Date joined etsy- 10/17/09
Sales to date - 1980
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Gina, and I've been married to my prince charming, otherwise known as Mr. SCC for nearly 10 years. We have 2 girls, Lala and Bre. Our cat Buddy rules our roost :) We live way out in the sticks in southern Tennessee, 10 miles from ANYTHING - including our closest gas station. We love our shabby little cottage by the creek, it's the best place in the world to live! If I'm not working or blogging, you can probably find me snuggled up reading a book, watching NCIS (I'm a DiNozzo addict!), or playing around with my girlies.
-Describe an average day in life of "you".
My day starts about 6 a.m. with a daily phone call to my best friend, then I see if I have any computer business to attend to. Depending on what has sold, I'm either stamping, painting, sewing... whatever needs to be done. I check my email/convos at least a dozen times a day. I like to tackle things as they come about. About 4 p.m. the girls get home from school and then I basically stop the hands on work and just do computer work. Sometimes, if orders are piling up, then I work a little while longer at night.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I've always been a writer, since I was really young. I even got my BS in Professional Writing. It's the way I cleanse my soul. When I moved into my first apartment, I wanted it to be beautiful, but I was BROKE. So, I learned tricks to making a home pretty on a penny. That is my favorite kind of creative outlet.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?I started a blog in April 2009 to share the tales of remodeling our home. I was surprised at how fast it found a following. Several of my readers began asking if I was ever going to open a shop so they could buy the pillows, curtains, etc. that I did tutorials for. In October of that same year I opened shop.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
I got my first sale the first day I listed something. I did have an audience through my blog before I opened, so my "first sale" story is a little different than most folks. It took about 2 months before I started getting daily sales, and after 4 months I was doing it full time :)
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Like all southerners, I LOVE food :) Pizza, hot wings, a really good steak, shrimp alfredo, Corn Pops (I live on those!)
I'm a total TV Junkie! NCIS, Grey's Anatomy, The Vanilla Ice Project, anything Sarah Richardson, and Blue Bloods. I could list soooo many more. My DVR is always packed...
Only 5? The Beastie Boys, Michael Buble, Kenny Chesney, Maroon 5, and Jack Johnson (crazy eclectic!)
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing?Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc. Aha! I do a little bit of everything, whatever tickles my fancy, lol. I would like to become a better wood worker, I'm hoping to get a laithe soon. I'm always learning new skills to expand my market. I know that there is a truth to "doing one thing and doing it well," but I have artistic ADD and can't just do one thing!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Start by joining the Etsy community: hang out in the forums, join a team, find friends. I also highly suggest blog advertising, on one that fits your audience. It's the single biggest thing I've done to help my business grow.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
I ♥ SadieOlive, AirportLoveStory and JKPhotography, there are so many great shops on Etsy!
-One year from now...
I hope I'm finished remodeling my house - seriously we've been working on it 3 years now. But on the business end, I hope to have our furniture line up and running, it's been a long time dream of ours.
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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 :)
