#220 unofficial etsy featured seller - battysbath

#220 unofficial etsy featured seller - battysbath
Date joined etsy- 12/11/09
Sales to date - 590-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Jamie and I live in London, Ontario, Canada with my fiance and our 3 dogs and a turtle. I'm finishing up a bachelors degree in psychology, have studied fine arts, and have a degree in animal care. Autumn is my favorite time for the year and I'm slightly obsessed with all things Halloween. My health is something that needs a lot of attention because I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and Fibromyalgia. Being able to work from home on a flexible schedule really helps me take care of my health.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

My days are different than many people because I'm almost never up during the day except for craft shows!
-My "day" starts around 6pm
-I get up, feed the dogs, and have something to eat with Drew
-We talk about what I did the night before, and how his day went. We then walk the dogs, or watch some prime time TV.
-Around 11pm, Drew heads off to bed I get to work packing orders. After all orders are packed, I restock anything that has sold if the supplies are on hand.
-If I'm having a bad day (health wise), I soak in the tub for about an hour and then work on the computer checking emails, updating my social networks, reading up on industry news, and ordering supplies.
-If I'm having a good day, I skip the soak in the tub and work on building up stock for a couple hours before working on the computer. I may also take pictures in the studio before jumping online if I have a pile of un-photographed items piling up.
-I finish my day when Drew heads off to work early in the morning. I feed the dogs, check my email one last time, and then crawl into bed.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I worked with clay and paper a lot. I've always loved sculpture and paper goods. I have a paper goods shop on etsy (that's how things on Etsy started for me) but since opening my bath & body shop on etsy I've had to scale back on the number of pop up cards I make because I simply don't have time. Instead, I list cards if I ever find a spare moment and fill the shop with cute rings.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

As I mentioned above, I started a different shop before BattysBath.etsy.com called ShesBattyDesigns.etsy.com and I started SBD because I really loved the idea of sharing my creations with other people. I can only give so many creations to my friends and family before they have to start giving them to other people haha.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

My first sale in my soap show came the first day I officially opened the doors and started listing! This didn't happen by sheer luck though! I did a lot of work up prep before I started to list and I got a lot of experience "learning the ropes" with my first etsy shop which helped me know how to pull off a successful launch.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: cereal, cheese cake, donuts, smoothies, blueberries
TV Shows: lost, SVU, without a trace, cold case, and just about every reality show!
Bands: cyndi lauper, sugar land, miranda lambert, dixie chicks, the wreckers

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I've tried pretty much every craft medium there is but I'd really like to get good at knitting and guitar. If I had to put everything on how and just focus on learning ONE thing for a month, I would definitely either knitting or guitar :)

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I would suggest getting in the etsy forums first! There's tons of information there - it's like a GOLD mine! Plus, you might find some threads that interest you that you can post on. Remember, every post in the forums makes a link back to your shop and helps the Etsy community get to know you better. Be yourself, be helpful, and give back as much as you get :)

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

bestuffies.etsy.com
weezi.etsy.com
HatBoxStudio.etsy.com

-One year from now, I hope...

To have increased my etsy sales and have grown my business online to the point where I can reduce the amount of craft shows I need to do. Right now I have a craft show, home party, or other selling event happening EVERY weekend. This really takes a hit on my health and I often spent the first few days of the week recovering, which in turn, decreases the amount of time I have to restock, market, develop new products, and work online. My goal is to only have to do 1 to 2 events per month and be able to be able to pick and choose the events I REALLY enjoy doing (like the Bizarre Bazaar in Toronto, ON and our once a month "Beehives, Bubbles & Bows" event at Weezi in London, ON).
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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 :)

#219 unofficial etsy featured seller - talk2thetrees

#219 unofficial etsy featured seller - talk2thetrees
Date joined etsy- 4/22/09
Sales to date - 395-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Rachael. I am currently living in Little Rock, Arkansas with my husband and our two crazy pets, Mowgli and Fungus. We've been moving around the country a lot in these last two years having tons of fun and crazy adventures. I love pizza, Chinese food, and anything raspberry flavored. Oh and I love chocolate.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I wake up around noon to my pup Mowgli begging to go "good boy outside." My day officially starts around one after I shower and get dressed (of course.) I spend about 30 minutes checking my email and answering convos. Then I finish up a few orders and run to the post office. Yes, I have actually ran there. I get home around 5 and I check any emails and blog for a little bit, maybe eat something for lunch. At 6 pm I work on orders while I watch movies until about 9 pm when my husband gets home from work. I take a short break and cook us dinner. Around 10 I get back to work filling orders. I usually go to bed around 3 or 4 am.
(I have a pretty weird schedule and eat about one meal a day.)
I take most weekends off for painting and sewing and other creative projects.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was very creative growing up. I remember I was always drawing when I was little. I knew from an early age I wanted to be an artist. I would stay up all night while I was in high school to paint or sew. I would go to school the next day and sleep through any "non art classes."
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Last November I learned how to knit. I loved it so much I just kept knitting. Pretty soon I had a huge pile of hats and a husband who refused to buy me more yarn until I figured out what to do with that pile. I had an unused Etsy account already that I made before we were even married so I listed my hats and a few paintings I had done.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I got my first sale a day or so after I listed my first item. I really have no idea how it happened because the pictures were just terrible!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods:
Pizza
Chocolate
Raspberries
Tomatoes
Fried Okra
French Fries

Tv Shows:
Ghosthunters
X-files
Family Guy
Anything on the History Channel
Shark Week

Bands:
Stars
A Fine Frenzy
Azure Ray
Bright Eyes
The Weepies

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I would like to learn to cook better, and get better at painting.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I need to learn how to promote my own shop! So far I just have a Facebook page and a blog. I would recommend a blog for sure.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

theblackapple
Blueberryshoes
Loveerica

-One year from now...

I hope to be doing exactly what I'm doing now! Waking up everyday and getting to do the things that I love without having a "real job."

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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 :)

#218 unofficial etsy featured seller - bipolarbettygoods

#218 unofficial etsy featured seller - bipolarbettygoods
Date joined etsy- 8/9/09
Sales to date - 823
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Betty and I am frantically, fatally in love with anyone who gives me any little bit of attention. Where I live does not matter as much as where you live; that is where I can be found at night, prowling around my customers bedroom windows. If I could, I would make myself teensy, the size of a troll or Pretty Pony, that you could carry around in your pocket and then put me in water and I’d grow life size right before your eyes! Like a sea monkey or piles of pill bottles! I have 30+ cats that I have trained to move along the house in one tightly knit mass. Therein, I am able to stand on their backs and ride them like one big fur wave throughout the house and beyond! (Sometimes I just lay on my side. It is a comfortable way to travel, I tell you!). I tend to subside on long gone sweet memories of love and Chicken in a Biscuit crackers during the day, but switch directly to the vodka that I had infused with your forehead sweat by three; that way, I have enough time to get tipsy before I go out to the bus stop and stand on my (real life!) soap box to give the fifth graders a lecture on My Hopes for the Future of Modern Romance, or How to Turn the Dining Room into a Cat Box when in a Pinch (depending on my mood that day.).

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

First thing in the morning, I let the cats motor me around so that I can touch every doorknob in the house (including the stinkers high up on the cabinets!). I do this not only to keep my day on track, but to protect the balance of the universe. If I think that I’ve missed a knob, then I go back and start over. I had to back track for twelve hours once. But what is time when you are securing the Earth in its axis? After that, I have a various amount of household tasks that I attend to. There are “projects” that I check on. I say things like, “Are those ropes too tight?” and “Those ceramic angel figurines are so unique! Charge ten of them to my credit card please!”

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I don’t know if you would call it creative, but I used to draw chalk outlines of myself all around our sidewalk and on my bedroom floor, just on the off chance that I was murdered and then my poor distraught parents would have plenty of placement options. In the fifth grade, I began constructing dolls out of straw and dog fur (naturally shed, of course!) that had prominent characteristics of the boys I had crushes on. Some even had authentic pieces of hair, fingernail clippings and a few teeth (I bet the tooth fairy was bummed!) embedded in the stitching.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Some days, I think it was merely a subconscious trick to burn the tires of my anxiety and fishtail down the road of malcontent at warp speed like a pea green station wagon with duct tape holding the trunk down and no one at the wheel.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

My first sale was to a friend, so I can’t count it with any clear conscience. I think the next 800 sales or so were to my mother disguised as various other customers.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I can’t seem to get enough of QVC lately, that and Infomercials! I see now that you can by loads of sitcom seasons on DVD; I sure wish they’d make a box set for the last ten years of infomercials! I’d buy it in a hot second! I like to eat the centers out of white bread so much that I wish they’d just package it without the crust. Do envelope adhesives count as food? I go through about a box a day, just licking and sealing, licking and sealing. Some might call bill paying a pain, but I call it Lunch!

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I am interested in gravity, mostly. I like to trip on nothing at least twenty times a day on my way around town just to further my research on the matter. I have a theory that, if you test its patience enough, one day gravity (just like everyone else!) will eventually throw its hands up at you and you’ll just go floating up like you are preparing to install Kung Fu justice on the world.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I’d advise those asking me (in hopes that they never will!) about promoting their shops that they should eat a lot of crackers (Chicken in a Biscuit!), pet a lot of cats, get a taste for pride and crow, weep compulsively and fall into a deep depression at least once an hour.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

I guess you could call it love: I did, anyway. Due to the laundry list of complaints and subsequent restraining orders issued from these shops, I have to wonder: Doth ye Protest to Much?
1. http://dippylulu.etsy.com. (Dippy, you never called. Was it because I asked for my pie server back? You can keep it. Really.)
2. http://plumlanephotos.etsy.com Photos of places that I will never go because of my courthouse issued ankle bracelet. (OH Cynthia, you know it’s the gifts that keep on giving that mean the world to me.)
3. http://cherrybloomvintage.etsy.com. (Tara, I was serious when I said I’d pay top dollar for some hair from your brush and a tiny vile of your perspiration. I have a doll that I am making….Well, never mind. Just name your price!)

-One year from now...

I’ll probably be pushing a shopping cart full of cats and ceramic figurines around the city, searching in vain for that address you gave me that never really existed.


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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 :)

#217 unofficial etsy featured seller - mandeefranee

#217 unofficial etsy featured seller - mandeefranee
Date joined etsy- 11/15/09
Sales to date - 728-Name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Miranda and I am a single mother to three LOUD boys. ;) We have lived in Michigan for the last five years. We have three pets - two dogs and one cat (also ALL boys). I'm not a fan of sugar-y sweets. No chocolate (I know, I think that's an official sin right out of the bible or something), cake, cookies or candy (unless it's VERY SOUR, then I'll make an occasional exception... example: SOUR Nerds, we're having a love affair. ♥ It's serious) ;) I HATE bugs (though I love to photograph them). I'm especially terrified of the flying, stinging kind. I tell my kids to stand still when a bee is nearby but I usually run squealing in the other direction. I know, bad mom. It's an uncontrollable impulse, I just can't stop myself. I am abnormally frightened of natural bodies of water. In my head I know it's likely nothing will happen... but I just can't get past the fear that a shark or a jellyfish or something equally monstrous and terrifying will bite/sting/DEVOUR my feet. I refuse to go in lakes or oceans... but swimming pools are fine. I say 'dude', 'totally' and 'like' more often than a 34 year old mother of three probably should. I use too many emoticons when I "talk" online, I capitalize to emphasize A LOT and I completely abuse the ellipsis... and the exclamation point!! (oh and parenthesis too) ;)

-Describe an average day in life of "you"

During the summer I kept some CRAZY hours! (sewing all night and going to bed at 7, 8, sometimes 9am) Now that school has started it's back to schedules... I wake up at 6 and make sure my oldest gets up and out the door for high school. I usually sit down at the computer to check messages on FB, Etsy, emails, etc. At 7 I wake the other two boys up... and again at 710... and again at 720... ;) they're not morning people, just like Mom! Once they're out the door I finish checking messages/emails, pop in a movie and usually poor myself a Pepsi (my morning caffeinated beverage of choice). Then I move into the living room (because unfortunately I don't have a dedicated craft room, just my desk and the coffee table) where I start working on orders. I try to take frequent breaks because sitting hunched over doing all that hand sewing for so long wreaks havoc on my sciatic nerve and my arthritis (I swear I'm only going to be 35 this month). I work on orders and shop stuff all day while my boys are in school... when they get home at 230/330 I supervise homework and sibling battles, work on more orders, go to the post office, fix dinner, do some laundry, work on more orders... around 930/10 when I have everyone in bed I spend a few more hours working on orders (and sometimes I sneak in a late night postal run) before I head off to bed myself.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Drawing, latch hook, cross stitch... I'm pretty sure I've always had my hand in something crafty.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

When I lost my job due to the economy late in 2009, I opened an Etsy shop and tried to figure out what I could sell to make even a little bit of money, until I found a "real job". I sold three ornaments in December and then nothing else for about 6 months...

Out of my natural love of all things crafty, one day I picked up a holey sock that my son had discarded while he was getting ready for school that morning. And something unexpected happened! I turned that holey sock into a cute (if kinda goofy looking) owl. My son took that owl in to school to share with his class and over the next couple of weeks kids started bringing in their holey socks and asking Carter if his mom would make them a sock monster. After sharing with my own friends on Facebook I heard over and over again that people actually wanted to buy my creations. When a photographer friend asked if I could make her a "scrunchie with a face" I said, sure, and Lens Pets were born. Now I spend most of my days sewing and I'm totally loving every minute of it. :)

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I listed my first three Lens Pets on Etsy on May 25, 2010... all three sold the next day. Within a month I sold over 200 Lens Pets! It was quite shocking to say the least!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

FOODS: strawberries, raspberries, mandarin oranges, pepsi (that's totally a food, right?!), BREAD (the softer and squishier, the better!)
TV SHOWS: Alias, Lost, X-Files, E.R., House (that doesn't look good for you House... I seem to be some sort of bad luck charm for my favorite shows! the first four are all off the air now! watch your back Gregory House!)
BANDS: (warning... I am a child of the 80's, DO NOT LAUGH) New Kids on the Block (yes, you read that right. and I'm not embarrassed to admit it), Enrique Iglesias (I know he's not actually a BAND, but he's got the most fabulous accent... plus he's just downright HOT... so even as a singer all on his own, he's better than a whole entire band), Journey (but only WITH Steve Perry... because anything else is completely sub-standard), R.E.M., Maroon 5

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

When I was younger I started piano lessons, then quit after I think 2 or 3 sessions because it interfered with cheerleading practice... I still wish I could play the piano. Crafty-wise, I've always wanted to learn how to knit and/or crochet.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Frankly, I still think of myself as a new Etsy seller after only 4 months here! :) But I've had really good luck with the Facebook ads that I've run. I recommend searching the Etsy forum for a coupon code and once your shop is really set up, with a large number and variety of listings, run a FB ad. For me, it brought not only a lot of new fans, but a good amount of sales as well! And with the first one costing nothing thanks to that code, you can't lose! Aside from that just get your name out there where people can see it. Post in the forum at Etsy, post on FB, Twitter, comment on blogs... the more people that have the opportunity to see your shop the better!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

.....I have SOOOO many that I had a VERY hard time narrowing it down, but here goes...
*The Jae Bird: (SUPER adorable OOAK plush monsters, I'm personally starting my own little uggle army! ;) LOVE!)
*Bubbly Schnooks: (a recent find and Oh My Gosh! I want to buy everything in her shop! The most adorable artwork turned into super fun cards and prints and stickers and more! Super fun!)
*B Connor Design: (crazy wicked artwork, the details in her pieces are just amazing!)

-One year from now, I hope...

first and foremost, I hope to still be in business in a year!
I hope to have a much shorter wait time (or maybe even NO wait) for orders.
I hope to have successfully introduced at least two new product lines to my shop (I've already started working on one)


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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 :)

#216 unofficial etsy featured seller - Vivavivant

#216 unofficial etsy featured seller - Vivavivant
Date joined etsy- 12/4/09
Sales to date - 683-Give us some basic info about you:

My name is Meredith and I live with my darling Joel in the old Milton Schoolhouse in Alton, Il. The schoolhouse was built in 1908, became an art glass factory for ten years during the 1980s, and then was mysteriously abandoned for about a decade before we purchased it last year. Aside from (supposedly) being one of the most haunted places in the United States, it was left full of the former owner's random (but awesome!) stuff.

Before buying the school I was an office minion in a design company's marketing department- Joel was in the fine dining industry. Now, we've been able to support ourselves and our building projects inside the school selling our finds online, and using our building skills for other companies around town.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Mornings are a rush. Whatever time we wake up, I usually spend the first three hours of my day taking care of our pets (two dogs, two cats, twelve chickens), cleaning up the dishes, all of that boring household stuff. After that's all done- the fun begins.

Some days are set aside just for cleaning up the neat things we find during the week to photograph and list on etsy. Mondays, I usually spend the entire day packaging. The rest of the time, you'll either find me swinging around powertools with Joel and our volunteers, rummaging through dusty boxes, or pursuing my own artistic interests. Recently, I've been into making light fixtures out of found things in our warehouse- bicycle parts, chandelier prisms, floppy disks, old iron parts from the boiler....

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I have an overactive imagination that lead me to having a lot of imaginary friends as a child. My favorite "toy" was a huge bin of my mother's sewing scraps that I would tie and safety pin around me in various ways to create new "outfits".

Joel and I are really big into reusing recycled materials from demolition sites in the school- which demands a certain level of patience and creativity. Our latest creation was a beautiful suspended vanity in a bathroom made out of old slate chalkboards from the school.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Necessity! I've long been a buyer on etsy, and wanted to sell my own creations, but didn't know where to begin.

Selling our found treasures as supplies to other buyers gave me the confidence of working as a seller with the site- as well as a lot of practice on writing descriptions and taking good photos of our pieces. We started up another shop a few months ago, ThirteenTwenty, and I just sold my first piece of original art. I hope to someday make my living through my own work.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Not very long- a couple of days. But sales were slow in the beginning, so I wasn't too motivated to update the shop very often. I supposed I didn't want to get my hopes up. After about three months we were discovered by a very talented mosaic artist who couldn't get enough of the broken glass pieces we found. The first time I saw one of her creations using something from Milton- I was so excited! It really gave me the confidence to throw myself into etsy and make it a daily part of my life.
-Top 5 favorite foods?

Anything Italian! I can't pass up a good lasagna. I love growing fresh herbs for homemade pizzas and pasta. I've recently come to enjoy eggs- ever since we started raising our own chickens. For some reason, they taste a billion times better than store bought eggs. I make awesome omelets!

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing?

Oh, this list is too long. Everything I see, I want to know how to make it. Someday, I want to build a giant Japanese pond, learn how to make stained glass windows, weld a giant elephant sculpture, and make my own yogurt.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

There is a ton of advice on etsy's forums about photography, relisting often, making your packages special- and it's all true. I would add that taking the opportunity to really get to know the people who are buying from you is one of the most incredible things etsy allows. You'll meet some really amazing people- and they'll be able to give you the best feedback for how to make your shop even better.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

midnightboudoir
I recently met Glenda because she had bought a few pressed brass pieces form our shop. I'm always nosey about people's shops, and instantly fell head over heels with her incredible fascinators. I know fascinators are really popular, and there are a lot of artists who create them on etsy, but her pieces really stand out as being amazing works of art.

HidenSeek
I just purchased a birthday card for my mom from this shop- it was the most perfect thing! Her art is perfect for someone with "grown-up" taste who has never grown up enough to have stopped imagining they were living a fairytale.

XylocopaDesign
So geeky and cool. What's not to love?

-One year from now, I hope...

....to be able to slow down enough to actually get to know the area I live in well enough to not get lost.

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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 :)

#215 unofficial etsy featured seller - lisahopkins

#215 unofficial etsy featured seller - lisahopkins
Date joined etsy- 5/8/08
Sales to date - 784-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Lisa Hopkins. I live in West Lafayette, Indiana with my husband, Mark, and our two dogs and three cats.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

A typical day in the the studio begins with answering emails and convos and packaging new orders to ship. I update QuickBooks, take care of other administrative paperwork, and review my "to do" list for the day. I then get started on studio work, creating and finishing new pieces or sketching/drawing/lettering new designs. A good work day for me is one in which paperwork and interruptions are at a minimum and I can focus on creating. I usually photograph newly finished pieces late in the afternoon, create new Etsy listings, and write out my to-do list for the next day.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I've enjoyed creating as long as I can remember. When I was quite young I used to write and illustrate small handmade books. I still have a couple of these and wonder how I came up with the stories. I loved art class in school and I remember classmates would ask me, "are you an artist?" I always found this question puzzling and my response was something like, "no, I'm just a kid like you." I thought you had to be an adult to be an artist. My grandma actually was a professional artist, a painter, and when I'd visit her she'd give me lessons. We would paint side by side, with her instructing me. I loved those visits.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I got my feet wet selling letterpress cards in my other Etsy shop, paperdragonfly, shared with my friend, Julia. We were both longtime Etsy buyers, loved the venue, and decided to try selling our cards. Selling on Etsy was such a great experience that I opened my jewelry shop several months later.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Two weeks.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

food: guacamole, chocolate, roasted tomato basil soup, my husband's homemade manicotti, my mom's homemade jam.

I don't watch much TV but I've recently gotten hooked on the new series Covert Affairs.

Music playing in the studio lately includes: Lisa Hannigan, Bela Fleck, Rachael Yamagata, Teitur, Tori Amos

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I've been interested in learning glass blowing since taking a hot glass workshop.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I recommend making a habit of carrying business cards--there are plenty of opportunities to hand them out. If what you sell is wearable, like jewelry, wear your work--it gives people the opportunity to ask you about it. I've been fortunate to have been featured on quite a few blogs. It's hard to beat that exposure and I'm grateful to the bloggers who have featured me. My facebook business page (http://www.facebook.com/lisahopkinsjewelry) is a helpful promotional tool for me and I've also recently started a blog (http://lisahopkinsdesign.blogspot.com). I recommend starting a mailing list. Give people the opportunity to sign up and then send out an email newsletter. I send one out quarterly. Joining an active Etsy team can also be helpful. I'm a member of two fantastic Etsy teams: the Artisans Collective and HandMade Division.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

It is hard to choose, there are so many....
Here are three I've purchased from. I love their work:
lottahelleberg
modernbird
WoodElements

-One year from now...

One year from now I'd like to be enjoying my work as much as I do now while finding a bit more time for other interests and activities.

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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 :)

#214 unofficial etsy featured seller - fashiontouch

#214 unofficial etsy featured seller - fashiontouch
Date joined etsy- 9/6/08
Sales to date - 687-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi! My name is Elena Polko and I am the owner and designer behind FashionTouch –
cool knits for moms and kids. I was born in USSR, grew up in Russia and now live in
beautiful Niagara on The Canadian Side with my husband and little cute puppy named
Waco.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I am blessed with a very supportive husband so I am able to dedicate my time to my
creations. I wake up around 6 am and take the dog for a walk. We all will have breakfast
after and I spend time checking orders and replying to the convos/emails. I do all of the
work around the house and chat with my parents over the skype (they are still in Russia)
in the morning. In afternoon I start working on the orders and create new items. Post
office run is usually at evening and right after I go for a nice relaxing swim. I need a cup
of tea with milk and honey after, a good book or a movie. On weekends I try to spend as
much time as possible with my husband and dog and it is mostly outdoors.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Housekeeping and creative arts are compulsory credits in Russia, so I learned how to knit
and crochet at school. Other than that, I think the rest are in my genes. My mom is a very
creative person.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

One of my friends suggested that should try selling my creations. At that time I started
researching how can I sell my creations online and found etsy. It was and still is lots of
fun and excitement!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

3 days! Oh, I was doing my happy dance the whole day! The buyer was another very
successful seller on etsy, She 1st included my scarflette in her treasury and then purchased
it! I was extremely happy!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Food:
Pelmeni (its like perogies, but with meat)
Sushi
Tomato sandwich with bacon (the way my husband makes it)
Ribs
Seafood

TV Shows: I don’t have tv connection, mostly watching online tv from eastern Europe

Bands (this is the difficult one:):
Sade
Georgian Duduk
INXS
U2
Lady Gaga

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I used to do pottery, it was very relaxing and enjoyable. I would like to return to that
sometime. And I also would like to learn to speak French and Italian.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

First and the most important is to love what you are doing. Beside that, if you treat it as
hobby, it will remain a hobby, if you treat it as a business it will be a business. Therefore,
research the market and create what market will take. I’ve tried many things to promote
FashionTouch, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Etsy does their best to attract
buyers to their search, now it is you turn to make them click your thumbnail.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

morelle
Silvia66
TianaCHE

-One year from now, I hope...

Myself and my family happy and healthy, finish our house renovation, bring my parents
to Canada, and have more business on Etsy


--
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 :)

#213 unofficial etsy featured seller - FerntreeStudio

#213 unofficial etsy featured seller - FerntreeStudio
Date joined etsy- 7/7/09
Sales to date - 443-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Angela Traunig. I currently live in Atlanta, Georgia with my husband, son, 2 dogs (a Dobe and a Rottie) and 3 cats. Yes we have a house full! Somehow I manage to cram a studio space in there too! I've always had a crazy amount of animals, so this is actually as close to normal as it gets for me. In the past (not necessarily all at once) I've had dogs, cats, parakeets, fish, hamsters, bearded dragons...you get the idea. I think the funniest time was when I had almost all of them at the same time. At that time I had a crazy little Bichon dog that liked to gnaw on the corner of the hamster's glass terrarium while the hamster ran around gloating. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

What else...I am a full time elementary school art teacher, a mom and a full time artist...so umm...can we say no sleep?! :) I love it though. What other things do I love...fruit, chocolate, salt, flowers, standing out on the carport watching it rain, roads that go through old forests, a brand new box of Crayola crayons and not using the gold and silver so they'll last longer...Ooo!..and the sound of the ocean at night when I go camping at the beach. That sound is kind of like falling asleep on the couch when you were a child and your parents were still hanging out playing cards with their friends. There's comfort in the background sounds and knowing that life is going on around you while you sleep.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

'Average day' is a total laugh when you have a full time job, an art career and a family that includes animals and a toddler...but ok, I'll give it a try...

I get up around 5-5:30am and get ready for work while my husband gets our son off to daycare. I work at an elementary school as the art teacher and get done around 3:30pm. If we don't have meetings I am home around 4-4:30pm. I have a snack and watch 20 minutes of tv and then I get to work either printing, packaging, going to the post office, drawing, answering emails, or surfing the web looking for business information, good blogs, advertising ideas etc... Around 7pm I'm fixing dinner for 3, which usually includes 2 totally different menus! I sit on the couch with my son while he eats (the dining room table is my work space, so he's totally getting bad habits) and then when he crashes at 9:30pm I'm finishing my dinner cold. I get back to work if I can (probably on flowers this time) and roll into bed somewhere between 10pm-midnight.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Oh yes, but I think all kids are. My favorite things were painting, coloring as perfectly as possible, and making landscapes out of real dirt and twigs and rocks glued to paper.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

All my knobby knee critters starting invading my thoughts while I was pregnant with my son. I guess the pregnancy hormones were fuel for art for me. I don't really remember how I found Etsy the very first time, but with the low cost to get started and all these drawings I had for no reason, I figured what the heck!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took me about a week to get my first sale. From the very beginning (my first sale even!) it was custom orders, and I started to realize that I had a great format for creating art for nurseries tailored to the clients decor.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Food... fruit, chocolate, cheese, casseroles, salty things

tv shows... Fringe, Warehouse13, Top Gear, House Hunters International, Star Trek NG

Bands...I'm much more about the individual songs and the singability than I am about specific bands.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

EVERYTHING! Seriously, if I won the lottery I'd have the biggest, best stocked studio ever, with a space for every conceivable art form!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Relisting/renewing is key. I spend on average, $100 a month on relisting/renewing. You gotta spend money to ...well, you know.

Have a decent sized selection (more than 1 page of items).

Check in and comment in forums and blog articles.

The most important advice I can give is to figure out what your market is, who is your target customer. If you love to create religious folk art, then you need to focus on websites, craft fairs, and parts of Etsy that are suited to you. If you create wedding jewelry then you need to focus on that narrow subset of the jewelry market. Find a niche!

I suggest finding a successful shop like yours, and figure out what they are doing. Don't be a copycat, but you can learn a lot by following a great leader.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Ridiculorum
TheFancyLamb
atelierBB

-One year from now, I hope...

To live in a house big enough for a proper studio. To be doing my art full time. To have another bun in the oven.


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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 :)

#212 unofficial etsy featured seller - orglamix

#212 unofficial etsy featured seller - orglamix
Date joined etsy- 7/8/09
Sales to date - 11031-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Cheri Tracy ...and I'm addicted to color, sparkle & cosmetics. I live with my amazing husband (my high school sweetheart) in a suburb of Chicago. We have two girls, ages six and three, a wonderful black lab named Winston and a chatterbox blue and gold macaw named Bam Bam.

I'm not a huge fan of ice cream (candy is totally different story), but I tend to gravitate to more unusual flavors; like Green Tea, Blueberry Lavender or Strawberry Basil.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

During the school year, I like to be out of bed by 6:00-6:30 so I can work for an hour or so before I have to get my girls up for school. I get up, brew some coffee (thank you Keurig!) and check my convos and relist everything that sold while I was sleeping. On average, I get about 50-75 convos per day. I answer them throughout the day, so I have have about 15-20 to answer in the morning.

Then it's time to wake the kids and help them get dressed, eat breakfast, pack snacks & lunch and drive them off to school. Once I drop them off, I head back to the computer to check my email, catch up on beauty news, Facebook and plan my tweets and blog posts for the day. By 10:30 I have to force myself to stop myself. I could spend all day online! I head up to my attic ‘aka lab’ to work on new colors and products or special orders and pack and pull orders that need to be shipped. Before I pick up the kids from school, I check in with Facebook, answer convos and relist.

Once they are home, we have a snack and hang out -- play, clean, laundry-- just your average family stuff. I make dinner, the girls hopefully eat what I make and dH gets home. We eat eat, give the girls a bath, read books or play a game or watch a show and then I pass out --after -of course- I've checked FB, convos and relisted.

This is my typical day; I'm grateful I'm doing something I enjoy and have the flexibility to do what I want, when I want. I'm on the board at my daughter’s preschool, a lunchroom mom and we travel frequently, so I often need to juggle my work load with real life. It’s a constant battle, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.xz

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I like to think I was creative growing up. I would rather take a trip to the arts & crafts store then anywhere else. I loved doing crafty things --hand painting furniture & clothes, making jewelry, scrapbooking to sewing my own clothes and handbags. In high school, I airbrushed a pair of suede cowboy boots rainbow. I still have them-- and they always make me smile.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

At first, my main reason for selling on Etsy was to test new formulas and colors for my own website; but I’ve been so busy, I haven't had time to build it yet.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I opened my Etsy shop last year. The first day I listed something, I had a sale. Since then, I've acquired so many wonderful customers. I'm super excited since I just had my 11,000th sale.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Although I love color, cosmetics and creating them, I think people would be surprised to find out (shhh!) I'm not very good at the application. That’s about to change, since I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and hectic life to go to makeup school. I can't wait!

My mind creates things a mile a minute! I'm also developing two new lines that I've been working on for the past year. I’m excited to see these come to fruition. I'd also love to learn how to make soap, but I'm afraid to start since I don't think I need another obsession.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

3 Shops I L-O-V-E
Curious Georgia - She has the cutest kids clothes.

My Polka Dot Pottery - Unique shower gifts

Single Stone Studios - Great wall decals (although I am having a hard time trying to decide)

One year from now, I hope to...

I think I've found my groove, so I'm excited to expand my reach and keep creating new and exciting products. A year from now, I hope to have someone special in every state representing Orglamix. Five years from now, I envision a retail / spa franchise that’s top-notch, yet very affordable that caters to moms.

I want to thank you for this wonderful opportunity; and all of my AMAZING customers for helping me spread the Orglamix bliss!

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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 :)

#211 unofficial etsy featured seller - zozobugbaby

#211 unofficial etsy featured seller - zozobugbaby
Date joined etsy- 4/7/08
Sales to date - 1675-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Julie Anne Martin...Salem, Oregon. I have 2 girls..Delia (3.5) and Zoe (5)..a husband named, Larry, and a cat named Athena. I can THROW DOWN some vanilla bean ice cream. I am TERRIFIED of birds. TERRIFIED. I grew up in Mississippi. :)

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

My life is INSANE. Straight-up NUTS. During the school year, I work from 8:30-4:30 each day, but the summers are chaos. I get up at 4 am to work most days and stay up late to do computer work. I have 2 assistants that sew the bulk of my orders. I move at WARP SPEED to handle my business and still get the family fed and tucked into bed at night. I am an insomniac to say the least. Zoloft is my friend.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I have been creative since I can remember...back to toddlerhood. I took private art lessons as a child and majored in Fine Art in college. My background is in Fine Art (drawing , photography, and mixed media paintings). I owned a mural-painting business for 10 years before launching my children's clothing line. Creating is like BREATHING for me. I will DIE if I can't do it.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

My best friend introduced me to Etsy. I never had any intentions of selling my creations until the demand for what I was sewing for my girls got to the point that I KNEW it would be successful.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took me a couple of months to get my first sale.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I am FULL-ON addicted to "Glee". I'm a Gleek and CRAZY PROUD of it. I also LOVE Project Runway. Food? SUSHI and anything involving sugar. Bands? WOW. So varied there. I love everything from John Barry to Lady Gaga. VERY eclectic. I hate Country.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

My secret desire has ALWAYS been to be a rock star. I used to play the piano, flute and guitar years ago..........

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

You HAVE to have good photos. Period. If you have NOTHING ELSE...have good photos. Also..BE UNIQUE. Etsy is RAMPANT with copycats. Find your passion and make it your own. Give the people something they haven't seen before.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

citefuzz.etsy.com, booandboofactory.etsy.com, and thatjewelrygirl.etsy.com (I own a crazy amount of her pieces!).

-One year from now, I hope...

to find that elusive BALANCE!

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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 :)

#210 unofficial etsy featured seller - owlsay

#210 unofficial etsy featured seller - owlsay
Date joined etsy- 5/30/09
Sales to date - 3203-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hello! I'm Kelley Terrill, owner of Owl Say Designs. I live with my husband/best friend and 3 yr old little boy in our 100 yr old 1100 sq ft A-frame house 30 miles outside of Dallas, TX (aka Royse City, TX). I love it here! I grew up in a small town, so our abode is the perfect mix of small town with all the amenities of a big city nearby. We have 2 dogs - Dixie (a mutt we adopted from the pound) and Delmar(a basset hound whose name I think should be Dexter, but I lost the coin toss). My studio workspace is also my dining room, so it's not uncommon to see a very blue-eyed munchkin covered in spaghetti while I'm desperately trying to protect my fabric, paper, computer, etc. Ice cream is the one vice I don't have, but put a freshly baked chocolate cake with homemade chocolate icing in front of me and you'll have to wheel me into the emergency room in a sugar shock - I, um, have a weakness for fresh baked goodies! I'm a serious night owl who was very fortunate to marry an equally serious night owl and have a beautiful night owl baby. I am already panicking about kindergarten hours and how the munchkin and I will cope with having to get up in time for school. My husband says we have 2 years to reform our schedule and I'm pretty sure it will take that long.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I leap out of bed and race to the shower to get ready and greet the day with a smile and a snazzy attitude. Ok, no, I don't do that. I wish I could. Really, I have to set the alarm and tell myself if I push snooze too many times the alarm won't keep going off so get your lazy tush out of bed. That's closely followed by drinking a protein shake while rousing up my munchkin to fix him oatmeal or cereal. Once he's occupied with breakfast, I make some hot tea, answer emails and relist items. The rest of the day is a mix of making orders to ship the same/next day, sewing orders for the next few days, lunch, more of the above, setting up busy projects like toys, painting, play-do etc for the munchkin, playing outside with the pups, saying 'No you cannot watch a movie until it's time for nap" a hundred times, finally starting a movie as nap wind-down, nap time (unfortunately not for me), finding some ridiculous, obscure movie to watch instantly on Netflix while I get down to some real, uninterrupted business, dinner and then more work. At some point during the day, I've made a post office run. If the weather is nice enough, we walk. At some point (usually late evening) I've also spent some time on the elliptical or bike riding. Then I read in bed for as long as it takes to shut down my brain so I can sleep!
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

My grandmother taught me to sew when I was 8 or 9. My dad was probably my biggest influence. I was always coming up with strange contraptions for my toys or school projects. I'd tell my dad my idea and we'd go to the garage and pillage around until we could find scraps to build my idea. It was an awesome lesson in how to turn your conceptualized ideas into something tangible. My mom made me take a home ec class my freshman year in high school. I was furious (because independent, no-nonsense business women do not need lessons in home economics), but this is where I learned to actually read and sew from a pattern. That practice was invaluable and really shaped my interest and designing abilities. So, I guess mom's know best right?

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

At the time I discovered Etsy, I was a new stay-at-home-mom and had time to focus more on my hobbies. I realized with the loss of the second income, I couldn't really afford to buy what I wanted, so initially I sold on Etsy to support my habit. I soon discovered I could turn my ideas into a business.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I was pretty lucky for OSD, it only took about 20 days. But I already had another established shop, Tattered Tapestry so I had a much shorter learning curve with OSD.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: Turkey Lasagna (whole wheat of course), anything from Chick-fil-a, Beer Steak w/ baked potato, a giant double decker cheeseburger (which I can never eat alone, but there is something about the meat, cheese, meat cheese combo that is so delicious), sweet tea (oh, my comfort food)
TV Shows: Currently - Chuck, Psych, Burn Notice, NCIS, American Dreamer - ok, this is a movie, but my all time favorite movie
Bands: Old School Country/Blue Grass, Tom Petty, Mark Cohn, Fleetwood Mac, Queen

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

My husband says I already have too many hobbies, but I'd really like to try soap making. I've done a bit of woodworking with my dad (he has his own Etsy shop too http://johnmorgandesigns.etsy.com) and it was very addicting so I could definitely see myself getting more into it. Plus, I plan to learn to play the piano some day. (See, too many hobbies..)

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I actually started a series of blog posts to help out other Etsy sellers. My two best pieces of advice are to start out debt free and have realistic expectations. It's a lot of work to run your own business and success doesn't happen overnight!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

This one is so hard! Aside from my dad's shop (listed above), I guess it's the most fair to give the ones I visit the most:
http://aliceapple.etsy.com
http://theblackapple.etsy.com
http://johnwgolden.etsy.com
http://wiseimpressions.etsy.com

-One year from now, I hope...

Ok, also hard...we are all still healthy and happy, we have moved to a bigger house in our same little town, to have a couple of patterns available for sale, to have another baby here or on the way, start a newsletter, have my own dedicated website...geeze, I should get busy :)


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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 :)

#209 unofficial etsy featured seller - blackbirdfashion

#209 unofficial etsy featured seller - blackbirdfashion
Date joined etsy- 11/27/06
Sales to date - 867 -Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

I live and work in a 100 year old house in Anacortes, WA. I live with my husband and we have a 3 year old son Caspian, and a baby on the way. We have three cats (including one that weighs 25 lbs) and a guinea pig. I am a huge ice cream eater, but my very favorite is Ben and Jerry's Dublin Mudslide.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Get up at 6, sneak in a little bit of crafting or house cleaning before Caspian is up. Then we have breakfast and I answer emails and do Etsy listing while he plays. We go for walks, go to the beach, read a million books, do some gardening, or hit the thrift stores until it's lunch/nap time. Then I sew while he naps. In the late afternoon, my husband comes home from work and takes over with Caspian so I can do more sewing and then we all have dinner together. We spend the early evening together and then (ideally) I work for a couple more hours after everyone else is asleep. It's a huge balancing act, and it never feels like I accomplish all I'd like to.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Growing up, I always had a million crafts projects going, which drove my mom nuts. I sewed clothes for my dolls, painted and drew, built tiny buildings and always made a huge mess.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I stopped working my day job while I was pregnant with Caspian, and that's when I tried to make Etsy a bigger part of my business. I love the idea of the larger crafting community, and Etsy is its superstore.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took a little while because I didn't have good pictures at first.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Blueberries, ice cream, Thai spring rolls, chocolate, cake.

The Closer, the Mentalist, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Bored to Death

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Definitely knitting. But I'm afraid it would take over my life.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I'm still figuring out how to successfully promote, but I would say being active in the Etsy forums and commenting on blog posts. But don't leave annoying comments and don't over post.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

slowshirts
geninne
cottonmonster

-One year from now, I hope...

To outsource some of my work, and to successfully balance two kids and a business.

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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 :)

#208 unofficial etsy featured seller - lettergirl

#208 unofficial etsy featured seller - lettergirl
Date joined etsy- 6/27/08
Sales to date - 2126-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.
My name is Gina and I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a 106-year old Victorian with my husband and our two awesome kids. I drink tea with milk almost every day, and sit at a very messy desk in a very messy home office. (I’m working on it! Any advice?)

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

During the school year, I usually work from 9-3 while my kids are at school, and then pick up the slack at night if I need to. Summer has been a bit more complicated because I don’t want them to have to go right from a school schedule to a summer schedule. I usually work in the mornings now, from 6-8, then spend some time with my kids and try to fit in a few more hours during the day if they have plans. Some weeks they go to day camps so they can have fun while I’m getting caught up.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Like a lot of other artists, I’ve been creating things as long as I can remember. I started my business, Dreamland, 18 years ago designing custom wedding stationery and holiday cards. After a few years working only with local clients, I started working with a handful of retail stationery stores around the country, and then in the fall of 2008 I opened my etsy shop under the name lettergirl.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I had a few sales on etsy that first holiday season, but my heart wasn’t in it quite yet. I still do a lot of custom holiday orders so I didn’t have time to devote to figuring out how to make etsy successful. I put more effort into it in January – and the results were amazing! After I uploaded some new items, I was featured on a wonderful blog (Paper Crave) and it’s just been crazy ever since. In addition to a number of really generous bloggers writing about my products, I’ve been doing some sponsorships and giveaways on blogs too. The blogging community has really driven my sales on etsy.

I actually wish I had more time to spend on the overall etsy site. Since I still have my design business AND etsy, I don’t have much time leftover for all the administrative stuff that goes along with having a business. I would love to hear what your readers think is the most helpful part of etsy for them!
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Even though I’ve handwritten thousands of envelopes, I am still not sick of writing. I also like to handsew garments, keep scrapbooks, and quilt. Right now I am focusing on having enough time for all the things I enjoy doing and not thinking much about new pursuits!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

My best advice for new etsy sellers is to give yourself perspective – spend time thinking about your product, why you’re selling it, what kind of business you want to have, and how you can make it happen. Time spent on “why” is never wasted!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Three etsy shops I just love are:
ChickadeeSupplies (she sells amazing German fabric trims),
EightSeasons (I’ve been itching for one of those iPod cases),
and TreacleToffee (because it is the first shop I ever favorited).

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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 :)