Date joined etsy- 2/11/08
Sales to date - 399
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hello world, I’m Leslie, owner of Dalena Vintage. I’m a Texas gal through and through but wanderlust tends to get the best of me every now and then. At the moment, I’m based out of Anacortes, a little town on Fidalgo Island in Northwestern Washington. When I’m not working in the shop, you might find me hiking in the woods, cooking up tasty treats or playing Auntie to my brother’s sweet Boxer, Cami.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
My days really vary but pretty much always start with a cup of coffee and emails. I think I might be addicted to both. The day itself is filled with buying trips, wrapping up cute little parcels for customers, photographing and styling outfits for the shop and heaps of photo editing. Oh and then there are the ever glamorous trips to the post office, evenings spent ironing garments and hours uploading new listings! Honestly, I do anywhere from one to all of the above and more in a day.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Funny you ask! I’m actually just finished a blog post about a craft book I used to check out from the library several times a month growing up. It was filled with recipes and little craft projects that I was always trying out.
From a creative perspective, I went through a number of hobbies, too many to count really. I loved gardening, sketching flora and fauna, pressing flowers, making crystals, building nests, decorating and redecorating my room, you know the usual kiddo hobbies.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?I actually started out selling one-of-a-kind dresses crafted from salvaged fabric. Spending so much time in the thrift stores searching for fabric, I was constantly finding pieces too beautiful to desconstruct. Often they were too big or small for myself but I couldn’t resist buying them anyway. Eventually, I had quite the collection and decided why not just put a few up on Etsy. One thing led to another and Dalena Vintage was born!
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I was lucky enough to have my first sale within a few weeks of opening up shop without any advertising. In fact, I didn’t begin advertising until July 2009.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
That’s a tough one, but here it goes…
Cheese enchiladas, avocados, breakfast tacos, massaman curry, maccaroni and cheese. I love rich, savory foods, can you tell!?
The Riches, Arrested Development, Pushing Daisies, Curb Your Enthusiam and Parenthood
Wilco, Jim O’Rourke, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Yann Tiersen
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Oh my goodness, I don’t even know where to start. I would love to be self sustainable by the time I die so needless to say I’ve got an ongoing list of things I’d love to learn. Right now, I’m trying to teach myself to play the diatonic accordion. It’s a bit of a challenge to say the least and I’m not that great! I’m also working on my baking skills and I’d like to learn to clog and screen print in the near future.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?It depends on your budget really. Starting out, it can be scary to invest in advertising but it’s also one of the most important things for a new business. That said, there are quite a few ways to promote your shop with a zero balance budget. Word of mouth is a great way to spread news about your new shop. I’ve gotten a bit lazy lately, but I used to find a way bring up my shop in almost all conversations with new people I meet.
This is pretty common practice, but creating a blog to compliment your shop can be benefitial. I started my blog, Dalena Vintage, as a way to talk about vintage inspiration and give sneak peaks of new items. Through the past year though, it’s really evolved and taken on a more personal aspect. I’ve met tons of interesting gals following a similar path and it’s turned out to be rewarding in its own right.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
Oh my, just three? Adelaide Homesewn for authentic vintage , Yarn Over Movement for hand-knit loveliness and Little Houses for some of my favorite hand-crafted jackets.
-One year from now, I hope...
To have my own studio! I would love to have a space for indoor photography, private fittings for local gals and general fun having. My dream would be to get to a point where I can hire a couple of other folks to help out with photo shoots , buying and clerical work. How dreamy would that be?
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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 :)
