Date joined etsy- 12/7/07
Sales to date - 971
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hi! I’m Karon. I live with my husband in Fredericton (our small capital city in New Brunswick, Canada) and we spend summers and lots of weekends our cottage about 45 minutes from town. I feel lucky to be close to the water (a river and a lake) in both places- I garden, read, and love to travel, especially to the seaside. I am enthusiastic, neat, love to laugh, am a member of a book club, swoon over any shade of green, believe nachos are an entire food group, prefer chocolate ice cream, am afraid of heights, organize and arrange everything in my line of sight, never miss ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, need more space for my shoes, am married to a fantastic guy, love science fiction, listen to Hawaiian music, am VERY visual, love sunrises and sunsets and sandy beaches, plant hundreds of tulips every year and adore my nieces and nephews! I’ve always loved to make pretty things or make things pretty!
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
An average day in the life of ‘me’… I’d really describe it in terms of my average week, since my days vary quite a bit but I usually ‘hit’ all the following at least once or twice on a weekly basis. Each morning, I get up around 7am and check the shops while the coffee is brewing- convos, overnight activity, sales, Google Analytics, Craftopolis, etc. These provide insightful feedback, especially if I’ve just listed a new design or implemented a new promotion. I organize my work periods throughout the week around my mood, and they include creating new designs, restocking sold items, photography of my jewelry and for The Garden Shed, editing and listing items, promotions (treasuries, team contacts, my blog, my newsletter, visiting treasuries and blogs of my online friends, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter), packaging and shipping orders, ordering supplies or searching for beads I love, paperwork, and all the other assorted bits and pieces as they come up. I love being able to spend most mornings working and then mixing work and play in the afternoons and evenings, depending on my inspiration.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Yes, I was creative growing up- always making, decorating, arranging something …words, color and light have always captivated me and inspired me to create objects, environments and moods. I’ve always been an avid reader and photographer and I’ve dabbled in all sorts of crafts ( knitting, sewing, candle making, designing my own cross-stitch patterns and making them, other needlework, endlessly sketching floorplans for the shop I would someday open, painting and gardening to name a few) and then in recent years, fell in love with jewelry making and design!
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I became interested in selling online, particularly on Etsy, after talking with a customer at a craft show a couple of years ago. I was looking for some ways to work from home and she told me about the site. I investigated a few weeks later. First of all, I loved the fact that everyone visiting Etsy was already looking for handmade items-much easier in my opinion, than trying to attract that many people to my own website (although that is on my list of ways to expand my shops!). I also love the creation of my shop itself- the photography, writing, design- I feel very much like it’s my own little corner to make beautiful and inviting!
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
It took around 5 weeks to make my first sale…I was so excited! She sent me a convo saying she would ‘pick up the earrings in the morning’. I thought, ‘Wow, she lives in right here in town!’ and got up early to meet her. Well, ok, I was a little ‘green’- she lived in Texas and just meant she would pay in the morning. :) Anyway, it didn’t take the shine off my excitement!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?***Top 5 favorite foods: Nachos, guacamole, salsa and cheese (that’s all one!), seafood pasta, peas, hummus, grapes or pretty much anything someone else cooked
***Top 5 Favorite TV Shows: Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, Seinfeld, and I love to watch movies
***Top 5 Bands/Singers: Nora Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sarah McLachlan, Josh Groban, Rufus Wainwright
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
5gardenias, polarity, oldcrowfarm
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Join the Etsy community- make treasuries, comment on other people’s treasuries, join a team
Create and maintain your own blog Create a Facebook Fanpage and Twitter Page ( to connect with people and occasionally promote!) Write and send out your own Newsletter
Work on your photographs endlessly
List new items and relist, relist, did I mention relist?
Super, beyond all expectations, customer service and communication
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Other things I’d like to try…I took piano lessons as a child and would love to learn to play for the fun of it! I’m also thinking of opening a vintage shop…and I want to visit Paris!
-One year from now...
One year from now, I hope to be alive, still enjoying designing, creating and my business, travelling with my husband and continuing the adventure!
--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 :)
