Date joined etsy- 5/28/08
Sales to date - 1809
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name, like my shop, is Julie. I live and work in a 90 year old bungalow in South Minneapolis, just a few blocks from the Mississippi river. My husband and I have 3 children – 1 in middle school, 1 in elementary school and 1 preschooler. The kid’s make my days long, but the years are flying by!
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
Unlike most creative types, I’m a morning person. My ideal day starts very early, usually sometime between 5-6am. I love tip-toeing around with my coffee cup in one hand while I sort through fabric or jump online with the other before everyone gets up. I’ll make a list of what needs to get cut and sewn that day, prep my fabrics, and then it’s time to get my middle son up and on the bus by 7am. I have an hour to pack orders and respond to requests, and then I spend an hour with my oldest before he’s off to school. My youngest loves her sleep. Most days she’ll sleep until 10:30am, giving me time to get a bit more work done. Once she’s up, it’s all about her and getting stuff done around the house. Its regular household stuff the rest of the day – errands, homework, play dates, dinner and dishes. I’ll usually grab a couple more hours of work before I crash for the night.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
Growing up my favorite book was #11, Make and Do, in the Children’s Encyclopedia set my parents had, circa 1978. I’m pretty sure I made every craft in that book for Christmas presents, using paper bags, paper clips, lots and lots of scotch tape, silver glitter, tissue boxes and wax paper. I was certain they would be treasured heirloom pieces! Math was my least favorite class.
What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I had a great part-time job doing graphic design work for a small local shop 3 years ago. I came across Etsy about the same time this company was closing. I spent a few weeks researching Etsy and was inspired by the Quit Your Day Job’ articles. Fortunately my husband’s income pays for the majority of our household bills, but we still needed my income to make ends meet, so I opened my shop 2 ½ years ago.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
When I started my shop I knew I had a short time to make it work before I would need to look elsewhere for an income. I spent the first couple of months on Etsy studying everything I could, and absorbing all the advice successful shops were sharing. It didn’t take long to get those first precious sales. It took a few months to get consistent sales and to realize that it could be a viable income.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Coffee – Beer – Thai Food– Grilled Pizza – Desserts
I’ll watch anything on Bravo – it’s my guilty pleasure!
I generally listen to talk radio, but for music, I’m currently loving the Avett Bros. I’ve loved U2 since they released War and could listen to Nirvana Unplugged all day long.
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
When I first started selling on Etsy, I was intrigued by all the handmade soaps. I could click around in soap shops all day long and often would make my husband ‘look-look’, until we decided to get some supplies and make a few batches. We gave a lot away and simply haven’t made the time to make another batch. I learned it takes a lot more essential and fragrance oils than we were using and that you need more than one scent to make others come out. I’d love to make a few more batches to see if we can come up with some nicer scents than what we produced!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
The best advice I found on Etsy is to list every day and if you don’t have new items, give yourself a daily budget for renewing. Once I started doing this, consistent sales started flowing in. I haven’t had time to blog or twitter, but I’d love to get more involved with marketing via Facebook in the next year. Making Treasuries are another great way to discover cool things and get discovered.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
LoranScruggs – she makes the coolest upcycled items from bottle caps and recycled metal.
HideNSeek - love the style of her work and have one of her prints hanging in our living room.
SewSweetStitches – I think her work is stunning!
-One year from now...
My youngest will be getting ready for school, and I can plan for days that include 6 hours of un-interrupted work giving me the ability to turn it off when the house fills back up in the afternoon.
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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 :)
