unofficial etsy featured sellers

The Burlap Bag - It's Open!!

2011-09-15T12:16:00.003-05:00

Well, our retail store is officially open! It's at 30th and Guadalupe in Austin. Please come check it out and say hi!

http://www.facebook.com/TheBurlapBag

Retail Shop!

2011-07-28T09:33:00.004-05:00

Sorry I've let this blog die for awhile now, hopefully one day I will return to featuring awesome etsy artists.

I've been super busy because we are opening our own retail shop in downtown Austin!!! It will be called The Burlap Bag.
We have been buying items from the best etsy sellers and are super excited to open in about a month.
Please "like" our facebook page and tell everyone you know :)
http://www.facebook.com/TheBurlapBag

Here is a photo of our space right when we got it - so much is going to change!

#252 unofficial etsy featured seller - conduitpress

2011-02-15T23:40:00.001-06:00

#252 unofficial etsy featured seller - conduitpress
Date joined etsy- 6/20/08
Sales to date - 371
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Talia Halliday (talia like Italian without the I and the N and HALiday not hOliday;)) and I live in beautiful Bloomington Indiana (home of Indiana University) with my three mostly darling;) children (15, 9, and 18 months), my Loving nerdy husband and our three mostly annoying (but still affectionate and beautiful) cats. I'm a stay at home/ work at home mama desperately trying to socialize my gorgeous little boy while balancing creating/branding/marketing a handmade business in my 'down' time. I want my baby to be proud of his mama.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Ha! Well, that's quite boring, but you asked;) We wake up late. We're late sleepers (and when I say we I mean the baby, Griffin, and I ). Once the morning starts we eat our yogurt or oatmeal and watch a little tv while I check Etsy orders and emails. The mornings are then usually spent at library play or open gym. I have to keep pretty organized since my time to work is in fits and starts throughout the day. I usually get a good two hours of work during nap time so I'm able to package and photograph anything that needs done and then start whatever work needs to be finished that night. Once naptime is over it's back to the mom grind until just after dinner when daddy takes over and I use that time to catch up on convo's and emails and the such. I'm part of a treasury team on Etsy (The Treasury Tree) and so I try to use this time to make new treasuries and comment on the ones that have come up throughout the day. Once the baby goes down for the night is when my work-night begins. If I stay organized enough throughout the day I'm able to set up what I need to get done before the night starts and that really helps with my production;) By morning I usually have a whole new batch of books to photograph and/or list, and the process starts all over again.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was a constant photographer and book maker whilst growing up. I had a camera everywhere I went and with that camera came the album those pictures would live in. I was also an avid journaler, so a journal/sketchbook was also following me around most of the time. Not much has changed really.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I wanted to quit my day job. All of them. I wanted to be able to stay home and not feel guilty about it and not be stifled by working in an office space with cubicle walls and to-do lists. I wanted freedom.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Technically, not that long. My mother-in-law bought like three things from my shop within the first few weeks of me opening my shop. But, in reality, it was about 4 months I guess before a 'stranger' bought something from me and then it was really just in fits and starts. When I first opened my store in June of 2008, I was still working and in school. Etsy was just something I did on the side with all the things I Loved to make and was making anyway. Not until this past year (November of 2009) did I really start taking Etsy seriously as a full time gig and not until November of 2010 did I sort of become successful with it.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

foods
1. ice cream
2. grapes
3. watermelon
4. cheese
5. Chicken Tikka Masala

tv shows
1. parenthood (HIGHLY underrated)
2. Fringe
3. House
4. Crime and Law shows like Without a Trace, CSI, and Criminal Minds
5. Desperate Housewives

Bands
1. tori amos
2. ani difranco
3. vienna teng
4. nin
5. tool

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I have always wanted to do stained glass and blown glass. Never tried either. But I will.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Just whatever everyone else says. Good Photos. And always be thinking of new lines of products- new ways to make your product and change it up- be different from those around you and find something that makes you YOU. Someone will notice you.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

There are just SO many great shops out there! I'll choose a couple local Indiana shops and one for the road. Just too many great shops to choose from!

Sadly Harmles s - adorable and thought provoking animal illustrations - Love her work
erin a ellis - i bought my son a griffin chubikin from her shop and I just ADORE it!
Spice of Life Designs - beautiful handmade one of a kind jewelry like I've never seen before

-One year from now...

Have my own studio (instead of a dining room nook) and more hours in the day to work. A few new lines of books and book safes and exposure from a few new shops on the horizon.

Ways to contact conduitpress:
Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/conduitpress
Website: http://conduit-press.com/
Blog: conduit-press.com/blog/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/conduitpress
Twitter: twitter.com/conduitpress

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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 :)

#251 unofficial etsy featured seller - exlibrishandmade

2011-02-14T20:54:00.000-06:00

#251 unofficial etsy featured seller - exlibrishandmade
Date joined etsy- 4/5/08
Sales to date - 326-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

I’m Victoria and I live in downtown Albany, NY with my husband Skye, 7-year-old daughter Tigerlily and 4-year-old son Lyric. Our house is an old carriage house that Skye renovated into a super awesome apartment. The garage used to house a boat-building and repair shop so it is known around the ‘hood as The Boatshop. I work from home in an ever-evolving art and studio space that I carved out for me and my kids to share. Of course, as a fabric hoarder my supply storage stretches well beyond my work space and is likely to take over the rest of our home someday. Thanks to my daughter I love fireworks ice cream (with Pop Rocks!) and we don’t have pets, unless you count our red wigglers and the collective neighborhood chickens!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I am not an early riser so I usually stumble out of bed around 8am when I hear my kids raiding the cabinets to try to sneak some chocolate chips before school. I get the kids washed and brushed and dressed and Skye gets them off to school, which luckily is right next door and provides breakfast! My big goal for this year is to be up and going early enough so that I can do a bit of exercise and be dressed and cheery before my kids are awake (and full of chocolate chips).

When Skye and the kids have gone off on their daily adventures I sit down at the computer with coffee. I do a general once over of my shop, email, and reader and generate a to-do list for the day. If all goes smoothly this takes no more than an hour, and then it’s production time! I generally create for 4 to five hours during the day before the kids come home from school. My biggest challenge: staying focused on work with piles of laundry staring me down and the allure of the internet calling to me.

The family usually hangs out together for the afternoon into evening reading, playing, cooking and eating dinner and doing a bit of clean up, then it’s time to get the kids ready for bed. Once the boy is settled I read to the girl for about 45 minutes (right now it’s book 7 of Harry Potter) and she’s off to bed at 8:30.

Then it’s back to work for me! Having already been creative for a good chunk of the day I’m usually pretty drained of inspiration at this point so I tend to do fairly simple things. I try to reserve all of my handwork for the evenings and do embroidery and cutting of appliqué pieces while listening to a book on tape (which I do a lot during the day, too) or watching shows or a movie. I usually “work” for a couple of hours before switching over to a handcraft that I enjoy doing but don’t get paid for, like knitting, crochet or embroidery. Midnight is my standard bedtime.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I come from a long line of super crafty ladies so I don’t think I really had a choice! My Mom is the most talented craftsperson I know and I grew up watching her do everything from painting and calligraphy to crocheting tablecloths and making my Dad’s suits. From the age of 5 or so I was way into cross stitch and hand sewing patchwork from my Great Grandmother’s quilt scraps (and still am!).

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

For years folks have been telling me that I should sell the things I make but I never even considered it until I had kids and made the decision to stay home with them. I found that my need to be creative increased and it provided me with a solid sense of myself when so much of me seemed to be defined by my role as a mother. When a friend of mine thought enough of my work to invite me to share a booth with her at the Renegade show in Brooklyn I decided to give it a try. I opened my shop that spring and, with only a vague idea of what I wanted to make and sell, got to work making a totally random assortment of stuff for Renegade and my new Etsy shop. That initial burst of exposure from Renegade helped me hone in on my niche and gave my shop a boost that helped make it a success.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I had my first sale about a week after listing some items in my shop. I still remember the feeling!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Food: strawberries, watermelon, korma, summer blts, cheesecake

TV shows: The State, How I Met Your Mother (I Barney Stinson), Modern Family, True Blood, Trailer Park Boys

Bands: (Okay, I need two categories…)

Of All Time—The Magnetic Fields, PJ Harvey, ABBA, David Byrne, Fugazi

Right Now—M.I.A., La Roux, Beirut, Peaches, Lady Sovereign

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Everything!! But especially I’d love to try my hand at some book-y stuff, like printmaking, letterpress and bookbinding. I’d also love to delve deeper into the world of embroidery and do things like hardanger and bargello. I’m pretty hopeless at all of that computer-y stuff and would love to learn a bit of graphic design on photoshop so that I can design some fabric on Spoonflower. Also, I’d love to be able to play ragtime piano.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Make customer service your top priority! I do everything I can to ensure that my customers have a wonderful experience buying from me and the word of mouth recommendations that this generates have driven my business since the beginning. This includes everything from getting in touch when an order is received and sent (and anything in between) to making sure your work is at its best and packaging it well (and prettily!). I don’t do any social media stuff (partly because of time constraints and partly because I don’t really get it) or any advertising, though I do keep a blog which I think is valuable.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

KisforCalligraphy—I met Katy when she created a beautiful banner for the HeartsforHaiti charitable shop and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. I use her envelope seals on my packages to make them extra special.

andwabisabi—The cutest cross stitch patterns ever! I just bought a bunch to make for all of my kids’ teachers.

CrunchyClean—Ashley approached me about doing a trade when I was just starting out and it was an awesome experience. Not only was I introduced to the world of trading with other Etsy sellers but I found her amazing detergent!

-One year from now...

Right now our family is incubating a dream to move to The Netherlands for a year and I really hope that dream is still alive and growing! I love that, in theory anyway, I can take my business anywhere in the world.

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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 :)

#250 unofficial etsy featured seller - sealmaiden

2011-02-11T19:20:00.002-06:00

#250 unofficial etsy featured seller - sealmaiden
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

--
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 :)

#249 unofficial etsy featured seller - ElegantRoseBoutique

2011-02-09T19:53:00.004-06:00

#249 unofficial etsy featured seller - ElegantRoseBoutique
Date joined etsy- 11/29/08
Sales to date - 1832

-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Name - Melissa

We live in the beautiful state of Michigan on 6 acres. We enjoy being outside, raising animals, and spending time together as a family. I make all of our food from scratch, including our bread.

My favorite ice cream flavor would have to be haagan Daz Chocolate Peanut Butter, it's to die for, but oh so many calories!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I usually start the day making breakfast and checking my shop and emails. I then start packaging orders and making whatever needs to be made for the day. I take breaks to chat a bit in the forums and then back to creating. I love creating new products as essential oils are so versatile and actually benefit the body. We use essential oils daily to take care of headaches, stomach aches, coughs, aches and pains, etc..

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was always creative growing up, I enjoyed sewing and dabbling around in many different crafts. I've tried a lot of things from cross stitching, sewing, scrapbooking, card making, quilt making and now bath and body.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I started selling on Etsy after my daughter had started a shop(Dollcloset) and was having great success. I decided that I could do it too. I started selling aprons, rice bags and homemade angel ornaments. I decided that wasn't really what I wanted to sell and started exploring. I had bought some handmade soap from someone local going out of business and was starting to run low, the rest is history. March 1st will be my 2 year anniversary of selling bath and body products.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Top 5 foods - Pizza hut pizza, Fettuccine Alfredo, Lasagna, Green smoothies, ice cream, I know, quite a varied list. I try to eat healthy most of the time, but sometimes you just need a bit of something else.

I don't really watch much TV, I learned long ago that I had so much more time for other things if I didn't turn the TV on.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

If you are new to Etsy, I would recommend the following:

Spend time in the forums to get your name out. Ask questions, give opinions, etc.
Join a team, they can help give constructive criticism for your shop.
Take the best photos you can. Use a photo editing program to resize and lighten your photos. Photos are your ticket to success on Etsy, your customer can't touch or see your product in person, make it look great!
Depending on what you sell, you need to see how long it takes your item to get buried 5-6 pages so that you know when to renew or list something new. I see too many sellers start there shop, list all of their items in one day and walk away, not being successful. List at least 1 item a day. The more items you have, the more buyers you will attract!
Lastly, if it isn't fun, find something else.

-One year from now...

I set goals every year for the upcoming year, usually a sales goal or number of items in my shop. So, in one year, I want to double my sales from last year. I love a challenge.

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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 :)

#248 unofficial etsy featured seller - threddies

2011-02-08T22:25:00.001-06:00

#248 unofficial etsy featured seller - threddies
Date joined etsy- 12/28/06 - opened shop in August 2010
Sales to date - 445
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Elana - I live a hop, skip + a jump from Philadelphia proper with my husband J, our twin toddler boys and an extraordinarily lazy beagle. Threddies is a family affair - J is the official MAILDUDE in charge of post office drop-offs and is also our technology guru. I could happily subsist on Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch for the rest of my days. J is partial to the regional delight known as CMP. Twin #1 would rather eat green beans and twin #2 will inhale most any ice cream with gusto.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Wake up to a sound not unlike a freight train through the baby monitor. Unleash the kids. Perc a giant pot of coffee for me, steep a giant pot of tea for the hubs, make everyone breakfast. Do something with the kids... errands, playdate, build forts, etc. Nap time is noonish... they go down and I pack orders for J to bring to the PO. Kids wake up - make and eat lunch. Hang with kiddos during the afternoon while working... taking pictures, sorting things, whatever I can do while they're bopping around. Make and eat a big home-cooked dinner. Banditos take a bath and go to bed, I get down to business for a few hours. Meet hubby for some hangtime and then it's to bed around 1.

I am completely tethered to my phone throughout the day... answering e-mails, re-listing sold items, tweeting... that is a CONSTANT! We take customer service very seriously, so I try to get back to everyone within the hour (or sooner!) if at all possible.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I've always loved to sew, and used to have a small business making clothing. I have always been absolutely in love with the needle arts in general - embroidery is fun. Pottery has always been a passion of mine, too. I love making things as heavy as I can without making them explode in the kiln!

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

We saw a need in the crafting community for great, fresh basics as great prices. So I decided to offer items that we were selling by the piece (and at a premium) at great prices (in bulk).

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Not 100% sure, under a week though!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I can only speak for myself... foods = french fries, Manchurian gobhi (Indochine amazingness, you don't even know), my dad's killer homefries, my Bubbe's killer latkes and paneer in any way, shape or form. TV shows = Golden Girls, Dexter, My So-called Life, Sex and the City, and all of that Real Housewives crap. Music = Joni Mitchell, Hank Williams, Leo Kottke, Hazel + Alice, the Dead.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Oh man, I really want to learn to play the Banjo! That would be utterly righteous.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

The most important thing is to make sure your pictures are absolutely clear, clean, crisp and lovely. Use natural lighting. Make them POP. Then get social and get the word out any way you can! Keep on listing your items with fabulous keywords... stagger them... and make sure your stand out from the crowd. You want someone to find your item and go WOW!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Uffdadesigns takes our headbands and makes them into whimsical works of art. Really special stuff with a lot of heart and soul. OliveLeafStencils takes the art of stenciling to a whole new level, with the most elegant designs... just beyond. Sealmaiden is another favorite. I generally wear lots of solids, but her screens are so gorgeous.

-One year from now...

We're on the hunt for a few acres to get our homestead kickin'. Fingers-crossed, in a year, we'll have found it and will be building a yurt or something to run Threddies out of in the yard! ;)
--
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 :)

#247 unofficial etsy featured seller - 2kute

2011-02-07T20:37:00.000-06:00

#247 unofficial etsy featured seller - 2kute
Date joined etsy- 1/5/08
Sales to date - 326-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Rose and right now I am living in FL dreaming about moving to NC. I have 3 children, the oldest two are twin girls, married with families of their own. My youngest is 18 and still trying to figure out what he is gonna do with his life. Then I have my furry babies. I love my furry angels.
The 'top dog' is my Bambam, she is a yorkiepoo. Then we have Ellie, she is a terrier mix of some sort, she is a daddy's girl. We also rescued 2 more dogs Cage and Mercy. My son is a cat person and he has 2 cats, Cadmus and Kenny aka El Diablo.
I love to eat (don't we all?) and my favorite part of a meal is the dessert. I am crazy for cakes, cupcakes, pies, ice cream.... and most important of them all: chocolate :o)

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I try my best to accomplish the most with my days. I have some chronic health issues and some days I can't do much. First thing I do when I get up is feed the furries their breakfast, then I head to the coffee pot. I am very particular when it comes to coffee and I always buy Starbucks, coffee gotta be strong. Then I get my faithful laptop and check my shop, messages, emails, facebook, tweeter, see what is going on with my buddies, sometimes even spend a few minutes in the etsy chat room. Then after some light cleaning, I crochet. I crochet almost the whole day (cleaning and cooking get in the way)...

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was not very creative growing up. I almost failed Kindergarten because I couldn't use a pair of scissors, however I could color within the lines :o) Coloring was always fun!!! I lack skills when it comes to using a pair of scissors and tying a bow.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Back in 2003 I had a stroke and had to quit my job as a nurse. I thought I was gonna be back on the swing of things in no time. Well, it didn't quite work that way, I kept getting sicker, so by 2004 I was going nuts I was so bored and feeling useless. So I picked up crochet which I had done a little bit back in my teen years. Got some yarn, some hooks and a couple of books and taught myself new stitches and going beyond the granny squares. In 2007 one of my sons-in-law told me about etsy and that I should go for it. I was so scared... and I procrastinated until 2008 when I took the plunge (omg, I was gonna put pics of my work online, what if no one liked what I did?)

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Even though I signed up in Jan, 2008, it took me about 3 months to muster up the courage to list. After I listed a few items I had my first sale in about 6 wks.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

While I am crocheting I like to keep the TV on, I love criminal shows and Criminal Minds, Law & Order, CSI NY, First 48 are on the top of my list. And House, cannot forget Hugh Laurie now can we???
I also enjoy music. Love Pink Floyd, Journey, Bee Gees, Bryan Adams, Josh Groban....

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I would love to learn how to knit. Just the basics would make me happy. I think the stitching is so pretty... I am really hooked on fibers and any kind of work done using them.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Get everywhere online, Facebook, tweeter, forums, chat rooms... make your 'name' known. Be nice to people, always, and they will remember you.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Three???? How can I choose only three???? I will try
www.etsy.com/shop/BOWquet - this is where I shop for Bambam's bows.

www.etsy.com/shop/paperprincess34 Love her ruffled pants. Miranda is so very talented and a sweet person.

www.etsy.com/shop/hillsidebakery She makes the best buckeyes ever (told ya I like food) and she is a wonderful person.

-One year from now...

In one year I hope I will be living in NC, feeling better and crafting more. Maybe even broaden my crafting skills. I want to go around NC doing fairs on the weekends with my husband. Regarding etsy I wanna people to be thinking 'I sure need a 2kute hat for this winter' :o)
(Bambam, the shop mascot)

--
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 :)

#246 unofficial etsy featured seller - flowerbucketboutique

2011-02-03T22:33:00.001-06:00

#246 unofficial etsy featured seller - flowerbucketboutique
Date joined etsy- 8/28/09
Sales to date - 2079-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Jamie. I live in a small, very small town called Pima in Arizona. I have three kids, a daughter and two boys. Kensingten is 7, Taylor 5, and Grant 2. My fave flavor of ice cream is chocolate (and many of it's sister combinations), though I have been known to have pistachio at times. Aside from etsy, I choreograph contemporary dance numbers for a local dance studio twice a year. Since I grew up all my life dancing, it's something I make an effort to continue. I'm also a photographer, which comes in handy with my etsy ventures.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Everyday in my life is drastically different. Because I obviously do way too many things than one person really should with three kids at home, I have to manage my time quite specifically. Mondays and Tuesday's are designated as family days for house cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping. Wednesday and Friday mornings are spent fulfilling online etsy orders and the evenings are spent running kids to piano, voice, dance and gymnastics lessons. Thursdays are reserved for all creative work - new inventory, new listings, creating new pieces I've dreamt up, editing images from photos sessions, and vegging out with my kids watching a new movie, or sometimes not so new.

Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Growing up, I like to think I was a very creative person. Before my grandma passed, she used to visit during winter holidays and let us join her in creating all kinds of nicknacks - candy cane reindeer, hand painted ceramic ornaments, earrings and bracelets, shoelace hair clips, you name it. So I guess it started long ago and since then, the next time I remember creating was my wedding. Single handedly (with delegations for my siblings), I handcrafted my wedding announcements, made the chair covers and other decorations, arranged for a catered family dinner and anything else that came along. The next journey on my creativity is a fairly common one. With the birth of my daughter, I dived head on into scrapbooking and in turn into photography, purchasing my first professional camera when she was four. Then, after creating a few photography props, I started a small (intended to be temporary) etsy shop and 1 page of 24 items turned into 500 items in about one year. It's sort of become an addiction. I have an inspiration and it ends up in the shop. Let's just say, 2010 was a very inspiring year for the bucket.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I imagine the reason I am a hodge podger is because I always have been. Growing up I was a dancer, a gymnast, a pianist. I played the clarinet, the oboe, and was on my high school dance team. I dabbled in art, writing and choir, was a college cheerleader and maintained a 4.0 all the while.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I was actually surprised by how quickly I made my first sale on etsy. It was within a week. Since then, rarely a day goes by that I don't have at least one sale. I think part of it has to do with not being greedy and knowing my market. I have a formula for setting my prices, and I stick to it. I make sure all my expenses and fees are covered and I pay myself, not nominally and not over exaggeratedly. And as far as my market, my market is me, in a sense - other moms out there trying to keep their own style and uniquely dress their kids, brides who are concerned about budget, and other people looking for custom made accessories with attention to detail and personalized customer service. I like to think a lot of the shop's success comes from my mission to offer not only trendsetting accessories, but boutique quality at budget prices. I like to think that every piece in the shop could be purchased and worn by someone I know. I have a wide price range of items to fit all budgets, without compromising quality. What was really an incidental beginning has snowballed into a fulfilling everyday experience.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Top five foods:
- Sirloin steak at Outback Steakhouse
- chicken enchiladas and spicy roast beef tacos from Casa Mañana
- Mom's Eggs on a Golden Rod (biscuits with white egg gravy)
- Fruit filled crepes
- salad, all kinds of salads

Top five bands:
- Sister Hazel
- Goo Goo Dolls
- Taylor Swift
- Joshua Radin
- And the rest are just fave songs

Top five tv shows:
- Mentalist
- Lie to Me
- Fringe
- Chuck
- Human Target, Community and Outsourced (dang, I couldn't decide)

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

In the future, I have all kinds of plans for simple sewing, but with all my funds going toward my husband's tuition, I will have to wait till I can afford a suitable machine.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Hmmm, how to promote? That's something I'm still working on. Right now, I share my listings and treasuries and features on facebook and my blog, but you could also have a twitter account and other social networking accounts to use similarly. Join etsy teams and run promotions. Use temporary coupon codes to attract customers from your different markets. I run a different monthly special to encourage customers to come back often. I also have a flower of the month club and those on the list get other specials and products before they hit the store. I also offer wholesale discounts for retail owners intending to resell the items worldwide.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Three shops I love, besides my few etsy suppliers, I would be amiss not to list my sister's shop oldebuttonshoppe
And three unaffiliated shops include: missrubysue, ouma, and uberstitch

-One year from now...

One year from now, I would be happy to be exactly where I am now. Some goals I have for myself are to have one of my products make it to the front page of etsy and have one of my curated treasuries make it front page, grow my facebook fanpage count and stretch my creativity beyond it's current limits.

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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 :)

#245 unofficial etsy featured seller - Shelleyroze

2011-02-02T16:23:00.000-06:00

#245 unofficial etsy featured seller - Shelleyroze
Date joined etsy- 8/24/08
Sales to date - 362
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Shelley and I am the owner of ShelleyRoze Art. I live on a top of a hill in Belmont, Mississippi, about 50 miles north of Tupelo. I love living in Mississippi, as the people here are really great and the land is very beautiful. Most of my art is dedicated to the landscapes and trees in the area. My husband's name is David and we have been married for 21 wonderful years. He is my best friend. We have one child, a son, who is fifteen and our dog is a labrador named "Rose".

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I usually start the day at 5:30 a.m. First, is coffee, then I get ready for my day job in advertising. When arriving home from work, I get dinner ready and check my emails. Then, usually watch a little television to wind down. If I have orders to pack or custom paintings to finish, I start on those and finish working by 8:30 p.m. At this time, it's back to the computer to check on the shop and answer anymore emails, or sometimes I read a book.

Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Absolutely! I can remember making jewelry, art, dresses for my dolls or anything that I needed and didn't have. My mother is very good at drawing and she always encouraged me when I was little, and we have a very creative family. So, I guess it's in the genes.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Basically, I saw an article in a magazine about Etsy. I just had to check it out, but it was a little while before I actually took the plunge and opened a shop.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I had so much to learn when I opened my shop and didn't have very good photos etc. It was at least a month before I got a sale. Don't worry if it takes a little while to get a sale. Just keep working on your photos and your work until your business takes off.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Food: Chocolate, cheesecake, key lime pie ice cream, lasagna, pizza.
TV: CSI.
Bands: Duran Duran, Evanessence, Linkin Park and Def Leppard.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I'd like to try encaustic, and pottery.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Customer service is #1. When you open your shop, photos and listing new items are important, but make sure that you put your customers first. A happy customer will come back again and again, because they enjoy buying from you. Try your best to ship orders out as soon as you can, and if there is any delay, make sure to let your customer know. In addition to that, I would say that advertising is essential. Any advertising for your shop is an investment. Lastly, visiting the forums and participating on teams are great ways to find people with similar interests and be known. People in the Etsy forums are always very helpful and I have received alot of advice there.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Tim's Sally, Roz Art, and Paintchic

-One year from now...

I hope to have art in local shops and maybe even do some art shows. But mostly, I would be happy just being here on Etsy and to continue being inspired in my art.

--
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 :)

#244 unofficial etsy featured seller - TheShabbyChicCottage

2011-01-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

#244 unofficial etsy featured seller - TheShabbyChicCottage
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 :)

#243 unofficial etsy featured seller - banyantreeclothing

2011-01-07T14:57:00.001-06:00

#243 unofficial etsy featured seller - banyantreeclothing
Date joined etsy- 10/21/08
Sales to date - 452
Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Katherine. I live and work in a great old “farm house” in Eugene, Oregon. Though I am in town, I have a small creek going through my front yard and am surrounded by trees. I have lived here for 24 years! My house is approximately one half workspace. I have a tiny studio next to my house that is just for screen printing. I am a full time graphic designer and design and print t-shirts part time. My 26 year-old son, Jonah, has just come aboard this past year and he would like to quit his day job and work full time on the Banyan Tree. I have a chocolate lab named Coty and Yin/Yang cats (one all white, one, all black). I love pumpkin ice cream.

Describe an average day in life of “you”.

I get up very early, make coffee, and head right to the office. I keep pretty busy with my graphic design work, so that is priority one. Throughout the day, I check in on Etsy, relist items as needed and get generally taken in with all of the beautiful work, blogs, etc. I think up new designs. I get inspiration in just about everything I see.

Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Ms. Creative! I was the girl in the corner drawing in her sketch book., I designed and made a lot of my clothes, and touched on just about every craft known.

What made you want to start selling on etsy?

In 1984, the year my son was born, I opened a small boutique in Eugene, the Banyan Tree. It started out of my love for design and screen printing. I got into garment dying because I couldn’t find the right colors for my designs. I then started designing clothing, too and it became this little cottage industry. Everything was made in Eugene. I did that for 12 years. I loved it til I woke up one day and realized that more of my time was being spent on simply running the business. I sold my store and went back to school to learn the computer-tech side of graphic design. (When I graduated originally, there were no computers, it was all done by hand. T-Squares, X-acto knives and rubber cement!) Anyway...after getting back into graphic design, I really missed making things with my hands, and selling them, so I found Etsy and a balance in my life happened. Best of both worlds.

How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Just 2 days. Awesome!
Top 5 favorite foods, TV shows, and bands?

Seafood, spinach cheese focaccia, Mexican food and chocolate truffles. yum!

I do watch TV, but mostly movies. I love a good foreign flick. Anthony Bourdain, Chopped. Oh, I like that survival show with the hippie and the redneck. I forgot the name.

I am an old Deadhead and still love the Grateful Dead music. That is where I first made and sold t-shirts, to pay for traveling around to Dead shows. I love a lot of music. All kinds. I have been listening to real gypsy bands, just downloaded the entire Beatles catalog and am a die-hard Joni Mitchell fan.

Is there anything you’d like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I have 2 guitars and I wish I could play them well. Someday, I want to concentrate on really learning to play guitar well.

What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I am not very good in this area and could use some help, myself. I have a Banyan Tree Facebook page, but only post occasionally. My son sells at the Eugene Saturday Market in the spring and summer and we do a huge craft show in July, the Oregon Country Fair, and give business cards out and refer people to the Etsy site. We are just now trying to devote more time to promotion. The more sales the merrier! (How DO those people get 1374+ sales??!!)

3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Just 3? That’s hard. OK, I will pick them ever so randomly.

brookhousepottery

sarahclemensclothing

jennytrinh

One year from now...

I want to be doing the same thing with a little more space to do it in. I just feel so lucky and blessed to be able to make a living doing what I love. With a bigger studio space., I can love it more. My dream is to extend the house about 12 feet out. And I am thinking of designing clothing again.

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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 :)

#242 unofficial etsy featured seller - SavageArtworks

2011-01-06T21:11:00.000-06:00

#242 unofficial etsy featured seller - SavageArtworks
Date joined etsy- 1/26/08
Sales to date - 968
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Terry. The last name shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. I live in Vancouver BC Canada, a wonderful place. My husband and I are now empty nesters, with all 3 of our kids out on their own. We have one dog at the moment, she was rescued from an animal shelter many years ago. We have always had all sorts of pets though. Not a big ice cream eater, but when I do, it's chocolate.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I go to real work in the morning. It's a 4 hour job at a local elementery school, running a lunch program for inner city kids. Then I come home and catch up with emails, orders and things in the forums. I do a bit of exercise, any household chores, make supper and spend a bit of time with hubby. Then I get to do something I look forward to all day, and that's take myself into my studio, I have a TV in there so I can have on my favourite programs and paint. I work until bedtime usually, which is at 11.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I loved to draw. Back then it was animals, and pop art posters. My mom is very talented and we used to do art and crafts together all the time. I really got inspired from her.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I am shy and have a hard time selling in person, so I stopped. Someone told me about Etsy and it sounded perfect for me, and it was easy to start. I wanted to get a feel for selling online and expected it to take time. I really was hoping to make a small business for when I retired, even though that is a little ways off.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

A week. :)

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: lasagna, potato chips, chocolate, bacon, cherries ( I had to put one healthy thing in there)
TV Shows : Criminal Minds, NCIS, The Walking Dead, Survivor, Destination Truth
Bands: The Cure, The Beatles, Ok Go, Fleetwood Mac....I give up. Too many different ones and different styles to decide.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I'd love to knit well, and play the guitar. I would also love to make things with wood, but am kind of afraid of power tools.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Put on your snark proof pants and check out the forums on Etsy. Be respectful and you can get people to go to your shop and you can learn a lot.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

hard to pick 3
-fing (cute felted animals)
-littlewoodpeople( like it says, but very weird and creative)
-moonscreations (amigurumi)

-One year from now..

I would love to be doing pretty much what I'm doing now. But I would be happy if business was busy enough for me to do it full time.

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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 :)

#241 unofficial etsy featured seller - MapleShadeKids

2011-01-05T21:03:00.000-06:00

#241 unofficial etsy featured seller - MapleShadeKids
Date joined etsy- 12/2/08
Sales to date - 610
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Wanda Hirsch and I live in New Hampshire with my husband, 10 year old daughter, 7 year old twin boys and our two rescued cats. My favorite ice-cream flavor is grape-nut (I know, I know!). I love combining vintage and modern decor so our 1800 New England farm house is the perfect backdrop to add fun, modern pieces.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

6:00am: Rise and Shine!.... ahh, peace and quiet. With a big mug of hot brewed coffee, I check for sales, return emails and/or pack products to be shipped.

7:00am: Try and wake the rest of the family. No one, but me, likes mornings.

8:00am: Drop kids off at school and packages at the post office.

9:00am-3:00pm: Creation time! Glue, seal, cut wood products, sand, take pictures - whatever my goals are for the day. Enjoy a quick lunch with my husband, who is also fortunate enough to work from home.

3:00: Mom Duty. Snacks, soccer, dance, boyscouts, help with homework. If possible, put a quick coat of sealer on products if need be.

6:30pm: Family dinner. Eat, talk, laugh.

8:00: Kids into bed. Try not to fall asleep as I snuggle up with them while they read to me.

8:30 - Relax with book, movie or tv show.

10:00pm - Sleep

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I grew up in a small town in Maine climbing apple trees, balancing on old rock walls, and creating many “gifts” for family members and friends. These gifts ranged from drawings and magazine collages to painted wood boxes and pot holders – you name it, I did it.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I came across Etsy in a magazine article. After checking it out, I knew instantly it was the perfect place for me. No need to spend weekends at craft fairs or carting around 3 kids trying to pitch my products to businesses.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I posted a few products and waited and waited and waited for 5 long weeks before my first sale!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Indian or Thai food - bring on the spice!
Shows: Modern Family, Dancing with the Stars, anything design related on HGTV.
Music: Jack Johnson, Yael Naim.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I’m inspired by all the beautiful fabric out there and admire people who can sew gorgeous items. Right now, my children know to go to their dad if something needs to be sewed. Maybe someday I will surprise them!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Stay a top Etsy’s merchandising themes by visiting www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/ and reading “From Etsy’s Merchandising Desk” each month. Here you will find the hot items Etsy will be looking for and can create and tag items/treasuries accordingly.
Re-list at least a product every day. The 20cent listing fee will definitly pay off.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

www.etsy.com/shop/irenesuchocki
www.etsy.com/shop/herbolution
www.etsy.com/shop/ethanollie

-One year from now

I see Maple Shade Kids product line growing to incorporate new and exciting eco items and designs. Chat later, I better get back to creating! Best of luck!

--
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 :)

#240 unofficial etsy featured seller - galstudio

2010-12-15T17:29:00.004-06:00

#240 unofficial etsy featured seller - galstudio
Date joined etsy- 11/1/08
Sales to date - 537-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

We are Carolle & Richard of Galstudio, together for 16 years and having the time of our lives making fun things here in Vancouver, Canada. Meeting in art school we discovered that we have a creative bent and work very well together. So, we made it our goal to have a business together. Dogs are in our plans. We love them. And, we both see a couple of furry quadrupeds joining us in the very near future. Carolle loves to cook & Richard loves to eat ... match made in heaven.

-Describe an average day in the life of “you”.

A typical day usually starts with Richard waking up at 6:30 AM. He makes coffee and starts working on the computer. And, Carolle then drags herself out of bed headed towards the coffee. By 9:00 AM we have a quick meeting to decide whether to jump into production or go check out fabric & supplies. If time permits, Richard is off on a bike ride. We package any orders for shipping destined for 2:00 PM. We discovered that it’s important to take a 45 minute lunch break. Because Carolle is way less grouchy & Richard cannot function without food. It’s definitely in our best interest! We rev up the production between 2 to 6. After dinner, we do prep work and more computer work. Richard writes another cycling post & Carolle will kick back and knit.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Richard started model building & sketching as a young boy. Running & riding his bike was particularly fun too. Carolle learned to knit before she could spell her name. A natural. She tried her hands at everything; painting, model making & drawing Disney characters from story books.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Carolle was off work and had time to knit and be creative. Looking for ways of self-employment, she soon discovered Etsy and it was a natural platform to start selling her products

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

At the beginning we had a few knitted items for sale. We did zero blogging, no publicity, not really knowing how to take the advantage of the Etsy community. It took seven months for the first Etsy sale.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Richard loves slow cooking homemade meals & anything Carolle will bake. And, Carolle loves cheese and more cheese preferably with wind, bread & popcorn. Top this up with plenty of reruns of Star Trek makes us happy.

-Is there anything you’d like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working. an instrument, etc.

We would love to try our hands at learning the history & craftmaking of: wine, beer, & cheese in Europe.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Have patience because it requires huge amounts of it along with time & effort you will be rewarded. Sell something YOU would love to buy. It has to be of the highest quality that you can produce. There’s no excuse not to have great product shots. A picture is WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS! You must establish an online presence; Blog, Facebook, & Twitter. Tell your story and you product, people want to know who you are. And above all, remember that the customer is always right, so be willing to go the extra mile!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

We love these Etsy shops:

Yokoo
Fosterweld
Grimm

-One year from now...

We see ourselves in a larger space. Broadening our product line to include children caps & more diverse range of inner tube items. Have our products in more local stores as well as increasing our Etsy sales exponentially. We’re excited and grateful to be able to work and better ourselves while designing products that people enjoy!

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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 :)

#239 unofficial etsy featured seller - JulieMeyer

2010-12-14T23:52:00.006-06:00

#239 unofficial etsy featured seller - JulieMeyer
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.

--
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 :)

#238 unofficial etsy featured seller - psitsinthedetails

2010-12-03T09:12:00.005-06:00

#238 unofficial etsy featured seller - psitsinthedetails
Date joined etsy- 7/14/08
Sales to date - 529-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi! My name is Patty Schaffer. I live in a rural area about 15 minutes north of Allentown, Pa. I am happily married to my high school crush, Todd, for 16 years and we have two children, Sarah, 11, and Ben, 8. Our family also includes our chocolate lab, Sophie, two fire belly toads, Spotty and Hot Tamale, and an African dwarf frog named Toga.
I love ‘eye candy’ so I have tons of magazines and idea books stacked all over the place. I am an avid reader. I adore flowers and dream of having huge gardens in my yard some day. I am known by my family as Paparazzi Patty because I take so many pictures at our gatherings (they don’t complain, though, because I make family albums for gifts at Christmas!). My favorite flavor ice cream is vanilla and occasionally I like to top it off with some hot caramel.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I would say my ‘average day’ depends on the time of the year. I am a stay at home mom so my kid’s schedule dictates my schedule. During the school year I get them on the bus in the morning, then I spend my day running errands, taking care of household things or, my favorite part, creating items and working for my Etsy store (I am grateful for the flexibility that working from home allows). It seems like the afternoon bus stop pick-up time rolls around very fast and once again the kids are home. The next few hours revolve around homework, supper and family time. After my kids go to bed I head back to my art table or computer for more creative time.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I would say I was creative growing up. My teachers in elementary school had me help decorate the bulletin boards in the classroom. I made countless drawings for my grandparents (who thoughtfully saved them) and I remember loving to do paint-by-number paintings. I think I even made a complete nativity scene out of a tissue box, toilet paper rolls and tissues. It seems like all the crayons, paper and drawing of my youth was leading me somewhere because I went to college and graduated with a degree in graphic design.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I was looking for a way to be a stay at home mom and have a creative outlet. Earning some money along the way was a bonus. I came across Etsy about two years ago and thought it was a brilliant idea. I have to confess that I am now addicted to the site.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I had my first sale about an hour after I listed my first items. I have a funny little story about that..... MasterCard had just come out with the ‘priceless’ commercials around that time. I listed some items, stepped away to eat supper, and then came back to my computer to check things out. I saw I had made a sale and I was so excited that I pushed back from the desk while yelling “Yahoo!” or something along those lines and I ran over my toe with the wheel of my chair. My husband joked: “Listing an item on Etsy: 20 cents. First sale: $5.00. Trip to emergency room for broken toe resulting from sale: $1,000. Final sale: -$994.80.” (My toe was fine, by the way – no ER trip required!)
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Favorite foods.... mushroom pizza dipped in ranch dressing, lobster tail, brownies, Chinese food, homemade stuffing
Favorite TV shows..... CSI, Oprah, Spongebob Squarepants, Cake Boss, Little House on the Prairie (even though it is no longer on)
Favorite bands..... Linkin Park, Nickelback, Maroon 5, OneRepublic, Train (and I also love 80’s music)

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I often joke that I’d like to make duplicates of myself so I can do more. Of course I would need the Housewife Patty and the Mom Patty and the Etsy Store Owner Patty, but I would love to have Pattys to try jewelry making, crocheting and knitting, needle felting, and cake decorating. Just a few more of me would do the trick!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

This is usually always said in every interview, but I agree totally: Have great photographs.... there are so many tutorials out there to help you.
The most important thing I can suggest to new sellers is: you get out what you put in. I can tell when I am more active (making and listing new products) because my views and sales go up. If you list a few things and then sit back to wait and watch not much will happen. This is your business. Be active. Constantly tweek things to improve your shop. For example, rearrange items using the 'custom' option so your store is more visually appealing. Maybe you can group things by color in a row. Make sure you have all your store information filled out in the the profile and policies sections. Add your personality to descriptions in your listings. Renew and list often. The name of my store is 'P.S. it's in the details' and I truly believe that the little details make all the difference.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

•Danita Art - I love how she offers a variety of items but you can tell it’s ‘hers’ right away. I have several of her prints and jewelry pieces.
•Babes in a Blanket - Leann makes beautiful crocheted items, including scarves– I have quite a few of them!
•Sea Pinks - One word: ADORABLE!!!!!

-One year from now...

I hope to be better organized with my plans for upcoming seasons and for my business in general. I am usually a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl and I would love to be more goal-oriented with my business. I also want to approach brick and mortar shops in the upcoming year to try to get my items sold locally.
--
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 :)

#237 unofficial etsy featured seller - LuLusWoobies

2010-12-01T19:01:00.000-06:00

#237 unofficial etsy featured seller - LuLusWoobies
Date joined etsy- 10/24/06
Sales to date - 1531-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

I’m Tobie and my Etsy shop is LuLu’s Woobies.
I’ve lived in Southern California all my life, but just moved to Las Vegas 7 months ago (and love it!).
I share my space with my husband Brad, two crazy, genius girls: Sofie,8 and Tallulah,5, and my brother PeeWee (a Great Dane), two terriers Vinnie & Petey and a sulky little cat who hides in the laundry room.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I’m not a morning person at all, but still get up early with the family. I suck down a pot of coffee, fumble through making breakfasts and packing lunch and shuffling off to school. Nothing actually really gets accomplished until after noon. I terrorize the dogs a bit, get cleaned up and then make myself to get to work.

My typical work day is organized chaos. I’m happiest when I’m doing many things at once. There are always new projects and piles of fabric and yarn and needles and orders on my work table and desk at any given time. I sort of hop from task to task and then end up done within a surprising few hours. When school is out, I’ll run to the post office and then it’s pretty much family time for the rest of the day. We try to reserve weekends for fun and dates.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I had a very imaginative childhood with my 3 sisters. We definitely lived in a very strange little make believe world most of the time. I picked up sewing and crochet when I was about 10 or 11 and everything I made was a gigantic mess. I’ve gotten much better in my old age!

My dad was the original handcrafter in our family. He built the home I grew up in, the bedroom I slept in. There wasn’t anything that he couldn’t do if he put his mind and hands to it, and he never gave up. I love to think that I got my handy-ness from him.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Etsy was still very young when I started selling on the site. It was a very likeable place, personable, fun and friendly. It was a really refreshing to sell on Etsy compared to other sites, and still is. I couldn’t resist it’s charms.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

6 days

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I love anything with cheese and salt. I love coffee and beer.
I don’t watch too much TV, but when there’s time I enjoy Project Runway, Survivor, cooking shows and any program about the universe.
My favorite band is Radiohead, my girls love P!nk and Lady GaGa, my husband is into the 80’s and Vampire Weekend, so we have an interesting mix of music.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing?

I’m planning on picking up woodburning very soon! The new tool has been on my desk for a month now.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I’m a pretty quiet seller. As far as promotion goes, I could be a terrible example for others.

BUT, I’ve learned that taking custom requests is essential to broadening your horizon and getting out of the comfort zone. I’ve met some amazing people, repeat customers and made some wonderful friends this way AND discovered best selling items through other’s wants. The word of mouth referrals from custom request sales make for valuable shop promotion.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

I’m a big fan of ashleyg (since my beginning on Etsy) and have a few of her prints in our home.

The best service I’ve EVER received along with beautiful product was from idreamicanfly.etsy.com.

I admire greatly WrenWillow’s beautiful product, images and happy upbeat style.

Also, any shop that sells ridiculous dog and cat apparel is my favorite.

-One year from now...

...I’ll be creating like mad and possibly have my enormous to-do list half way tackled. I’ll have the house all to myself for a HUGE chunk of the day because both girls will be in school fulltime. I’ll probable be found wandering around fabric shops and Target talking to myself like a crazy person because my little people will be gone.

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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 :)

#236 unofficial etsy featured seller - DIYFluffies

2010-11-30T23:52:00.003-06:00

#236 unofficial etsy featured seller - DIYFluffies
Date joined etsy- 4/14/08
Sales to date - 867-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Mariska Vos-Bolman, I live in the Netherlands. I have two sons one 2 year old and a 3 month old baby. I love to create plush toys. I used to work in the game industry as a 3d modeller. I started my company Fluffels two years ago.I started my first etsy shop mariska.etsy.com. A few month after starting Fluffels I started to create patterns from my soft toys and set up the shop diyfluffies.etsy.com

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

During the day I take care of my two boys. When I have a bit of time during the day I check my emails, send the pdf patterns to buyers. In the evening I have about 1-2 hours to do some design work, stuff animals or make necklaces for my other etsy shop. I get to bed around 22.00 because my youngest still wakes up during the night. So not a lot of time to create new patterns these days, but I know that will change when the kids get older.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Yes I was very creative. I was always drawing, painting, doing origami and sculpting with clay.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I just bought a sewingmachine to make some things for my home. I made a plush monster and thought it would be nice to see if it would sell and it did! I also have a etsy shop together with my mom called fabrickitchen.etsy.com Which she does most of the work for. I help her with the technical things, like updating the shop, creating the banners and making the photo's.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
A few days in my mariska.etsy.com shop, where I sell soft toys and jewelry. After that I started diyfluffies.etsy.com which is a much more successful shop.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: chocolate, chicken adobo, sauerkraut, soup, risotto
Tv shows: Supernatural, medium, greys anatomy, eastwick, project runway
Bands: Pff I just couldn't choose, the music I listened to depends on my mood. I like bjork, coldplay, muse, amy winehouse, and a lot more :)

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Yes I would like to do some more crochet, which I started two years ago, but didn't had much time for yet.
I would love to learn Pottery baking to. Never tried it but it seems something fun to do.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Try to get featured on blogs :) That always seems to bump my sales a lot. I also have a facebook page, twitter and a blog that I should update more often. Blog can work really well, but you must spend more time updating it then I do.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

feltmeupdesigns so cute! I love her little birds!
DogboneArt Cute designs! Great clothes for kids.
jewelsvine I have one of here necklaces, such beautiful work!

-One year from now...

I hope to have more pdf patterns in my shop, and maybe some for a pattern book. I hope my baby will sleep through the night soon so I have some more time to make new patterns.
--
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 :)

#235 unofficial etsy featured seller - hushmouse

2010-11-29T20:50:00.000-06:00

#235 unofficial etsy featured seller - hushmouse
Date joined etsy- 07/30/06
Sales to date - 362-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Maggie Hurley. I've been calling Berkeley, CA home for the past 4 years now. I live and work in my sunny studio, whipping up plush creatures and whimsical paintings whenever I have a chance. I have one wonderful kitty, Miette, who likes to help when she can (which usually consists of her running off with a spool of thread to unravel around the house).

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I used to work in the corporate world where I had to be in the office between 7:30am - 8am. I left that job a little over a year ago to pursue my art, and now enjoy waking up closer to 9:30am or 10am. I stumble downstairs, make a cup of coffee, and check my email to see if any new orders have popped up overnight (which is always good news!). After coffee, I decide whether it's going to be a painting day, a sewing day, or a get-the-business-stuff-done day. Around the holidays, there seem to be more sewing days. I venture back up to the studio, put on some music or NPR and get to work. At some point, I'll stop to eat, or go walk around the block. Some days I'll work til midnight or 1am, other days, I'll stop at a normal hour, go for a walk for some inspiration, or hang out with my neighbors (who have a bunch of chickens, a couple dogs, a couple rheas, and yes, this is all in Berkeley).

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I think my artistic career started as a little kid. My mom told me I used to run down the hall with bunch of crayons in my hand, leaving streaks of colored wax along the walls as I went. I taught myself to paint as a kid by looking at Brian Froud's fairy paintings. I also went through an origami phase. I've liked creating things for as long as I could remember.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

A close friend of mine started selling stuff on Etsy when it was just getting started. I'd been struggling with the idea of approaching a gallery or store to get my work out - the whole process is so intimidating. My friend had some success on Etsy selling prints, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'm so glad I did!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took a few months. I didn't really put much effort into it at first, but once I started listing more regularly, things really took off.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: cereal (I kind of live off of it), blueberries, quiche, sushi, anything pumpkin

TV Shows: Community, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Lie to Me, Chuck (I really love any show with a female lead that can kick some serious @ss)

Bands*: Cee-lo/Gnarles Barkley, Florence + the Machine, Sarah Blasko, Yann Tiersen, Mirah
* these change daily

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Oh wow, there's so much I'd like to try. I have my hands in so many different mediums that I'm kind of reticent to pick up many more. I kind of have this secret wish that I was a ninja, so taking some sort of martial arts class would be pretty fantastic. I've never worked with encaustic/wax and would like to explore that a bit. I'm too much of a mad scientist for baking, but I make crazy wonderful pancakes (last batch: oatmeal/pumpkin/walnut/nutmeg/curry/chocolate - yeah, sounds kind of insane, but you should try it out)!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Well, I have a blog, facebook page, and twitter that I've used to promote my shop, which is definitely useful. I think finding other blogs that relate to your work for advertising is helpful. For example, my shop is packed to the brim with owls, so advertising on myowlbarn.com has brought tons of people my way. I've been participating in a lot of local craft shows and I always encourage people to take a card with my website on it. Word of mouth is also helpful.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

love love love Marmee Craft. Her paintings are gorgeous and I've found wonderful music on her blog

Scabby Robot - gorgeous bags and wallets

Field Day - one day I will buy one of those blue jumpers...

-One year from now...

I have this idea to open a workshop/boutique/class teaching space. It will happen.... I am determined!

--
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 :)

#234 unofficial etsy featured seller - plastique

2010-11-26T19:24:00.001-06:00

#234 unofficial etsy featured seller - plastique
Date joined etsy- 07/16/08
Sales to date - 2087-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

name: jennifer murse. everyone, and i mean EVERYONE, shortens it to jen without even asking. so really i guess i'm "jen murse"
location: los angeles, ca
kids: nope
pets: nope.... no room. i want a dog one day though!
ice cream: tiramisu gelato OR back to basics cookies and cream
fave color combos: grey and pink
fave #: 3

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

well, my day is usually far too long. i have a full time job and plastique* is my "side" business except that it's taken over my life. so basically i get up around 7:45am (sometimes i snooze til 8 and then i'm slightly panicked). get to work around 9:10. work til 6-ish as a web designer. that in and of itself can be very tiring depending on how difficult the client wants to be. i design the front end of websites, mobile apps, etc. it's fun but it can be a lot of hard work. i get home around 7pm and futz around on the internet for a moment. if i feel compelled i'll hit the gym and by the time that's all said and done it's like 8:30. i start working on plastique* work while my boyfriend makes dinner (he's awesome like that!). i'll do anything and everything from make jewelry, answer emails, post new items, shoot photos, or start designing new ideas. if it's a night where i'm packing orders i'll do that for at least an hour or two. typically around 1am i start to panic that i need to sleep but realize i have a bit more work to do. and by 2ish i'm in bed. wash, rinse, repeat. oh and did i mention coffee? i drink a lot of coffee.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

when i was a little kid i used to do a lot of art contests. i didn't really think much of it but i was always doing art contests. somewhere along the way thought i got sidetracked with my love of cash registers and forms. i used to LOVE creating forms for my parents to fill out. and i used to love playing with my cash register. so when i got older and went to college i thought that my love of creating and filling out forms coupled with my love of cash registers meant i liked "business." i also loved movies so i thought, movies and business equals wanting to be a movie producer and work on the business side of films. so i went to USC for business and film and along the way realized that wasn't for me. so when i graduated i went to art school for graphic design and started my career in design. i should have realized that my love for making forms actually meant i liked grids and that's really design. i totally got sidetracked from my true passions as a little kid!

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

one day i was at a store and i saw a plastic ring. so months later i started getting the itch to make my own. i wanted to make the inverted diamond ring out of plastic. i had no idea how i'd do it so i searched for laser cut plastic. i found a place that would do it for me easily and my whole world opened up. i still remember that day. i was literally freaking out over the possibilities. i didn't know where to start. so i just started trying out stuff. i cut a few pieces of plastic and with my extras i thought i might as well post them on etsy. people liked them and as i started making more designs for myself i posted the extras on etsy. i saw the potential so i started making more designs and then in more quantity and the rest is history.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

i don't recall exactly but i'm sure it took a few weeks. it was definitely not right away. but i was ok with that because i wasn't in it for any kind of profit, recognition, etc. i didn't even have a "brand" name at the time. it was just me posting my extra pieces.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

5 foods: sushi, pizza, indian curries, all chinese food, kobe beef sliders from barclay prime in philly
5 tv shows: mad men, dexter, and seinfeld (even if it is off the air)
5 bands: i LOVE music so much that it's too hard to pick fave bands. but if i had to choose one it'd be radiohead. and since i love electronica/dance music my fave remixer is fred falke.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

i can't sew and i've always wanted to learn. i also want to learn more about working with metals for jewelry. i took a class in silversmithing jewelry and it's hard! i loved it but it's quite hard on the hands. i'd love to get into it more. make molds and do casting. i also want to get into letterpress. i love the texture of letterpress and i think it's a great art that so few use anymore. i once tried to learn the guitar and it was not a success. i think i love music but i'm not musically inclined.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

i am noticing a very big trend in making treasuries. i've read on "etsy success" stories that people make treasuries i guess because it gets their shop out there when they message all the people they put in their treasury but also if their treasury gets picked for the front page, their shop is listed to i believe. i don't quite know all the inner workings of this promotional method but it seems to be something a lot of people do. i for one don't make treasuries. you read my average day. i have no time! i do scour etsy a lot to see what's out there and i buy a lot of stuff. but i don't make treasuries. i appreciate those that make them and put me in them! i think the best way to promote your shop is with blogs. there are some very large key blogs out there in the design world that can really boost your sales if you get picked up for a little blurb on them. i noticed that sales skyrocketed when i got onto blogs. and then of course make a facebook page and a twitter account. you need to employ social networking as best you can. get your friends to tweet about your stuff and "like" your page. slowly it will spread. there was no twitter when i started my shop. wow, that makes me sound old or something even though i'm not. "back when there was no twitter.... we had to do things the old fashioned way...." haha but seriously, twitter is a godsend to small businesses. it's free PR for yourself if you use it properly.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

machajewelry - macha jewelry is SO GORGEOUS. pricey, but gorgeous. i love the raw look and feel to it. i have 2 of her rings.

melaniefavreau - melanie favreau's stuff is just so fun yet clean. in some ways i see it as what i'd be doing if i was using pure silver. i own two of her pieces as well.

boygirlparty - susie's characters are so cute i love them all! and she's around my age and lives in southern california so i aspire to her level of creativity. she does all kinds of art shows and she's just a fabulous artist. i check back to her store a lot.

-One year from now...

well, in february i'll be showing my jewelry at POOL at the fashion tradeshow MAGIC. so that will be my make it or break it moment i think. if it goes well and i am able to pick up a lot more wholesale accounts i might just quit my fulltime job and do this for awhile. there's a good chance i'm going to be moving to NYC next year and if i do that i kind of want to go back to grad school for a masters in packaging design. so a year from now i foresee a lot of changes in my life. i'll also be 30 so it's kind of that BIG year. i'm excited!

--
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 :)

#233 unofficial etsy featured seller - dinosaurtoes

2010-11-24T20:07:00.001-06:00

#233 unofficial etsy featured seller - dinosaurtoes
Date joined etsy- 08/4/07
Sales to date - 806-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

my name is danielle and i live in a rural area outside of lynchburg, va with my husband chris and our baby, flojo the parrot. i'm constantly trying to talk my husband into moving to san francisco, or at the very least, charlottesville, va, but for now we'll stay here on a farm that's been in his family since the early 1900's. my favorite ice cream flavor is black cherry or cotton candy, but i have to admit, i'm not a huge fan of ice cream; if i'm going to eat something sweet, i'd much rather have donuts!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

my alarm goes off at 7:40, and i pry myself out of bed a few minutes later. the first thing i do once i'm out of bed is wake up flojo. we call chris at work to say good morning (yes, flojo like to involved in the conversation, too), open the curtains and look at the birds outside, then check email and etsy. side note, dinosaur toes, the shop name, is flojo's nickname. after breakfast, i get to work making things, packaging orders, taking pictures and/or adjusting pictures. if it's a busy day, i sometimes forget to eat lunch! then in the afternoon, flojo usually takes a nap snuggled against me and i do a post on my blog and get caught up reading friends' blogs. once chris gets home from work, aside from listing an item or two, i'm pretty much finished working so we can spend time together (which usually involves eating since we're food junkies).

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

yes, i was very creative growing up. i loved painting and making things with supplies i could find outside. one summer when i was 10 and my brother was 5, we decided that we were going to make walking sticks with carved designs, then go around the neighborhood trying to sell them. we actually sold a few, and when you're that age, $15 makes you feel pretty rich! i think that's when i first decided that i wanted to do something creative for a career.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

i actually never thought i'd have as many sales as i do or that this could become my job, i just figured if i could make a few dollars, i could justify buying new supplies!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

less than a week after i listed my first item, i had a sale. i couldn't believe it, but from then on, i was hooked!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

wow, it's pretty difficult to pick just five foods, but here they are: any sort of pasta with alfredo sauce, brick oven cheese pizza, baked potatoes, chocolate covered blueberries, philly cheesesteaks.
top five tv shows: seinfeld (reruns), the big bang theory, the shield (on dvd), anything regarding WWII on the history channel, true blood.
top five bands: woods, karl blau, little dragon, the horrors, still corners

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

i'm always looking for new mediums, processes, skills, etc. i do some sewing, although i can get lazy about it, and i've made some simple pieces of clothing from my own patterns, but i'd really like to have the time to make more clothing for myself with better patterns and fabrics. i've also always really, really wanted to work with porcelain and cast my own molds for porcelain figurines.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

first, and most importantly, i would say to get comfortable with your camera and be sure your pictures are clear. next, i think that updating your shop everyday, or almost, is really important in being seen. last, i've found that blogging is a fun and incredibly helpful tool in getting your name out there, not to mention meeting great people in the blogging community!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

restless things - she is one of my favorite artists!
sadie designs - sarah is a friend i've made though blogging, and i just adore her style!
the social cellar - i always regret looking at her shop because i want a whole lot more than my wallet can handle!
and one more just because i can't choose three - allyson mellberg - she's an incredibly talented friend of mine, and i'm so happy that her prints decorate my walls!

-One year from now...

i'd like for chris, flojo and i to be working on the road during the month long adventure we've been talking about taking. now that chris and i are self-employed, we've been talking about taking a month, maybe more, and hooking up the camper and heading west making stops along the way. if that happened less than a year from now, i'd be happy!
--
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 :)

#232 unofficial etsy featured seller - kodashii88

2010-11-23T23:23:00.004-06:00

#232 unofficial etsy featured seller - kodashii88
Date joined etsy- 08/3/08
Sales to date - 324-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Tadashii. I am a 24 year old mad tinkerer/dreamer from Pasadena California. Currently I do not have any pets of my own, but within my household we have a yorkie named Roscoe, the biggest little dog in the world.

I am in an exclusive relationship with baked goods, especially cookies. Never met one i did'nt like (but i am sure they loathe me for obvious reasons)

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

A typical day for me consists of

1. Coffee.

2. Standing in one place contemplating the mysterious goodness of cookies.

3. Jumping on the computer to answer convos and emails.

4. Working on design ideas, photographing items, drinking more coffee, packaging orders to ship, and yet again, another cup o' joe.

5. Work, work, work. My mind is always on ON.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Growing up, i always ALWAYS took things apart. From christmas tree lights, to old televisions, nothing was safe around me. My mother caught on early to my "creative" personality, and
encouraged me to express myself in whatever positive artistic way i could.

She took me to get my first earring at 9, my first facial piercing (eyebrow) at 15, attended all of my clarinet concerts, and singing gigs. Read all of my very dark and sometimes disturbing poetry, made homemade halloween costumes, washed my paint covered shirts and pants, dyed my mowhawk all colors of the rainbow, swept up my metal covered carpet after an all nighter with an old typewriter (yes, i took it apart), and never failed me when life seemed meaningless. She is the bestest.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I decided to start selling my work on etsy out of sheer wanting people to see me through my creations, and not just me as a "handsome young man". I knew i was so much more than a face, teeth, and torso, i knew i was a volcano of ideas that were just begging to overflow into the world.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took me a few months to get my first sale on etsy. After that another followed, and then the sale train all but vanished from the earth. Starting in april of the following year, things started to pick up a bit, i started to take more pride in my photography, thought long and hard about the items i wanted to offer, and I never get more than 4 hours of sleep ( if that ) a night. I wouldn't have it any other way. I am a work-a-holic of the worst sort. I don't stop the beat until the drum explodes.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

My top 5 bands/musicians current and past are:

1. Red Hot Chilli Peppers

2. Pat Benatar

3. Sade

4. Florence and the Machine

5. Celine dion (yes, i said Celine dion)

So many many more, but you said five, and rules is rules.

Top 5 foods:

1. Cookies

2. Green peppers

3. Turkey breast

4. Breakfast cereal

5. Water (it should be a food)

Top 5 t.v. shows;

1. Weeds

2. Any national geographic documentary

3. Avatar the last Airbender

4. The Big C

5. Nurse Jackie

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Eventually, i would love to start a line of super badass military/industrial/steampunk inspired handbags. Just you wait ; )

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

To all new sellers i would suggest you listen to your heart, head, and wallet. Don't do anything you don't love. Never spend too much time exhausting your brain for ideas, let them come naturally, and never spend what you don't have to spend. You don't wanna end up in the poor house because you wanted to add jet packs to your knitted cowls. Create, relist, and give the best damn customer service you can possibly give. It WILL pay off.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Some of my favorite Etsy shops are

Cubid.etsy.com

DrCraze.etsy.com

MantaWave.etsy.com

-One year from now...

A year from now, i see myself learning from the footsteps i left behind, and smiling in anticipation with the footsteps to come. The journey never ends....

--
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 :)

#231 unofficial etsy featured seller - jenerijewelry

2010-11-05T17:07:00.001-05:00

#231 unofficial etsy featured seller - jenerijewelry
Date joined etsy- 09/11/07
Sales to date - 1214-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Jen Neri (Hence the name JENERI Jewelry). I live outside of Chicago with my super supportive husband and adorable son :) No pets – too many allergies! My favorite ice cream is Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby… but I only eat it every couple of years so that I don’t become a Chubby Wife!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

The jewelry biz has been a blessing to me, so my typical day includes: getting my son ready for school and on the bus… and then it’s working until he gets home! I’ve been busy enough at times that I’ve considered hiring out some of my administrative duties (all of which I hate!). Once he’s home from school, it’s all mom mode.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

NO! My mom harped on me for 30 years about not having a hobby. She’s finally quit bugging me :)

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

We moved from OH to the Chicago area, and I became a stay at home mom. I started going a bit crazy after about 2 weeks, and found a bead shop within walking distance. I started making beaded jewelry, but never wore it (not much of a “bead person”). A friend of mine introduced me to ETSY, so I decided to give it a shot – what else was I going to do with all of the jewelry I was making?!? I had some limited success until I started working with metal… and then the sales came!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Well that depends… the first sale was from family, so that doesn’t count. The second sale came from a stranger who thought he was purchasing from a different shop, so that doesn’t count. The first real sale came about a month after opening.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I love Italian, Mexican, Chinese. But my favorite is anything that someone other than myself makes!
I like reality tv and cooking shows too. My FAVORITE was LOST but unfortunately that’s over.
As for bands: Anything country, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, anything from the 80s and 90s.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Cooking. I’m not that great at it, but love to eat. It’d be nice to prepare tasty meals every night!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

GREAT PHOTOS!!!!!! People won’t give your item a second glance if the photo stinks. I’m constantly trying to reshoot and enhance my photos. Competition is tough and getting tougher on ETSY, so max out your shop and diversify. The more items you have, the more often you come up in the searches. NEVER GIVE UP!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

I’ve recently purchased from these!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/piperandpaisley
http://www.etsy.com/shop/circularaccessories
http://www.etsy.com/shop/julieboyles

-One year from now...

I’ll be ready for a vacation… but hopefully too busy preparing for the Christmas season making jewelry, to actually take one. Maybe after Christmas :)

--
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 :)

#230 unofficial etsy featured seller - WoodinYou

2010-11-04T23:46:00.001-05:00

#230 unofficial etsy featured seller - WoodinYou
Date joined etsy- 1/13/09
Sales to date - 481
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Woodin' You is comprised of a husband & wife team located in the Pacific Northwest area of Vancouver, WA. Our business venture began in 2004 literally from a dream I had about a bone-shaped elevated pet feeder. My husband Martin Krcek, is a carpenter by trade and I sketched out what I dreamed about and asked him if he could make these. He thought I was a little nuts, but followed through and now seven years later, we have US patent on that pet feeder design and have continued to add new and exciting products to our line. We are super proud to be an American based business. Since we received the patent, many large manufacturing companies approach us to represent and manufacture our items in China. We always tell them "No way!" and will keep feeding our shredder the junk mail related to these offers. My husband, does all of the woodworking. And myself, Amy Krcek, does the sewing, shipping, and accounting aspect of our business operation. We have a five year old son, two dogs, Boomer (yellow lab)& Phineas (black lab) and one LARGE black cat. In addition to running our business, our family volunteers as 'puppy raisers' for Guide Dogs for the Blind - an organization that trains dogs to help the visually impaired. Our lab, Phineas is a 'career change' dog for Guide Dogs. He ended up not making the cut to be a Guide, so we adopted him back and just recently finished his training to become a therapy dog. With his certification, we will volunteer with Delta to do in home hospice visits with children. We really live and breathe our Woodin' You business and not only enjoy creating pet products, but volunteering with our pets to help impact the lives of others.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I am truly blessed to be able to work from home. An average weekday is getting up at 4:30 AM to have a much needed cup of coffee while I respond Etsy inquiries and posting Etsy items. Then it's time to get my son ready for school and out the door. At 8:30 AM, it's back home and sewing and shipping like a crazy woman - typically sewing between 200-250 items per week. We sell on-line on both Etsy and our website and to many retail stores. Many of these stores have found us via Etsy and we love being able to offer high quality handcrafted items for pampered pets. We have seen a huge shift in privately owned shops desiring these types of products for their stores. After my son is home from school, I switch gears and my mom hat goes on and I leave Woodin' You world until the next morning. It can be hard having separation when you operate a business from your home, but we have set lots of boundaries to not allow either aspect to suffer.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was defiantly creative growing up. My mom always encouraged creativity and I was always working on something. Doll clothes for my dolls, building very elaborate forts with whatever wood scraps I could find, melting crayons to make some really cool pictures - oh boy, the list goes on and on.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?
I had never even heard of Etsy and in December 2008 a friend told me about it. So, I checked it out and thought, why not. At that point, we'd be selling at our local Farmer's Market and various pet shows and trade-shows.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?
Our first item was listed on March 26, 2009 and the very next day we had a sell. Needless to say, I was hooked.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

* My favorite foods would have to include any type of salad - many of my friends have nick-named me the 'rabbit' - I just love salads.
* Favorite TV shows - Man Woman Wild, Biggest Loser, Home Makeover, local news. We really rarely watch TV and enjoy playing board games, cards and puzzles with our son. It seems like there isn't much time for TV and we enjoy spending time with our family and our pets instead.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Both my husband and I have always had an interest in the guitar. We mess around once in a while, but never anything too serious.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I highly recommend new Etsy sellers to take time to take really great photos of their product. Etsy customers don't have the luxury of seeing your work in person, so you have to really showcase your product in what they see via pictures. Repost items often to keep in the customers forefront. It is a mistake to set up your shop, post your items and just wait. There is a lot of competition out there and if you want business stay on top of being in front of your customers. And lastly, remember your more than a crafter your running an on-line business. Treat your customers with professionalism and give them what you'd expect if you were dealing with a business. Respond to emails and uphold the policies you have in place.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

I love Boojiboo (super inspirational amount of sales), Sasakicreations (my first Etsy purchase) & all the pet boutique retailers that have found us via Etsy - we appreciate your business!

-One year from now...

I'd love to continue to grow and to just keep bringing fun and creative products to the many pet owners.

--
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 :)

#229 unofficial etsy featured seller - somethingshidinghere

2010-11-03T18:24:00.001-05:00

#229 unofficial etsy featured seller - somethingshidinghere
Date joined etsy- 6/19/07
Sales to date - 2158
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

shauna & stephen
we live in an old tire factory in philadelphia, pa
we share our studios and home with 2 rescue dogs, dexter and noodle

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

everyday is different. the only thing that remains the same is that we get up early and stay up late. our unofficial motto is "must not sleep".

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

we both were! stephen grew up taking apart things to see how they worked and shauna started her first business when she was 6: selling rocks from her front porch customized with paint-pen drawings.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

we started our shop the week after our first renegade craft fair. we had so many people emailing us for items they had seen and wished they purchased.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

our first sale was the very same day!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

food: shauna lives on coffee and stephen really loves bacon
tv shows: we both love the beekman boys!
bands: shauna just met her favorite band "first aid kit" and stephen learning how to play the guitar thanks to his love of "led belly".

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

we have a long list! currently shauna is obsessed with learning how to make a perfect french macaroon and stephen's taking guitar lessons on a vintage guitar shauna's dad gave him. next: we'd LOVE to get a kiln and start casting our own ceramics.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

blog, blog, blog! most of our etsy traffic comes from our blog - or other blogs who write about us. take lots of photographs and share the little stories behind your product. like most things in life... a little personality goes a long way!
3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

we like shopping etsy for vintage. items are well curated and it's so fun to search for new additions to our many collections.
amazing vintage linen: http://www.etsy.com/shop/grainsack

etsy is also a great place for hard to find books and magazines, like my favorite Japanese magazine "come home".
here's where i find them: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pomadour24

another great thing about etsy is the amount of people who are willing to make you custom items.
we recently had custom dog portraits made here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sian?ref=seller_info

-One year from now...

we'll be up too late, drinking too much coffee, making something crazy.

--
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 :)

#228 unofficial etsy featured seller - tsurubride

2010-11-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

#228 unofficial etsy featured seller - tsurubride
Date joined etsy- 2/17/07
Sales to date - 435-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi! My name is Meghan, and I'm the TsuruBride. My name is taken from the Decemberist's album "The Crane Wife" (tsuru is Japanese for crane). It's story has a strong meaning for myself and darling husband, Aaron, so I adopted it for my shop persona. I've lived in Columbus, OH for the last 7 years, but before that I lived in Toronto, Ontario. I moved here for my regular day job, and met the love of my life and decided to put down some roots and stay awhile. I have 2 amazing step-daughters, who are passionate and creative people who keep you on your toes! We have a trouble-making cat, Mushaboom Mew Mew, or Moosh for short. She's a lone wolf, who also loves to play, cuddle and daydream of squirrels. I'm lactose intolerant so I'm all about the soy or tufu icecream, although I do have a wicked sweet tooth!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Oh my, where to start.... Like I mentioned above I have a day job so 9-6 Monday to Friday is booked solid. On my evenings I take time to update my shop, answer convos/emails, sketch new/custom work, and do some prep work for the weekend. Weekends are sewing time. Most of my pieces are made to order so that's what I'm working on come the weekend. I'll mix up sewing time, with running errands, and spending time with the man. And on Sundays I'll package up orders.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I come from a really creative family. Both my grandmothers were big sewers, quilting and making clothes. My mom also made us clothes as kids, and has a great eye for interior design. My brother and I spent our youth drawing, writing stories, and playing with toys that sparked our imagination. My mom taught me sew when I was 6 or 7, making clothes for my Barbies, and it just felt right. I just kept on sewing, eventually going to school for fashion design.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I actually started on Etsy as a jewelry seller. A friend had told me about it, her sister sold things on it, and my mother-in-law made beaded bracelets and showed me how. So I started making necklaces and bracelets and selling them on-line. I don't wear a lot of jewelry though, so I would never wear the things I made. My youngest step daughter got me back into sewing, making clothes for her dolls, and then I played with some leftover leather from my school days. I just started making purses for my friends and since people seemed to respond to them and I enjoyed making them, I re-vamped my store.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

FOREVER! Or at least it felt like forever. Let's say 6 months. But to be fair, my photos weren't that great, I wasn't doing anything to promote, and my heart wasn't truly in it. The first sale came much quicker when I revamped my shop with purses. I loved what I was making and I got my husband's help to take some great shots. I think that care and love really showed and pushed my purses out there.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: Chocolate, steak, sushi, tapas, chocolate
TV: Fringe, Castle, Bones, House, Community
Bands: Decemberists, Neko Case, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Nina Simone, She & Him

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Oh man, EVERYTHING! I'd love to have a new job every month, though not rally since I like a fair amount of stability. But I do think the idea of being an Xray technician one month, and a Graphic Designer the next, would be really cool. there's so many great intesting jobs out there, that you never heard about from your high school guidance counselor. But crafty-wise, I'd love to learn to knit, quilt (I know I can sew, but the idea of tackling a full on quilt is very intimidating), work working, etc.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Number one is to look at every opportunity as an opportunity to promote yourself. If you make jewelry/clothes - wear it, paper goods/wall art - give them out as gifts. If you don't love and promote what you're doing nobody else will either. I think there are some great shops out there who have really branded themselves well. They have blogs and followers for just being themselves, not shilling all the time. I use facebook, twitter and tumblr, since I found that blogging wasn't a love for me. Don't over commit to promotion to the point where you can't get work done! Join an Etsy group! Don't know where to start? Try a group based in your city. These can be great support, especially for new sellers. A lot of groups love to promote each other, and not only that but they're a shoulder to lean on.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

ACK! Too many! Sleepyking.etsy.com, lulidesigns.etsy.com, missmeganmac.etsy.com

-One year from now...

I hope that my menagerie is twice the size, LOL. I hope to expand my doll and artisan purse line. These aren't my big sellers, but they keep my creative juices flowing!

--
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 :)

#227 unofficial etsy featured seller - PianoBenchDesigns

2010-11-01T21:50:00.000-05:00

#227 unofficial etsy featured seller - PianoBenchDesigns
Date joined etsy- 5/29/07
Sales to date - 1169-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hello, my name is Alayna. I live in a small town just south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. We are surrounded by desert and sky. The sky, in fact, seems limitless here, and I love it.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

An average day right now is pretty full. I wake up at about 5:00 a.m. and after a quick shower, I get to work on jewelry orders. This is one of my favorite times of day because I get to jam to some Thom Yorke, bend wire and answer emails. Then, it's off to work. After work, it's time for homework and more jewelry. Two classes + full-time work + jewelry = always busy.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Growing up, I loved to draw and paint. In college, I discovered clay. My favorite subjects were always people, and I drew faces endlessly.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

At the law firm where I work, I met a woman who beaded beautiful jewelry. She inspired me to start beading, too. I remember the first time she taught me to bend a headpin to make earrings. Shortly afterwards, another friend at the same law firm introduced me to Etsy. I browsed on the site for months, fascinated by everyone's awesome creations.
-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

My first three sales were to friends, so I would have to say I had my first "real" sale after three weeks. However, I only sold a total of 36 items in the first six months that I was on Etsy. During that time, I had to seriously reevaluate the quality of my photos (they were pretty dark).

Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

My five favorite things right now are: sliced tomatoes with fresh mozarella and olive oil (so yummy), Thom Yorke (see above), fuzzy socks, the color red, and my piano.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I would love to learn to knit! I can do some basic crochet, but knitting is a mystery to me.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

If you want to promote your Etsy shop, get to know other Etsy sellers! Make lots of treasuries, too. It is another form of creativity, and teaches you to appreciate the beauty of other people's work. Also, take time with your photos. Natural, indirect light is your best friend.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BeadsInTheBelfry

http://www.etsy.com/shop/tushtush

http://www.etsy.com/shop/yogagoat

-One year from now...

One year from now ... I hope to be a full-time student, nearing the completion of my master's degree. I would love for jewelry making to become my "day job".

--
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 :)

#226 unofficial etsy featured seller - FusionSweets

2010-10-29T22:25:00.000-05:00

#226 unofficial etsy featured seller - FusionSweets
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/PrairieGhost - The mini food is just too cute for words!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/swipxa - Amazingly beautiful papercut artworks
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpringtreeRoad - I'm a sucker for roving and yarn. What can I say...

-One year from now...

Doing exactly the same thing, would love to have my own candy shop!

--
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 :)

#225 unofficial etsy featured seller - RandomSacksofKindnes

2010-10-28T23:28:00.000-05:00

#225 unofficial etsy featured seller - RandomSacksofKindnes
Date joined etsy- 6/15/09
Sales to date - 324
Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Shannon Schnittker living in Southern California with my husband, 5 kids, a dog, and fish. I wear many hats. I'm a wife, mom, nursing student, and many more!!! I love to be creative! I've been sewing since 11 years old and have done many different crafts in my time.

I can't cook, but I can bake and I make breakfast for dinner. I have a life-sized Red Power Ranger in my living room.

I really push recycling at my house and my kids are very eco-savvy. If they can't find a recycle bin when we are out and about, they will save the bottle or can until we get home to put it in our recycle. I'm very proud of them!

We have a composter in the backyard and hope to get some fresh soil this spring for our annual summer garden! We grow mainly tomatoes, but also strawberries, onion, squash, and cauliflower. I make tomato relish which is absolutely delicious on hamburgers! When I can, I reuse my Trader Joe's jam jars!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Wow, an average day. Let's see. I get up, make the kids' lunches, get breakfast ready, taxi the kids to school, study for my classes, sew, work on my shop, check on the virtual labs, maybe a chat room, pick up kids from school, afternoon snacks, homework, dinner, bath, book, bed... whew! I wish there was more time in the day!

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was very creative growing up. I made a pretend bank in my room and made checks with my sewing machine by stitching the top of a pad of paper and then perforating it so the checks would tear nicely. Who knew you could sew on paper? And here I am dying eggs with my mom.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I started selling on Etsy when a friend told me about it. I thought it was an ingenious idea! A world-wide craft faire 24/7! I love it!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took about 3 weeks before I got my first sale. I learn a lot in the virtual labs and hang out there when I can to share tip and other great info!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Favorite Foods
Donuts, chocolate, Mountain Dew, Nuts & Chews, Craisins
Favorite TV
LOST, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, X-Files
Favorite Bands
Nickleback, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra

Favorite Quote:
Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. -Ferris Bueller

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing?

Phlebotomy

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Check out the virtual labs, they have lots of great information! Spread your items among different categories that make sense. Try not to put all your eggs in one basket.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftyHedgehog
http://www.etsy.com/shop/buttfreckle
http://www.etsy.com/shop/lovelia

-One year from now...

Not sure but you might find me chasing my kids, the dog, studying, and baking cookies.

--
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 :)

#224 unofficial etsy featured seller - epheriell

2010-10-13T21:25:00.002-05:00

#224 unofficial etsy featured seller - epheriell
Date joined etsy- 10/18/08
Sales to date - 353-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Jess, and I hail from the quiet countryside on the outskirts of the sunny Australian city of Brisbane. I mostly grew up here, and after 10 years moving around the state for various reasons, my husband and I are back, currently living with my parents as we plan to build our own home here. My husband Nick is English, and always wanted to settle down in the country, so it's a win for all of us! We share our lives with our squeaky little black-and-white cat, named Gobbolino, who has a stub tail that whirls around like a helicopter blade when he's excited.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I generally wake up around 9 (I've always been a night owl) to a cup of tea that Nick has brought me. I'll hop on the laptop right away and deal with any overnight sales or urgent e-mails, and check my blog, a few forums and twitter. I am a bit of a twitter addict, I love chatting to people on there! (I'm @jessvanden - tweet me!).

My days are fuelled by many cups of honey-sweetened tea, and I'll often not eat until around 1 - I'm the sort of person who hates the thought of food first thing in the morning!

I'll sit down in the workshop at around 10:30 and start work on my orders - depending on how many I have I'll work through to about 3pm, when I'll pack up the orders I've finished, and head out to the post office. I try to only go to the PO three days a week, as it's quite a drive for me! On days I don't have to go, I'll keep working till around 5ish. However, the Christmas rush is starting as I write this, so chances are I'll start getting up and into the studio much earlier to get all my orders done on time!

After dinner with the family, I'll hop back on the computer, and keep working on my blogs (EpheriellDesigns.com and JessicaVanDen.com), websites (the many venues I sell my work on!), my handmade/craft/vintage indie zine *bespoke* (bespokezine.com - Issue 1 was released on October 18th this year) or whatever else needs doing. Sometimes I'll take a bit of time out to watch a TV show, or do something else with Nick, but mostly I'll keep working till around midnight and beyond.

I usually try to take at least part of a day off once a week, and I usually take Sunday off from making jewellery, as that tends to be my quietest time of the week, orders-wise.

It's a busy life, but I love it, and I feel so incredibly lucky to be working for myself, doing something I'm passionate about.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I wasn't really creative at all as a kid! I loved, loved, loved reading, and always had my nose stuck in a book. I was also fascinated by the world - I can never remember wanting to be anything other than a scientist, and indeed I grew up to study a Bachelor of Science at university (I also have a Bachelor of Arts and of Education - yes, I am madly overeducated and have the government loan to prove it!). I always loved learning. My mother went to art college, so I must have inherited the creative gene from her, though I didn't discover that till much later in life.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Well, in 2007, I went to Fiji. My boyfriend (now husband) Nick and I met a lovely fellow Aussie family. We became friends, and the day we left, the mother of the family gave me a novel to read – she’d read it, and decided to pass it on. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was a story about a woman who owned a yarn store in New York. When I finished that book, I decided to try knitting… and that’s where it all began!

I discovered that I LOVED creating, making, working with my hands. I went from knitting to resin to beads to silver - and that was that! Like many people, I started selling on Etsy simply to get rid of all the jewellery I was making, and to fuel my hobby! But as it went on, I started taking it more seriously, and my style evolved to what it is today.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Oh, about a month, I think! And it was to an old high-school friend - I'd posted some of my stuff on my personal facebook page. I was so excited! Sales were very few and far between in the early months, but I wasn't doing it as a business, so it didn't worry me back then. Now, if I go a day without a sale somewhere online, I start to worry!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods

Tea (does that count as a food?)
Lasagna, especially when Nick makes one
Cheese of any type
Chocolate, of course
Anti-pasto - like olives, sundried tomatoes etc

TV Shows

Wow, I don't watch much TV these days, so this was tough!

Dr Who
Castle
Arrested Development (Only discovered this recently, and have watched the first 2 series)
X-Files (I was OBSESSED as a teenager, I so wanted to be Scully and date Mulder)
Good Game (a fun game-review show on here each week, I'm not much of a gamer but Nick is, and I always watch it with him, and enjoy it!)

Bands

I love Aussie music... these are long-time music loves...

Sarah Blasko
Powderfinger
Missy Higgins
The John Butler Trio
The Whitlams

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Oh gosh, yes! I'd love to try so much, if only I had the time/money. I'd love to learn ceramics, and soap-making. I am determined to not spend another year being afraid of sewing, so I've just ordered an Amy Butler pattern and some fabric to give it a shot! I also want to get back to playing the Cello, it has been sadly neglected this year.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Many things! Photos photos photos!!! They truly are key! Don't use a flash. Do use a consistent background/style. Learn how to take enticing product shots, not just boring straight on here-it-is shots.

Also, don't be shy, get out there and network - I have made an insanely awesome amount of crafty friends over the last two years, and my life is so much richer for it. I adore twitter, it is a massively successful marketing tool for me - but, whatever you do, don't be that person who just tweets out links to new products. Make friends, engage, talk to people! That's what it's really all about. The sales will happen naturally because people become interested in you and what you do.

And renew. This doesn't work for everyone - but it does for me. Renewing is advertising - and I choose to spend my advertising dollars right where my customers already are - they're there, searching for something to buy - and I want them to find me!

I actually interviewed 7 Etsy top sellers earlier in the year to learn what set them apart, and the results were very interesting! I put it together into an e-book called Etsy Success Stories.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Inner Earth Soaps - an Aussie soap-maker, her soap is divine!
Yellena - I love her art so much
Rainbow Revolution - I have two of her gorgeous scarves

-One year from now, I hope...

That we've started building our dream house! And that my business has grown and I'm still doing this awesome work. I'd also love to see *bespoke* in stockists all across Australia, and hopefully overseas, too.

--
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 :)

#223 unofficial etsy featured seller - SundrySupply

2010-10-11T23:09:00.000-05:00

#223 unofficial etsy featured seller - SundrySupply
Date joined etsy- 7/13/10
Sales to date - 389-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Amaya Labrador, and I’m a Masters of Architecture student living in Atlanta, Georgia. I’m currently on my last (and thesis) year, so life is kind of crazy!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

There really is no ‘average’ day; each week I’ll have different classes, meetings, books to read or projects to present. A default day would be: Wake up, get ready and be off to school (although some days I’ll be at home all day). Between classes I’ll check email, keep up with any convos through Etsy, relist items if needed. I package orders at night (usually while dinner is cooking) and drop them at the PO the following morning.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I’ve always been creative, but never quite ‘artistic’. It’s more about how things go together and “making”.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I started selling jewelry (what I call ‘pretty steampunk’) in my other store: http://www.sybaritic.etsy.com/ It was mostly out of necessity… I needed to sell some beads to buy more beads ;-)

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

For my new store, SundrySupply, I had my first sale the day after I started listing items. I have to admit though, having the experience that comes along with two years on Etsy really helped.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Top 5 foods: chocolate, cheese, pasta, chicken, ice cream
Top 5 tv shows: Castle, House, Top Chef, Bones, Project Runway
Top 5 music: (at the moment): Gustavo Cerati, Belanova, Circo, Da’Zoo, Julieta Venegas

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

That I haven’t already tried? =) I just bought myself a used sewing machine, I’d love to make my own clothes (thank you, Project Runway). I’d also love to knit, but apparently I have no patience for the learning curve.

-What would you suggest to new Etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I think it’s less about promoting and more about having a good store. Good policies in place, a filled out profile, a location set. Attractive banner and avatar. Having complete item descriptions, with measurements in both imperial and standard, shipping profile set up with lots of international locations. Good tags, good titles, etc. (Although I actually think I’m bad at tagging and titles). Having a niche helps as well, and if you can grab a decent market share within that niche then you’re golden.
Having said that, there are different levels of promotion: the most basic, I think, is being active in the Etsy community… forums, chats, etc. It’s time consuming, but effective and low-cost (…but you need to have the time to do it). If you want to move up and start paying for advertising, it’s important to target them correctly. If you don’t, you’re just losing money. I sell supplies, so my target consumer is pretty easy to figure out: jewelry makers and scrapbookers.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

I prefer to “heart” individual items, but these shops are consistently awesome:

KUKLAstudio
joodito
sugarandflour

I also love browsing vintage housewares

-One year from now...

Who knows?

--
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 :)

#222 unofficial etsy featured seller - tinylovetreasures

2010-10-06T20:42:00.000-05:00

#222 unofficial etsy featured seller - tinylovetreasures
Date joined etsy- 2/23/10
Sales to date - 361-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

I'm Trisha and I live in Oregon, although I was born & raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. I came to Oregon for college, met my husband and ended up staying. We have 2 little ones (a 2 1/2 year old and an 8 month old) and 2 dogs (Kobe, a Shiba Inu and Nalu, a deaf weiner dog). My favorite ice cream flavor is Tillamook Mud Slide, mmmm .. although lately I've been on a Peppermint Candy ice cream kick.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

An average day starts off with me getting up and getting ready for work, I'm a 2nd grade teacher. My husband gets the kiddos ready while I'm getting ready and I take them to school with me to meet the babysitter. After spending the day with 24 awesome second graders, I go home with my kiddos. I spend time playing with them and getting dinner ready. Then some family time with everyone, dinner, baths and bed for the kids. After that I spend time on my etsy orders for the day and get ready to do it all over again!

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

My mom is very artistic, so I get my crafty-ness from her. I remember making my own thank you cards when I was little with watercolor paint and making t-shirts with puffy paint. :)

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I haven't been on etsy for very long, but have always loved browsing and shopping on etsy .. so I just went for it and finally opened up my shop while I was on maternity leave in between naps!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took about a month after I actually started listing items in my shop.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I can't think of just my top 5 favorite foods .. I love Japanese food, Korean food and Hawaiian food .. all the food I can't get here in Oregon.

We canceled our cable recently, insert sad face here. We've been watching a lot of Discovery channel shows lately, Deadliest Catch, Man vs. Wild, and all those Planet Earth and Life shows.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I think that doing glass work would be so fun, blown glass and stained glass because I think it's so gorgeous.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I would suggest providing great customer service, happy customers spread the word about my shop and I appreciate that so much!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

It's A Sticky Situation
Sweet Peas Shoes
It's Sew You Boutique

-One year from now, I hope...

to be balancing, etsy, family, work gracefully!

--
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 :)

#221 unofficial etsy featured seller - CuteCuteWorld

2010-10-04T19:11:00.000-05:00

#221 unofficial etsy featured seller - CuteCuteWorld
Date joined etsy- 10/6/09
Sales to date - 1523-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hey, I'm Jordan and I'm 21 years old. I live in London Ontario in Canada lol and I live with my boyfriend and our two kitties. I'm currently studying accounting at fanshawe college. I love baking and I'm obsessed with cupcakes and chocolate ice cream. I love kawaii, especially hello kitty.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

To describe my day, I wake up and go to work, I work at a&w. Where I work mon-fri. Afterwards I go home, check etsy and turn on my circuit and start crafting. I like to hang out with friends and go to the beach.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was always creative when I was growing up, I loved to colour and draw pictures when i was younger. I also sewed, well tried to. Noting ever finished well. I've always had a thing for baking and i always made anything from cakes and cookies to whatever you can think of.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

What made me want t start selling on etsy? Hmm not sure, I thought it would be fun and a great way to make money out of my detash and other supplies. I just recently started to sell handmade items on etsy and I'm loving it.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I think it took me about a month to get my first sale. It was very exciting :)
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

My favorite foods would defiantly have to me cupcakes and Icecream. I also love rice, Perogies and watermelon. My favorite tv shows would be family guy, simpsons, jersey shore, 16 and pregnant and anything on the comedy network. Favourite bands or singers I don't really have favorites, I love all kinds of music like lady gaga, Kesha, and right now I'm really into dance music. My favorite songs right now is radio love by Edward Mia.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I'd love to start sewing again and try to get better at it lol. I'd also like to try making soaps especially lip balm, but I think it may be too hard, I'll have to look it up lol

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

For new shops and promoting I would just say going into chat rooms, and getting your shop name out there. I also find that if you keep updating your store and adding new items a couple times a week usually brings more people in.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

My top favorite shops on etsy would have to be
www.berrysweettreats.etsy.com - cute kawaii items
www.etsy.com/shop/tamar- beautiful jewelry mostly made with flower cabs
www.etsy.com/shop/MimiLoLo- cute kawaii cabs and other cute supplies

-One year from now, I hope...

In a year from now I would like to be doing the same thing, I'm happy where I am now :)

--
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 :)

#220 unofficial etsy featured seller - battysbath

2010-09-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

#220 unofficial etsy featured seller - battysbath
Date joined etsy- 12/11/09
Sales to date - 590-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Jamie and I live in London, Ontario, Canada with my fiance and our 3 dogs and a turtle. I'm finishing up a bachelors degree in psychology, have studied fine arts, and have a degree in animal care. Autumn is my favorite time for the year and I'm slightly obsessed with all things Halloween. My health is something that needs a lot of attention because I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and Fibromyalgia. Being able to work from home on a flexible schedule really helps me take care of my health.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

My days are different than many people because I'm almost never up during the day except for craft shows!
-My "day" starts around 6pm
-I get up, feed the dogs, and have something to eat with Drew
-We talk about what I did the night before, and how his day went. We then walk the dogs, or watch some prime time TV.
-Around 11pm, Drew heads off to bed I get to work packing orders. After all orders are packed, I restock anything that has sold if the supplies are on hand.
-If I'm having a bad day (health wise), I soak in the tub for about an hour and then work on the computer checking emails, updating my social networks, reading up on industry news, and ordering supplies.
-If I'm having a good day, I skip the soak in the tub and work on building up stock for a couple hours before working on the computer. I may also take pictures in the studio before jumping online if I have a pile of un-photographed items piling up.
-I finish my day when Drew heads off to work early in the morning. I feed the dogs, check my email one last time, and then crawl into bed.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I worked with clay and paper a lot. I've always loved sculpture and paper goods. I have a paper goods shop on etsy (that's how things on Etsy started for me) but since opening my bath & body shop on etsy I've had to scale back on the number of pop up cards I make because I simply don't have time. Instead, I list cards if I ever find a spare moment and fill the shop with cute rings.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

As I mentioned above, I started a different shop before BattysBath.etsy.com called ShesBattyDesigns.etsy.com and I started SBD because I really loved the idea of sharing my creations with other people. I can only give so many creations to my friends and family before they have to start giving them to other people haha.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

My first sale in my soap show came the first day I officially opened the doors and started listing! This didn't happen by sheer luck though! I did a lot of work up prep before I started to list and I got a lot of experience "learning the ropes" with my first etsy shop which helped me know how to pull off a successful launch.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: cereal, cheese cake, donuts, smoothies, blueberries
TV Shows: lost, SVU, without a trace, cold case, and just about every reality show!
Bands: cyndi lauper, sugar land, miranda lambert, dixie chicks, the wreckers

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I've tried pretty much every craft medium there is but I'd really like to get good at knitting and guitar. If I had to put everything on how and just focus on learning ONE thing for a month, I would definitely either knitting or guitar :)

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I would suggest getting in the etsy forums first! There's tons of information there - it's like a GOLD mine! Plus, you might find some threads that interest you that you can post on. Remember, every post in the forums makes a link back to your shop and helps the Etsy community get to know you better. Be yourself, be helpful, and give back as much as you get :)

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

bestuffies.etsy.com
weezi.etsy.com
HatBoxStudio.etsy.com

-One year from now, I hope...

To have increased my etsy sales and have grown my business online to the point where I can reduce the amount of craft shows I need to do. Right now I have a craft show, home party, or other selling event happening EVERY weekend. This really takes a hit on my health and I often spent the first few days of the week recovering, which in turn, decreases the amount of time I have to restock, market, develop new products, and work online. My goal is to only have to do 1 to 2 events per month and be able to be able to pick and choose the events I REALLY enjoy doing (like the Bizarre Bazaar in Toronto, ON and our once a month "Beehives, Bubbles & Bows" event at Weezi in London, ON).
--
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 :)

#219 unofficial etsy featured seller - talk2thetrees

2010-09-24T16:36:00.000-05:00

#219 unofficial etsy featured seller - talk2thetrees
Date joined etsy- 4/22/09
Sales to date - 395-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Rachael. I am currently living in Little Rock, Arkansas with my husband and our two crazy pets, Mowgli and Fungus. We've been moving around the country a lot in these last two years having tons of fun and crazy adventures. I love pizza, Chinese food, and anything raspberry flavored. Oh and I love chocolate.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I wake up around noon to my pup Mowgli begging to go "good boy outside." My day officially starts around one after I shower and get dressed (of course.) I spend about 30 minutes checking my email and answering convos. Then I finish up a few orders and run to the post office. Yes, I have actually ran there. I get home around 5 and I check any emails and blog for a little bit, maybe eat something for lunch. At 6 pm I work on orders while I watch movies until about 9 pm when my husband gets home from work. I take a short break and cook us dinner. Around 10 I get back to work filling orders. I usually go to bed around 3 or 4 am.
(I have a pretty weird schedule and eat about one meal a day.)
I take most weekends off for painting and sewing and other creative projects.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I was very creative growing up. I remember I was always drawing when I was little. I knew from an early age I wanted to be an artist. I would stay up all night while I was in high school to paint or sew. I would go to school the next day and sleep through any "non art classes."
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Last November I learned how to knit. I loved it so much I just kept knitting. Pretty soon I had a huge pile of hats and a husband who refused to buy me more yarn until I figured out what to do with that pile. I had an unused Etsy account already that I made before we were even married so I listed my hats and a few paintings I had done.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I got my first sale a day or so after I listed my first item. I really have no idea how it happened because the pictures were just terrible!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods:
Pizza
Chocolate
Raspberries
Tomatoes
Fried Okra
French Fries

Tv Shows:
Ghosthunters
X-files
Family Guy
Anything on the History Channel
Shark Week

Bands:
Stars
A Fine Frenzy
Azure Ray
Bright Eyes
The Weepies

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I would like to learn to cook better, and get better at painting.
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I need to learn how to promote my own shop! So far I just have a Facebook page and a blog. I would recommend a blog for sure.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

theblackapple
Blueberryshoes
Loveerica

-One year from now...

I hope to be doing exactly what I'm doing now! Waking up everyday and getting to do the things that I love without having a "real job."

--
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 :)

#218 unofficial etsy featured seller - bipolarbettygoods

2010-09-23T23:35:00.001-05:00

#218 unofficial etsy featured seller - bipolarbettygoods
Date joined etsy- 8/9/09
Sales to date - 823
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Betty and I am frantically, fatally in love with anyone who gives me any little bit of attention. Where I live does not matter as much as where you live; that is where I can be found at night, prowling around my customers bedroom windows. If I could, I would make myself teensy, the size of a troll or Pretty Pony, that you could carry around in your pocket and then put me in water and I’d grow life size right before your eyes! Like a sea monkey or piles of pill bottles! I have 30+ cats that I have trained to move along the house in one tightly knit mass. Therein, I am able to stand on their backs and ride them like one big fur wave throughout the house and beyond! (Sometimes I just lay on my side. It is a comfortable way to travel, I tell you!). I tend to subside on long gone sweet memories of love and Chicken in a Biscuit crackers during the day, but switch directly to the vodka that I had infused with your forehead sweat by three; that way, I have enough time to get tipsy before I go out to the bus stop and stand on my (real life!) soap box to give the fifth graders a lecture on My Hopes for the Future of Modern Romance, or How to Turn the Dining Room into a Cat Box when in a Pinch (depending on my mood that day.).

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

First thing in the morning, I let the cats motor me around so that I can touch every doorknob in the house (including the stinkers high up on the cabinets!). I do this not only to keep my day on track, but to protect the balance of the universe. If I think that I’ve missed a knob, then I go back and start over. I had to back track for twelve hours once. But what is time when you are securing the Earth in its axis? After that, I have a various amount of household tasks that I attend to. There are “projects” that I check on. I say things like, “Are those ropes too tight?” and “Those ceramic angel figurines are so unique! Charge ten of them to my credit card please!”

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I don’t know if you would call it creative, but I used to draw chalk outlines of myself all around our sidewalk and on my bedroom floor, just on the off chance that I was murdered and then my poor distraught parents would have plenty of placement options. In the fifth grade, I began constructing dolls out of straw and dog fur (naturally shed, of course!) that had prominent characteristics of the boys I had crushes on. Some even had authentic pieces of hair, fingernail clippings and a few teeth (I bet the tooth fairy was bummed!) embedded in the stitching.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Some days, I think it was merely a subconscious trick to burn the tires of my anxiety and fishtail down the road of malcontent at warp speed like a pea green station wagon with duct tape holding the trunk down and no one at the wheel.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

My first sale was to a friend, so I can’t count it with any clear conscience. I think the next 800 sales or so were to my mother disguised as various other customers.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I can’t seem to get enough of QVC lately, that and Infomercials! I see now that you can by loads of sitcom seasons on DVD; I sure wish they’d make a box set for the last ten years of infomercials! I’d buy it in a hot second! I like to eat the centers out of white bread so much that I wish they’d just package it without the crust. Do envelope adhesives count as food? I go through about a box a day, just licking and sealing, licking and sealing. Some might call bill paying a pain, but I call it Lunch!

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I am interested in gravity, mostly. I like to trip on nothing at least twenty times a day on my way around town just to further my research on the matter. I have a theory that, if you test its patience enough, one day gravity (just like everyone else!) will eventually throw its hands up at you and you’ll just go floating up like you are preparing to install Kung Fu justice on the world.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I’d advise those asking me (in hopes that they never will!) about promoting their shops that they should eat a lot of crackers (Chicken in a Biscuit!), pet a lot of cats, get a taste for pride and crow, weep compulsively and fall into a deep depression at least once an hour.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

I guess you could call it love: I did, anyway. Due to the laundry list of complaints and subsequent restraining orders issued from these shops, I have to wonder: Doth ye Protest to Much?
1. http://dippylulu.etsy.com. (Dippy, you never called. Was it because I asked for my pie server back? You can keep it. Really.)
2. http://plumlanephotos.etsy.com Photos of places that I will never go because of my courthouse issued ankle bracelet. (OH Cynthia, you know it’s the gifts that keep on giving that mean the world to me.)
3. http://cherrybloomvintage.etsy.com. (Tara, I was serious when I said I’d pay top dollar for some hair from your brush and a tiny vile of your perspiration. I have a doll that I am making….Well, never mind. Just name your price!)

-One year from now...

I’ll probably be pushing a shopping cart full of cats and ceramic figurines around the city, searching in vain for that address you gave me that never really existed.

--
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 :)

#217 unofficial etsy featured seller - mandeefranee

2010-09-22T20:45:00.001-05:00

#217 unofficial etsy featured seller - mandeefranee
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)

--
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 :)

#216 unofficial etsy featured seller - Vivavivant

2010-09-21T18:11:00.000-05:00

#216 unofficial etsy featured seller - Vivavivant
Date joined etsy- 12/4/09
Sales to date - 683-Give us some basic info about you:

My name is Meredith and I live with my darling Joel in the old Milton Schoolhouse in Alton, Il. The schoolhouse was built in 1908, became an art glass factory for ten years during the 1980s, and then was mysteriously abandoned for about a decade before we purchased it last year. Aside from (supposedly) being one of the most haunted places in the United States, it was left full of the former owner's random (but awesome!) stuff.

Before buying the school I was an office minion in a design company's marketing department- Joel was in the fine dining industry. Now, we've been able to support ourselves and our building projects inside the school selling our finds online, and using our building skills for other companies around town.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Mornings are a rush. Whatever time we wake up, I usually spend the first three hours of my day taking care of our pets (two dogs, two cats, twelve chickens), cleaning up the dishes, all of that boring household stuff. After that's all done- the fun begins.

Some days are set aside just for cleaning up the neat things we find during the week to photograph and list on etsy. Mondays, I usually spend the entire day packaging. The rest of the time, you'll either find me swinging around powertools with Joel and our volunteers, rummaging through dusty boxes, or pursuing my own artistic interests. Recently, I've been into making light fixtures out of found things in our warehouse- bicycle parts, chandelier prisms, floppy disks, old iron parts from the boiler....

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I have an overactive imagination that lead me to having a lot of imaginary friends as a child. My favorite "toy" was a huge bin of my mother's sewing scraps that I would tie and safety pin around me in various ways to create new "outfits".

Joel and I are really big into reusing recycled materials from demolition sites in the school- which demands a certain level of patience and creativity. Our latest creation was a beautiful suspended vanity in a bathroom made out of old slate chalkboards from the school.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

Necessity! I've long been a buyer on etsy, and wanted to sell my own creations, but didn't know where to begin.

Selling our found treasures as supplies to other buyers gave me the confidence of working as a seller with the site- as well as a lot of practice on writing descriptions and taking good photos of our pieces. We started up another shop a few months ago, ThirteenTwenty, and I just sold my first piece of original art. I hope to someday make my living through my own work.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Not very long- a couple of days. But sales were slow in the beginning, so I wasn't too motivated to update the shop very often. I supposed I didn't want to get my hopes up. After about three months we were discovered by a very talented mosaic artist who couldn't get enough of the broken glass pieces we found. The first time I saw one of her creations using something from Milton- I was so excited! It really gave me the confidence to throw myself into etsy and make it a daily part of my life.
-Top 5 favorite foods?

Anything Italian! I can't pass up a good lasagna. I love growing fresh herbs for homemade pizzas and pasta. I've recently come to enjoy eggs- ever since we started raising our own chickens. For some reason, they taste a billion times better than store bought eggs. I make awesome omelets!

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing?

Oh, this list is too long. Everything I see, I want to know how to make it. Someday, I want to build a giant Japanese pond, learn how to make stained glass windows, weld a giant elephant sculpture, and make my own yogurt.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

There is a ton of advice on etsy's forums about photography, relisting often, making your packages special- and it's all true. I would add that taking the opportunity to really get to know the people who are buying from you is one of the most incredible things etsy allows. You'll meet some really amazing people- and they'll be able to give you the best feedback for how to make your shop even better.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

midnightboudoir
I recently met Glenda because she had bought a few pressed brass pieces form our shop. I'm always nosey about people's shops, and instantly fell head over heels with her incredible fascinators. I know fascinators are really popular, and there are a lot of artists who create them on etsy, but her pieces really stand out as being amazing works of art.

HidenSeek
I just purchased a birthday card for my mom from this shop- it was the most perfect thing! Her art is perfect for someone with "grown-up" taste who has never grown up enough to have stopped imagining they were living a fairytale.

XylocopaDesign
So geeky and cool. What's not to love?

-One year from now, I hope...

....to be able to slow down enough to actually get to know the area I live in well enough to not get lost.

--
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 :)

#215 unofficial etsy featured seller - lisahopkins

2010-09-20T22:28:00.000-05:00

#215 unofficial etsy featured seller - lisahopkins
Date joined etsy- 5/8/08
Sales to date - 784-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Lisa Hopkins. I live in West Lafayette, Indiana with my husband, Mark, and our two dogs and three cats.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

A typical day in the the studio begins with answering emails and convos and packaging new orders to ship. I update QuickBooks, take care of other administrative paperwork, and review my "to do" list for the day. I then get started on studio work, creating and finishing new pieces or sketching/drawing/lettering new designs. A good work day for me is one in which paperwork and interruptions are at a minimum and I can focus on creating. I usually photograph newly finished pieces late in the afternoon, create new Etsy listings, and write out my to-do list for the next day.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I've enjoyed creating as long as I can remember. When I was quite young I used to write and illustrate small handmade books. I still have a couple of these and wonder how I came up with the stories. I loved art class in school and I remember classmates would ask me, "are you an artist?" I always found this question puzzling and my response was something like, "no, I'm just a kid like you." I thought you had to be an adult to be an artist. My grandma actually was a professional artist, a painter, and when I'd visit her she'd give me lessons. We would paint side by side, with her instructing me. I loved those visits.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I got my feet wet selling letterpress cards in my other Etsy shop, paperdragonfly, shared with my friend, Julia. We were both longtime Etsy buyers, loved the venue, and decided to try selling our cards. Selling on Etsy was such a great experience that I opened my jewelry shop several months later.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Two weeks.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

food: guacamole, chocolate, roasted tomato basil soup, my husband's homemade manicotti, my mom's homemade jam.

I don't watch much TV but I've recently gotten hooked on the new series Covert Affairs.

Music playing in the studio lately includes: Lisa Hannigan, Bela Fleck, Rachael Yamagata, Teitur, Tori Amos

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I've been interested in learning glass blowing since taking a hot glass workshop.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I recommend making a habit of carrying business cards--there are plenty of opportunities to hand them out. If what you sell is wearable, like jewelry, wear your work--it gives people the opportunity to ask you about it. I've been fortunate to have been featured on quite a few blogs. It's hard to beat that exposure and I'm grateful to the bloggers who have featured me. My facebook business page (http://www.facebook.com/lisahopkinsjewelry) is a helpful promotional tool for me and I've also recently started a blog (http://lisahopkinsdesign.blogspot.com). I recommend starting a mailing list. Give people the opportunity to sign up and then send out an email newsletter. I send one out quarterly. Joining an active Etsy team can also be helpful. I'm a member of two fantastic Etsy teams: the Artisans Collective and HandMade Division.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

It is hard to choose, there are so many....
Here are three I've purchased from. I love their work:
lottahelleberg
modernbird
WoodElements

-One year from now...

One year from now I'd like to be enjoying my work as much as I do now while finding a bit more time for other interests and activities.

--
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 :)

#214 unofficial etsy featured seller - fashiontouch

2010-09-17T19:31:00.000-05:00

#214 unofficial etsy featured seller - fashiontouch
Date joined etsy- 9/6/08
Sales to date - 687-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi! My name is Elena Polko and I am the owner and designer behind FashionTouch –
cool knits for moms and kids. I was born in USSR, grew up in Russia and now live in
beautiful Niagara on The Canadian Side with my husband and little cute puppy named
Waco.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I am blessed with a very supportive husband so I am able to dedicate my time to my
creations. I wake up around 6 am and take the dog for a walk. We all will have breakfast
after and I spend time checking orders and replying to the convos/emails. I do all of the
work around the house and chat with my parents over the skype (they are still in Russia)
in the morning. In afternoon I start working on the orders and create new items. Post
office run is usually at evening and right after I go for a nice relaxing swim. I need a cup
of tea with milk and honey after, a good book or a movie. On weekends I try to spend as
much time as possible with my husband and dog and it is mostly outdoors.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Housekeeping and creative arts are compulsory credits in Russia, so I learned how to knit
and crochet at school. Other than that, I think the rest are in my genes. My mom is a very
creative person.
-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

One of my friends suggested that should try selling my creations. At that time I started
researching how can I sell my creations online and found etsy. It was and still is lots of
fun and excitement!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

3 days! Oh, I was doing my happy dance the whole day! The buyer was another very
successful seller on etsy, She 1st included my scarflette in her treasury and then purchased
it! I was extremely happy!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Food:
Pelmeni (its like perogies, but with meat)
Sushi
Tomato sandwich with bacon (the way my husband makes it)
Ribs
Seafood

TV Shows: I don’t have tv connection, mostly watching online tv from eastern Europe

Bands (this is the difficult one:):
Sade
Georgian Duduk
INXS
U2
Lady Gaga

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I used to do pottery, it was very relaxing and enjoyable. I would like to return to that
sometime. And I also would like to learn to speak French and Italian.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

First and the most important is to love what you are doing. Beside that, if you treat it as
hobby, it will remain a hobby, if you treat it as a business it will be a business. Therefore,
research the market and create what market will take. I’ve tried many things to promote
FashionTouch, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Etsy does their best to attract
buyers to their search, now it is you turn to make them click your thumbnail.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

morelle
Silvia66
TianaCHE

-One year from now, I hope...

Myself and my family happy and healthy, finish our house renovation, bring my parents
to Canada, and have more business on Etsy

--
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 :)

#213 unofficial etsy featured seller - FerntreeStudio

2010-09-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

#213 unofficial etsy featured seller - FerntreeStudio
Date joined etsy- 7/7/09
Sales to date - 443-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Angela Traunig. I currently live in Atlanta, Georgia with my husband, son, 2 dogs (a Dobe and a Rottie) and 3 cats. Yes we have a house full! Somehow I manage to cram a studio space in there too! I've always had a crazy amount of animals, so this is actually as close to normal as it gets for me. In the past (not necessarily all at once) I've had dogs, cats, parakeets, fish, hamsters, bearded dragons...you get the idea. I think the funniest time was when I had almost all of them at the same time. At that time I had a crazy little Bichon dog that liked to gnaw on the corner of the hamster's glass terrarium while the hamster ran around gloating. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

What else...I am a full time elementary school art teacher, a mom and a full time artist...so umm...can we say no sleep?! :) I love it though. What other things do I love...fruit, chocolate, salt, flowers, standing out on the carport watching it rain, roads that go through old forests, a brand new box of Crayola crayons and not using the gold and silver so they'll last longer...Ooo!..and the sound of the ocean at night when I go camping at the beach. That sound is kind of like falling asleep on the couch when you were a child and your parents were still hanging out playing cards with their friends. There's comfort in the background sounds and knowing that life is going on around you while you sleep.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

'Average day' is a total laugh when you have a full time job, an art career and a family that includes animals and a toddler...but ok, I'll give it a try...

I get up around 5-5:30am and get ready for work while my husband gets our son off to daycare. I work at an elementary school as the art teacher and get done around 3:30pm. If we don't have meetings I am home around 4-4:30pm. I have a snack and watch 20 minutes of tv and then I get to work either printing, packaging, going to the post office, drawing, answering emails, or surfing the web looking for business information, good blogs, advertising ideas etc... Around 7pm I'm fixing dinner for 3, which usually includes 2 totally different menus! I sit on the couch with my son while he eats (the dining room table is my work space, so he's totally getting bad habits) and then when he crashes at 9:30pm I'm finishing my dinner cold. I get back to work if I can (probably on flowers this time) and roll into bed somewhere between 10pm-midnight.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Oh yes, but I think all kids are. My favorite things were painting, coloring as perfectly as possible, and making landscapes out of real dirt and twigs and rocks glued to paper.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

All my knobby knee critters starting invading my thoughts while I was pregnant with my son. I guess the pregnancy hormones were fuel for art for me. I don't really remember how I found Etsy the very first time, but with the low cost to get started and all these drawings I had for no reason, I figured what the heck!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took me about a week to get my first sale. From the very beginning (my first sale even!) it was custom orders, and I started to realize that I had a great format for creating art for nurseries tailored to the clients decor.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Food... fruit, chocolate, cheese, casseroles, salty things

tv shows... Fringe, Warehouse13, Top Gear, House Hunters International, Star Trek NG

Bands...I'm much more about the individual songs and the singability than I am about specific bands.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

EVERYTHING! Seriously, if I won the lottery I'd have the biggest, best stocked studio ever, with a space for every conceivable art form!
-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Relisting/renewing is key. I spend on average, $100 a month on relisting/renewing. You gotta spend money to ...well, you know.

Have a decent sized selection (more than 1 page of items).

Check in and comment in forums and blog articles.

The most important advice I can give is to figure out what your market is, who is your target customer. If you love to create religious folk art, then you need to focus on websites, craft fairs, and parts of Etsy that are suited to you. If you create wedding jewelry then you need to focus on that narrow subset of the jewelry market. Find a niche!

I suggest finding a successful shop like yours, and figure out what they are doing. Don't be a copycat, but you can learn a lot by following a great leader.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Ridiculorum
TheFancyLamb
atelierBB

-One year from now, I hope...

To live in a house big enough for a proper studio. To be doing my art full time. To have another bun in the oven.

--
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 :)

#212 unofficial etsy featured seller - orglamix

2010-09-15T21:07:00.002-05:00

#212 unofficial etsy featured seller - orglamix
Date joined etsy- 7/8/09
Sales to date - 11031-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hi, my name is Cheri Tracy ...and I'm addicted to color, sparkle & cosmetics. I live with my amazing husband (my high school sweetheart) in a suburb of Chicago. We have two girls, ages six and three, a wonderful black lab named Winston and a chatterbox blue and gold macaw named Bam Bam.

I'm not a huge fan of ice cream (candy is totally different story), but I tend to gravitate to more unusual flavors; like Green Tea, Blueberry Lavender or Strawberry Basil.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

During the school year, I like to be out of bed by 6:00-6:30 so I can work for an hour or so before I have to get my girls up for school. I get up, brew some coffee (thank you Keurig!) and check my convos and relist everything that sold while I was sleeping. On average, I get about 50-75 convos per day. I answer them throughout the day, so I have have about 15-20 to answer in the morning.

Then it's time to wake the kids and help them get dressed, eat breakfast, pack snacks & lunch and drive them off to school. Once I drop them off, I head back to the computer to check my email, catch up on beauty news, Facebook and plan my tweets and blog posts for the day. By 10:30 I have to force myself to stop myself. I could spend all day online! I head up to my attic ‘aka lab’ to work on new colors and products or special orders and pack and pull orders that need to be shipped. Before I pick up the kids from school, I check in with Facebook, answer convos and relist.

Once they are home, we have a snack and hang out -- play, clean, laundry-- just your average family stuff. I make dinner, the girls hopefully eat what I make and dH gets home. We eat eat, give the girls a bath, read books or play a game or watch a show and then I pass out --after -of course- I've checked FB, convos and relisted.

This is my typical day; I'm grateful I'm doing something I enjoy and have the flexibility to do what I want, when I want. I'm on the board at my daughter’s preschool, a lunchroom mom and we travel frequently, so I often need to juggle my work load with real life. It’s a constant battle, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.xz

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I like to think I was creative growing up. I would rather take a trip to the arts & crafts store then anywhere else. I loved doing crafty things --hand painting furniture & clothes, making jewelry, scrapbooking to sewing my own clothes and handbags. In high school, I airbrushed a pair of suede cowboy boots rainbow. I still have them-- and they always make me smile.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

At first, my main reason for selling on Etsy was to test new formulas and colors for my own website; but I’ve been so busy, I haven't had time to build it yet.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I opened my Etsy shop last year. The first day I listed something, I had a sale. Since then, I've acquired so many wonderful customers. I'm super excited since I just had my 11,000th sale.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Although I love color, cosmetics and creating them, I think people would be surprised to find out (shhh!) I'm not very good at the application. That’s about to change, since I'm stepping outside of my comfort zone and hectic life to go to makeup school. I can't wait!

My mind creates things a mile a minute! I'm also developing two new lines that I've been working on for the past year. I’m excited to see these come to fruition. I'd also love to learn how to make soap, but I'm afraid to start since I don't think I need another obsession.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

3 Shops I L-O-V-E
Curious Georgia - She has the cutest kids clothes.

My Polka Dot Pottery - Unique shower gifts

Single Stone Studios - Great wall decals (although I am having a hard time trying to decide)

One year from now, I hope to...

I think I've found my groove, so I'm excited to expand my reach and keep creating new and exciting products. A year from now, I hope to have someone special in every state representing Orglamix. Five years from now, I envision a retail / spa franchise that’s top-notch, yet very affordable that caters to moms.

I want to thank you for this wonderful opportunity; and all of my AMAZING customers for helping me spread the Orglamix bliss!

--
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 :)

#211 unofficial etsy featured seller - zozobugbaby

2010-09-14T23:32:00.000-05:00

#211 unofficial etsy featured seller - zozobugbaby
Date joined etsy- 4/7/08
Sales to date - 1675-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Julie Anne Martin...Salem, Oregon. I have 2 girls..Delia (3.5) and Zoe (5)..a husband named, Larry, and a cat named Athena. I can THROW DOWN some vanilla bean ice cream. I am TERRIFIED of birds. TERRIFIED. I grew up in Mississippi. :)

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

My life is INSANE. Straight-up NUTS. During the school year, I work from 8:30-4:30 each day, but the summers are chaos. I get up at 4 am to work most days and stay up late to do computer work. I have 2 assistants that sew the bulk of my orders. I move at WARP SPEED to handle my business and still get the family fed and tucked into bed at night. I am an insomniac to say the least. Zoloft is my friend.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I have been creative since I can remember...back to toddlerhood. I took private art lessons as a child and majored in Fine Art in college. My background is in Fine Art (drawing , photography, and mixed media paintings). I owned a mural-painting business for 10 years before launching my children's clothing line. Creating is like BREATHING for me. I will DIE if I can't do it.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

My best friend introduced me to Etsy. I never had any intentions of selling my creations until the demand for what I was sewing for my girls got to the point that I KNEW it would be successful.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took me a couple of months to get my first sale.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

I am FULL-ON addicted to "Glee". I'm a Gleek and CRAZY PROUD of it. I also LOVE Project Runway. Food? SUSHI and anything involving sugar. Bands? WOW. So varied there. I love everything from John Barry to Lady Gaga. VERY eclectic. I hate Country.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

My secret desire has ALWAYS been to be a rock star. I used to play the piano, flute and guitar years ago..........

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

You HAVE to have good photos. Period. If you have NOTHING ELSE...have good photos. Also..BE UNIQUE. Etsy is RAMPANT with copycats. Find your passion and make it your own. Give the people something they haven't seen before.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

citefuzz.etsy.com, booandboofactory.etsy.com, and thatjewelrygirl.etsy.com (I own a crazy amount of her pieces!).

-One year from now, I hope...

to find that elusive BALANCE!

--
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 :)

#210 unofficial etsy featured seller - owlsay

2010-09-13T19:18:00.000-05:00

#210 unofficial etsy featured seller - owlsay
Date joined etsy- 5/30/09
Sales to date - 3203-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

Hello! I'm Kelley Terrill, owner of Owl Say Designs. I live with my husband/best friend and 3 yr old little boy in our 100 yr old 1100 sq ft A-frame house 30 miles outside of Dallas, TX (aka Royse City, TX). I love it here! I grew up in a small town, so our abode is the perfect mix of small town with all the amenities of a big city nearby. We have 2 dogs - Dixie (a mutt we adopted from the pound) and Delmar(a basset hound whose name I think should be Dexter, but I lost the coin toss). My studio workspace is also my dining room, so it's not uncommon to see a very blue-eyed munchkin covered in spaghetti while I'm desperately trying to protect my fabric, paper, computer, etc. Ice cream is the one vice I don't have, but put a freshly baked chocolate cake with homemade chocolate icing in front of me and you'll have to wheel me into the emergency room in a sugar shock - I, um, have a weakness for fresh baked goodies! I'm a serious night owl who was very fortunate to marry an equally serious night owl and have a beautiful night owl baby. I am already panicking about kindergarten hours and how the munchkin and I will cope with having to get up in time for school. My husband says we have 2 years to reform our schedule and I'm pretty sure it will take that long.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I leap out of bed and race to the shower to get ready and greet the day with a smile and a snazzy attitude. Ok, no, I don't do that. I wish I could. Really, I have to set the alarm and tell myself if I push snooze too many times the alarm won't keep going off so get your lazy tush out of bed. That's closely followed by drinking a protein shake while rousing up my munchkin to fix him oatmeal or cereal. Once he's occupied with breakfast, I make some hot tea, answer emails and relist items. The rest of the day is a mix of making orders to ship the same/next day, sewing orders for the next few days, lunch, more of the above, setting up busy projects like toys, painting, play-do etc for the munchkin, playing outside with the pups, saying 'No you cannot watch a movie until it's time for nap" a hundred times, finally starting a movie as nap wind-down, nap time (unfortunately not for me), finding some ridiculous, obscure movie to watch instantly on Netflix while I get down to some real, uninterrupted business, dinner and then more work. At some point during the day, I've made a post office run. If the weather is nice enough, we walk. At some point (usually late evening) I've also spent some time on the elliptical or bike riding. Then I read in bed for as long as it takes to shut down my brain so I can sleep!
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

My grandmother taught me to sew when I was 8 or 9. My dad was probably my biggest influence. I was always coming up with strange contraptions for my toys or school projects. I'd tell my dad my idea and we'd go to the garage and pillage around until we could find scraps to build my idea. It was an awesome lesson in how to turn your conceptualized ideas into something tangible. My mom made me take a home ec class my freshman year in high school. I was furious (because independent, no-nonsense business women do not need lessons in home economics), but this is where I learned to actually read and sew from a pattern. That practice was invaluable and really shaped my interest and designing abilities. So, I guess mom's know best right?

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

At the time I discovered Etsy, I was a new stay-at-home-mom and had time to focus more on my hobbies. I realized with the loss of the second income, I couldn't really afford to buy what I wanted, so initially I sold on Etsy to support my habit. I soon discovered I could turn my ideas into a business.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I was pretty lucky for OSD, it only took about 20 days. But I already had another established shop, Tattered Tapestry so I had a much shorter learning curve with OSD.
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Foods: Turkey Lasagna (whole wheat of course), anything from Chick-fil-a, Beer Steak w/ baked potato, a giant double decker cheeseburger (which I can never eat alone, but there is something about the meat, cheese, meat cheese combo that is so delicious), sweet tea (oh, my comfort food)
TV Shows: Currently - Chuck, Psych, Burn Notice, NCIS, American Dreamer - ok, this is a movie, but my all time favorite movie
Bands: Old School Country/Blue Grass, Tom Petty, Mark Cohn, Fleetwood Mac, Queen

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

My husband says I already have too many hobbies, but I'd really like to try soap making. I've done a bit of woodworking with my dad (he has his own Etsy shop too http://johnmorgandesigns.etsy.com) and it was very addicting so I could definitely see myself getting more into it. Plus, I plan to learn to play the piano some day. (See, too many hobbies..)

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I actually started a series of blog posts to help out other Etsy sellers. My two best pieces of advice are to start out debt free and have realistic expectations. It's a lot of work to run your own business and success doesn't happen overnight!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

This one is so hard! Aside from my dad's shop (listed above), I guess it's the most fair to give the ones I visit the most:
http://aliceapple.etsy.com
http://theblackapple.etsy.com
http://johnwgolden.etsy.com
http://wiseimpressions.etsy.com

-One year from now, I hope...

Ok, also hard...we are all still healthy and happy, we have moved to a bigger house in our same little town, to have a couple of patterns available for sale, to have another baby here or on the way, start a newsletter, have my own dedicated website...geeze, I should get busy :)

--
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 :)

#209 unofficial etsy featured seller - blackbirdfashion

2010-09-10T17:56:00.000-05:00

#209 unofficial etsy featured seller - blackbirdfashion
Date joined etsy- 11/27/06
Sales to date - 867 -Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

I live and work in a 100 year old house in Anacortes, WA. I live with my husband and we have a 3 year old son Caspian, and a baby on the way. We have three cats (including one that weighs 25 lbs) and a guinea pig. I am a huge ice cream eater, but my very favorite is Ben and Jerry's Dublin Mudslide.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

Get up at 6, sneak in a little bit of crafting or house cleaning before Caspian is up. Then we have breakfast and I answer emails and do Etsy listing while he plays. We go for walks, go to the beach, read a million books, do some gardening, or hit the thrift stores until it's lunch/nap time. Then I sew while he naps. In the late afternoon, my husband comes home from work and takes over with Caspian so I can do more sewing and then we all have dinner together. We spend the early evening together and then (ideally) I work for a couple more hours after everyone else is asleep. It's a huge balancing act, and it never feels like I accomplish all I'd like to.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Growing up, I always had a million crafts projects going, which drove my mom nuts. I sewed clothes for my dolls, painted and drew, built tiny buildings and always made a huge mess.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I stopped working my day job while I was pregnant with Caspian, and that's when I tried to make Etsy a bigger part of my business. I love the idea of the larger crafting community, and Etsy is its superstore.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

It took a little while because I didn't have good pictures at first.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Blueberries, ice cream, Thai spring rolls, chocolate, cake.

The Closer, the Mentalist, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Bored to Death

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Definitely knitting. But I'm afraid it would take over my life.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I'm still figuring out how to successfully promote, but I would say being active in the Etsy forums and commenting on blog posts. But don't leave annoying comments and don't over post.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

slowshirts
geninne
cottonmonster

-One year from now, I hope...

To outsource some of my work, and to successfully balance two kids and a business.

--
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 :)

#208 unofficial etsy featured seller - lettergirl

2010-09-09T23:52:00.000-05:00

#208 unofficial etsy featured seller - lettergirl
Date joined etsy- 6/27/08
Sales to date - 2126-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.
My name is Gina and I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a 106-year old Victorian with my husband and our two awesome kids. I drink tea with milk almost every day, and sit at a very messy desk in a very messy home office. (I’m working on it! Any advice?)

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

During the school year, I usually work from 9-3 while my kids are at school, and then pick up the slack at night if I need to. Summer has been a bit more complicated because I don’t want them to have to go right from a school schedule to a summer schedule. I usually work in the mornings now, from 6-8, then spend some time with my kids and try to fit in a few more hours during the day if they have plans. Some weeks they go to day camps so they can have fun while I’m getting caught up.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Like a lot of other artists, I’ve been creating things as long as I can remember. I started my business, Dreamland, 18 years ago designing custom wedding stationery and holiday cards. After a few years working only with local clients, I started working with a handful of retail stationery stores around the country, and then in the fall of 2008 I opened my etsy shop under the name lettergirl.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I had a few sales on etsy that first holiday season, but my heart wasn’t in it quite yet. I still do a lot of custom holiday orders so I didn’t have time to devote to figuring out how to make etsy successful. I put more effort into it in January – and the results were amazing! After I uploaded some new items, I was featured on a wonderful blog (Paper Crave) and it’s just been crazy ever since. In addition to a number of really generous bloggers writing about my products, I’ve been doing some sponsorships and giveaways on blogs too. The blogging community has really driven my sales on etsy.

I actually wish I had more time to spend on the overall etsy site. Since I still have my design business AND etsy, I don’t have much time leftover for all the administrative stuff that goes along with having a business. I would love to hear what your readers think is the most helpful part of etsy for them!
-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

Even though I’ve handwritten thousands of envelopes, I am still not sick of writing. I also like to handsew garments, keep scrapbooks, and quilt. Right now I am focusing on having enough time for all the things I enjoy doing and not thinking much about new pursuits!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

My best advice for new etsy sellers is to give yourself perspective – spend time thinking about your product, why you’re selling it, what kind of business you want to have, and how you can make it happen. Time spent on “why” is never wasted!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Three etsy shops I just love are:
ChickadeeSupplies (she sells amazing German fabric trims),
EightSeasons (I’ve been itching for one of those iPod cases),
and TreacleToffee (because it is the first shop I ever favorited).

--
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 :)

#207 unofficial etsy featured seller - verysweetbows

2010-09-08T21:14:00.000-05:00

#207 unofficial etsy featured seller - verysweetbows
Date joined etsy- 2/10/08
Sales to date - 1433-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.
My name is Fagan and I live in rural Texas with a raucous collection of kids and dogs. I am very firm in my belief that BlueBell is the only ice cream fit to eat.

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

This is my full time job and I work a lot. Between Etsy and my web site I really have to put in some serious hours. During the school year my main workday is limited to the 5 hours between school drop off and pick up. With homework, diner and (some but never enough) housework it's generally around 9 before I can get back to work. My main challenge is staying focused and motivated, but sometimes the call of something new is too loud and I abandon the stack of orders that I "should" be working on for some creative fun.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I have been obsessed with all things textile since I was a little girl. I learned to crochet when I was 8 and it has been a lifelong love. I was sewing doll clothes, weaving baskets out of grass and generally being a book worm and craft nerd while the other kids were playing sports or watching tv. Nothing has really changed, it's just my job now!

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

As soon as I visited Etsy for the first time I loved it! It was such a refreshing and creative atmosphere. I opened my store the same day.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Maybe a day or two....not very long.

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

TV seems like a huge waste of daylight to me, so I only watch at night after I'm in bed. The only exception is Glee, which I record and watch religiously. During the day I listen to Big Band and crooners from the 40's and 50's.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I do suffer from craft A.D.D and try new things continually. I've been flirting with knitting for several years but can't seem to commit since I'm so at ease with crocheting.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Etsy is a very crowded marketplace now and your items really MUST be different or unique in some way to stand out in the crowd. If you are making something that a hundred (or more) other sellers are making, you must figure out a way for your items unique in some way. Even better is to make something that few other people are doing. You don't have to re-invent the wheel, but a new spin on an old idea is what will get you the sale before the other guys. The number one most important thing are your pictures. Do whatever you have to do to get or take good ones, they are your main appeal.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

CandyLandBeads
ElegantSnobbery
JanetHillStudio

-One year from now, I hope...

To have another 1400 sales and still be doing the work I am so fortunate to be able to do! I can't imagine doing anything else.

--
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 :)

#206 unofficial etsy featured seller - tiffzippy

2010-09-07T18:21:00.000-05:00

#206 unofficial etsy featured seller - tiffzippy
Date joined etsy- 1/9/09
Sales to date - 460
Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Tiffany; I live in Mission Viejo, California (Orange County ). I live with my boyfriend of almost 4 years now and our dog Yogi. I have been in California for almost 6 years. I am originally from Iowa, and I don’t miss the snow one bit. Favorite ice cream flavor would actually be my favorite frozen yogurt, which is the old standby vanilla.

Describe an average day in life of "you".

I have a regular full time job in marketing. I work Mon-Fri, 40 hours a week. After work, I hit the gym before heading home. We have dinner, walk the dog; then off to my craft room to die cut the night away. I will usually start the night with any orders I need to cut, then package up for mailing. If I don’t have any orders, I work on new designs. I have a blackberry so I can see how my shop is doing during the day and answer any convo’s if needed. About 2 days a week, during my lunch break, I will make a post office run.

Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I have always been creative. I had more crayons then I knew what to do with as a kid. I tried just about every craft that was out there for kids in the 80’s. I made pot holders, coasters from those small plastic beads, necklaces, friendship bracelets – you name it I tried it.

What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I found Etsy through a blog I was reading. Once I saw it, I was hooked. I mostly looked and shopped for a few months before opening my shop. I decided to open my shop once I purchased my electronic die cutter. I knew I could create things that other scrapbookers were looking for just like I was. As a scrapbooker, I know it’s hard to find just the right embellishment for your page; and this was the answer. I can die cut just about anything, including fonts.

How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Once I had opened my shop with a few items, it took just about 2 months for my 1st sale in July. I was so excited; I didn’t even know what to do. Since then, I have grown steadily with adding new items every few days or relisting. So far in 2010, it’s really my 1st whole year on Etsy, now that I have my shop stocked up. This is my learning year to really track my items and see what sells and what doesn’t.
Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Favorite Foods:
Chicken, pizza, french fries, a good salad and cupcakes

TV shows:
Project Runway, CSI ( Las Vegas ), Design Star and Bachelor Pad (love reality T.V.)

Bands:
This list is ever changing: Bon Jovi, Matchbox 20, Jay-z, Lady Gaga and Nickelback

Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I have a goal to learn how to knit by the end of 2010. I have already purchased everything; I just need to sit down and do it! I always like to learn new crafty skills; I just need to make time.

What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I joined a couple of teams on Etsy which has been great for advice, ideas and critiques. Make sure to investigate which group is the right fit for you and your shop. I also have a facebook page and twitter account for my shop. I tried a little blog advertising last year; I can’t say it brought me a lot of sales, but I do know I had more views.

3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

HeidiNoellesNiche

LavenderField

elisejoy

One year from now...

One year from now, I hope to finally have my blog and website up and running. This is on the top of my list of things to do, but I want to do it right, so it will take some time.

--
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 :)

#205 unofficial etsy featured seller - sweetiepiebakery

2010-09-06T20:38:00.000-05:00

#205 unofficial etsy featured seller - sweetiepiebakery
Date joined etsy- 4/1/09
Sales to date - 622
-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

My name is Jessica Peck. I live outside of Milwaukee with my three redheaded, blue-eyed babies: Ephraim, Aeris and Jason, my husband ;) My favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

We wake up around 5:30am. No clue why! It doesn't matter what time these children go to bed, we're all up at 5:30am! The day consists of the chaos of designing, homeschooling, cooking and playing.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I remember getting a sticker book around Christmas time when I was little and decorating the walls of my closet with all the stickers inside. I think I spent hours in that closet stringing reindeer and Santa from one side to the other with stickers everywhere. I remember the feeling of pride I had looking at what I created! I just wish I could remember how it looked....That is the first design project I can remember...

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I started selling on Etsy as a creative outlet for myself when I decided to stay home with my kids while they were young. I never expected Sweetie Pie Bakery to turn into the business that it has!

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

I got my first sale with the first 48 hours!

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

My husband is my favorite chef and I could eat asparagus risotto or prosciutto, arugula, caramelized onion pizza with a glass of Chianti every single day. I'm a reality tv junkie but love Columbo. Peter Falk is to die for! I love folk music. If you haven't heard of Josh Ritter, you're truly missing out.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I would love to be able to knit, but I think I'll save that learning process for when my husband and I retire to Italy.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

I've had some amazing success in my first year for not promoting myself very much. I'm currently working on two projects that I can't say much about and that was before I even paid for one blog advertisement. I suggest just doing it for the love of it and success will follow if you create a product that deserves it! Also-take great pictures! I don't think that can ever be emphasized enough.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

BalletArt
thewheatfield
Nadinoo

-One year from now, I hope...

I hope to be doing what I'm doing! Designing in my pj's with my little ones at my feet-could it be any better?
--
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 :)

#204 unofficial etsy featured seller - atelierbb

2010-09-04T21:26:00.002-05:00

#204 unofficial etsy featured seller - atelierbb
Date joined etsy- 5/11/08
Sales to date - 451-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.
My name is Brigitte Bouquet.
I was born in Amsterdam and have moved around quite a bit over the last 8 years.
From Amsterdam to Chicago, to Sydney Australia and currently I live in Brooklyn NY together
with my husband.
Favorite ice cream: lemon sorbet!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

We love the mornings so most of the time we are awake early.
I’ll go to the swimming pool for a few laps or to Pilates class and start in the studio at 10 am.
My studio is in the basement of our building and it’s nice and quiet there.
I have coffee/ tea breaks and a lunch stop and at night always a nice meal.
I love to cook – we love healthy food!
After dinner it’s computer-time, catching up on emails and orders.

Lately most time of the day is spent on the Wobblies, I do try to find some time for my sculptural work - http://web.me.com/bbceramics
But it’s been hard though, the Wobbly Plates fan-group is growing and growing, I’ve never been so busy.
-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

I wasn’t really very creative to be honest, or at least not interested in creative stuff when I was a
kid, I was more an outdoorsy child, refusing to grow up!

The moment I discovered ceramics it immediately felt as the perfect fit.
Nothing is more beautiful and shiny than the colors of glazes.
I love the ‘dirty’ aspect of clay as well. Clay is just an amazing material, it’s so diverse.

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

A friend suggested Etsy.
At that time it seemed ridiculous with my big big heavy ceramic sculptures - 220 pound and ø 5 or 6 feet!
But when I started to design the Wobbly Plates, it made a lot more sense and I decided to give it
a try.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Well, I first claimed the name and then after a couple of weeks we made the banner.
My first Wobblies were listed a couple of months later and my first sale was weeks after that….
So it was a very very slow start

-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

From Italian to Thai food, I am addicted to veggies & fruits; I love –organic!- food!
I’ll eat everything except for meat & artificial nonsense!

tv shows
Don’t like TV. So no, no shows.

and bands?
from Nick Cave to Frank Sinatra, from Amy Winehouse to Renata Tebaldi.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

For months now I wanna learn how to weave…. behind a loom.
And see if I can use this technique in combination with ceramics.
For my sculptural work, nothing to do with the Wobbly Plates!

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Just keep on going.
Set yourself an achievable goal and go for it!
No matter what.

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

Oktak
LaLaShoes
Xenotees

-One year from now...

Still making and creating things I’m passionate about!

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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 :)

#203 unofficial etsy featured seller - redpanda

2010-09-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

#203 unofficial etsy featured seller - redpanda
Date joined etsy- 2/13/06
Sales to date - 1023-Give us some basic info about you: name, where you live, kids/pets, favorite ice cream flavor, etc.

I'm Jessica! I'm 23 and I am live in beautiful East Nashville, Tennessee. I live with my supportive boyfriend, and besides making chainmaille I also love riding bikes and hula hooping and reading books/zines!

-Describe an average day in life of "you".

I wake up and first thing check all my emails. I've got very little time in the morning before I head out to my day job. During the day I'm a paralegal. I do that for eight hours, and I come home and work on my etsy shop! I reply to convos, make up any orders I need to for the day, and get them packaged and ready to ship the next day (I ship all orders during my lunch break at the day job). Weekends is when lots of work gets done. I save most all of my new design making/photographing/editing pictures/listing for the weekends. I drink lots of coffee. Haha.

-Were you creative growing up/what did you enjoy doing?

Yep! I was always the little girl in the family that got art kits at Christmas. :)

-What made you want to start selling on etsy?

I forget! It's actually been so long ago that I don't remember how I found etsy or exactly what my motivation was. I'd been making bracelets and selling them at school, so taking them online just seemed like the logical next step.

-How long did it take for you to get your first sale on etsy?

Three days! I joined etsy back in early 2006 when it was still a baby site, so there wasn't nearly as much competition as there is now. I was lucky!
-Top 5 favorite foods, tv shows, and bands?

Hm. I love vegetables a lot recently. Broccoli, kale, most all fruits. I also enjoy pasta, bread, and ice cream. I don't watch much TV, but what I do watch is The Daily Show and Colbert Report, Lost, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad. I could never name my top 5 favorite bands. I'm into a lot of indie rock and dubstep lately though.

-Is there anything you'd like to try your hand at doing? Knitting, baking, soap making, wood working, an instrument, etc.

I wish I could paint more than anything. I took band in school instead of art classes so I just have no idea where to begin when I get a paintbrush in my hand.

-What would you suggest to new etsy sellers to promote their shops?

Social networking! Get a twitter and a facebook and actively network with others. Make friends!

-3 etsy shops you just LOVE?

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NatalieAsIs
http://www.etsy.com/shop/savor
http://www.etsy.com/shop/brainscan

-One year from now...

I'll be better at dealing with all the various things that come along with owning a business. Still working on streamlining everything!

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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 :)