2009 and still going strong. i have had a few more magazine features, OK Australia, and some online exposure as well…i feel so blessed.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
~steak, artichokes, shrimp, salad, chocolate…
~history channel, so you think you can dance, 19 kids and counting, pawn stars, wedding shows
~cold play, U2, the clash, jack johnson, trashcan sinatras…and many more…
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
bookmaking! for sure…stained glass, playing the stand-up bass, drums, i would really like to learn to sew clothing… millinery,
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
number 1 thing, LIST SOMETHING EVERYDAY! even if it is just one thing, it will get you exposure in the searches. after that, i really don't know…i have just been blessed i guess.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
OUMA {she made my daughter's prom dress, you can see it on my blog} TopsyTurvy, and silentgoddess {beautiful custom rings!}
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is.... 3000+.
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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 :)
