Date joined etsy- 7/18/07
Sales to date - 899
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hi! I'm Ra, a mountain mama with a little lion of a son (who loves to dance) and a new baby girl (who loves to growl). My husband and I have spent the last 12 years pioneering a piece of land in the beautiful Big Sur mountains of California's Central Coast.
We built a cabin with our own hands. We use solar power. We heat our bathtub with wood. We grow apples, vegetables, flowers and herbs in our organic garden. We have a funny dog named Eddie who likes to herd cows and has a fluffy, white bunny tail.
I love to build things with adobe - little houses, tile mosaic walls, and an outdoor clay oven in which I make Indian flat breads, pizzas, and all-night roasted beans and coconut rice pudding.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
A day in my life... is spent with the baby on my back in her Ergo carrier! I wake up with a cup of Yerba Mate tea with whole milk and raw local honey. My "meditation" includes an hour of dance and hanging cotton diapers in the sun - I love to watch them flap in the ocean breeze. There is usually some kind of building project - plumbing, electrical, hanging sheet rock, etc... because a self-built home is never "done"! And, most importantly, we eat all day long... fresh veggies from the garden, meat from our friend's ranch, homemade wine in recycled bottles without labels!
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Growing up... I loved to dance (every day!), paint with acrylics, develop and print black & white photography, and build forts at the creek behind my parent's house.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I started selling on etsy in 2006 after a long, snowy winter led me to buy a sewing machine to keep busy. I started making hemp bags and all my friends wanted some. I decided to sell them and found etsy through a Google search. I opened "Coast Mountain Crafts" for my fabric and gemstone jewelry creations. Soon thereafter, I opened "The Lucky Fish" to feed my love of beautiful vintage items. My first sales came just a few days after I opened shop. I quickly fell in love with the etsy experience!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
My favorite things - Greek food (feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, red wine, lamb); Blues and World music (Taj Mahal, Ali Farka, John Lee Hooker); Netflix documentaries about fashion (Valentino - The Last Emperor, Lagerfield Confidential).
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
I love to try new things! I want to open another etsy shop for my garden medicine (bath salts, herbal tinctures, herbal teas, infused oils). I want to learn to cook good East Indian food, and Zumba (really!). I want to learn how to install radiant-heated flooring.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Spread joy with your shop! Communicate with your customers! Master your camera! Wrap your packages beautifully! Stay flexible to what works!
3 etsy shops I just love:
Tamar - Nest Pretty Things. Her store conjures a sweet life... lovely, excellent photography, beautiful styling. I love her blog!
GaiaConceptions. I want to live everyday in her clothing! Gorgeous designs made with my favorite organic fabrics. And she's a gorgeous model!
Wickedpen. Her shop is soft, soothing and peaceful. It transports me back in time. I love her hand-dyed slip dresses and homemade soaps.
One year from now...
I hope to finish building our Zen-inspired bathhouse, to rely solely on solar electric power, to teach my son to read and write, to create a new line of clothing and homegoods made with vintage Vera scarves.
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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 :)
