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 :)
