Date joined etsy -12/30/08
Sales to date - 427
Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Sarita Jefferson. I live in Boston, MA with my boyfriend, my cat Dustball, and my dog Pugin. I've lived in the Boston area most of my life. My favorite ice cream is chocolate with brownie chunks in it. with sprinkles on top :)
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
I work full time as an English as a Second Language teacher and student counselor. I teach basic English to adults from all over the world. It is very rewarding because some students enter the class not being able to speak and understand English at all. It is exciting to see their continuous improvement. After work, I enjoy different hobbies like gardening, biking, and going for a walk with my dog. In the evenings and on weekends, I usually work on my jewelry creations. I make new jewelry for orders that have just come in, and I am also in the process of photographing more jewelry to add to my etsy store.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Yes, growing up I loved drawing, painting and pottery. I took art classes from elementary school through college. I started making jewelry five years ago and that is now my main focus. Although occasionally, when I find the time, I love to draw.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
A friend of mine, who is an artist in Boston suggested it to me. Before etsy, I was selling in a few boutiques in the Boston area.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I got my first sale in about 10 minutes! It was very exciting. My second sale, however, took about two months :)
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Top 5 favorite foods- Bean and cheese burritos, anything chocolate, Grape Nuts, blueberries and raviolis
Top 5 tv shows- Nurse Jackie, Curb your Enthusiasm, The Office, 30 Rock, and South Park. Anything that makes me laugh, I guess!
Top 5 bands- Manu Chao, Spearhead, Vampire Weekend, The National, and of course Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Yes, I would love to get better at knitting. I got the book "Knitting for Dummies" one Christmas and learned how to knit a scarf. I have made a few scarves, but have never learned to make anything else. It would be great to make a hat and mittens to go with them!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
My advice to new etsy sellers is to try different strategies to promote their shops and see what works best. These are a few things that have worked for me.
Make sure your pictures are great! This is your best way to make it into a Treasury, and possibly have your artwork be featured on the front page of etsy.
Relist items throughout the day, a couple at a time. If I stay up late, I list items late at night. I get more views per item listed and more international sales this way!
Try out an etsy showcase a couple times. I have had varying luck with these but on average sell 1 - 3 pieces of jewelry when I do showcases. If it doesn't work, then try advertising on a different website, like craftcult.com, or try facebook and twitter.
I also include 20% off coupons to my customers when I ship out their orders. This provides them incentive to come back to my shop again.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/pachamamanativeart Pachamamanativeart is run by my friend Pedro, who just opened his etsy store. More amazingly beautiful artwork will be added to his store soon!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SmallEarthVintage There are lots of cool vintage items in this shop.
and also
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShawnDuBois This shop has some fun and unique mosaics.
-One year from now, I hope my number of sold items is...
1000.
--
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 :)
