Date joined etsy- 6/15/09
Sales to date - 1148
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.Hi! I'm Kayan, most people call me Kay and I'm 24 years old. Though I'm originally from Hong Kong I live in southeast Michigan where I've lived for most of my life. I studied actuarial mathematics and had a brief fling with going to dental school but somehow ended up making candy and freelance writing for a living.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
My day usually begins around noon. I do most of my baking and candy making at our family restaurant at night so as a night owl, this lifestyle is perfect for me! In the afternoons, I'm busy answering customer emails and convos as well as doing administrative work, taking pictures, and listing new items. At night from about 9-3 I'm in the kitchen making some candy magic as well as packing tomorrow's orders. When I'm not working on candy orders I'm busy writing or working on my websites (aka my real job).
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I was creative from the start! I remember sewing clothes for my dolls, making friendship bracelets, asking for pounds of seed beads for my birthday, just pick a craft and chances are I've dabbled in it!
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I played with the idea of selling on etsy for a while, but didn't put anything up for several months. Then one day after trying my cookies one of my friends told me I should sell them. Within a day of listing the cookies I got my first sale. From there Fusion Sweets has gone from cookies to marshmallows, caramels, and hard candies.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
Once I finally motivated myself to put something up, less than a day.
Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?Books:
B.F.'s Daughter
The Rain Before It Falls
A Gathering of Lace
Heart of Darkness
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Movies:
Amelie
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Simpsons
Silence of the Lambs
All About Eve
Double Indemnity
Rear Window
Music:
Massive Attack
Kylie Minogue
Kraftwerk
Goldfrapp
The Human League
Sites:
ravelry
knitty
sayhey
101cookbooks
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Well like I've said, I'm a bit of a dabbler, and in addition to cooking and baking also knit, sculpt, play violin, fold origami, sew, weave, bead, and draw.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Focus on generating buzz for your shop, get bloggers talking about your products with reviews and giveaways. Also, even though your shop is online, don't forget to target your local market.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
http://www.etsy.com/shop/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/
-One year from now...
Doing exactly the same thing, would love to have my own candy shop!
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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 :)
