Date joined etsy- 6/18/08
Sales to date - 1000
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.My name is Sylke and I live in Brooklyn NY. I have no kids and no pets, it’s just my husband and me in our tiny insy winsy studio aka our apartment.
Describe an average day in life of "you".
I wake early, 5:30 or so make coffee and check my etsy shop for any overnight sales and messages. If I have orders to fill, I usually print a couple before I head of to my J>O>B.
Once I return from work I usually print a few more orders, sew in labels and prepare these for shipping etc. Then we have dinner and usually watch a movie before I crash.
Currently I am also taking evening draping course at FIT. This is twice a week, so in addition I also squeeze in my homework somewhere in between everything else.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?
I can’t say I was very creative growing up, but I always felt an itch in my hands, but just did not know how to relief it. Then one day a good friend of mine, gave me a blank square note book, in which I started to doodle whenever I had a “time to kill”. Eventually I started to draw on bigger pads. When my husband saw my doodles for the first time he suggested printing them on t-shirts. It took him quite a while to convince me to take screen-printing classes.
When I finally relented, I discovered I really enjoyed it.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I came across etsy through a friend at work just about the same time as I was taking screen printing courses, when I saw all the other fabulous screen printing shops doing well, it thought why not.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
17 days
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?
Jamaican cooking – ackee and saltfish,
Japanese cuisine, anything that has sea urchin or eel in it,
I can’t live without avocado.
My mother’ cheese cake
Fava beans eaten in Italy.
I rarely watch any TV shows, except for HBO on Sunday night, boardwalk empire, eastbound and down, true blood, etc etc etc.
I LOVE reggae music.
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.
Yes, I have been taking sewing classes and I am taking a draping course now. I would love to eventually create my own line of tee-shirts, shift dresses, etc.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?
Take great pictures, renew your listings often, make treasuries, maybe join a treasury making team. Once you start selling offer great customer service, answer inquiries quickly, ship in a timely manner, be accessible. Buyers LOVE great customer service.
-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?
Ahh there are sooo many talented sellers on etsy, it’s so unfair to only call out 3 …
marysgranddaughter
childrenbluesky
almapottery
-One year from now...
Stop working my J>O>B
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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 :)
