I have a shop on Etsy dedicated to a variety of items. I enjoy to sew,paint,decoupage,knit,crochet, and collect vintage goodies to share with others. My Etsy Shop is
SpunkyChildDesign if anyone would like to check it out. I know I don't have many followers but hey, you never know who is going to stumble upon your bloggie!
Today I have created a new Recipe Box. I first started my Etsy shop with many Recipe boxes and Photo boxes because that at the time, was my thrill. I am working on a second new box to put in my Etsy shop that is too cute! almost too cute to sell but..my intent was to make it for my shop so, i'll go ahead to pout when its gone to a new home.
My Etsy has been open for a little over a year now. I had opened it to dedicate myself to a hobby. To keep my mind off other events in my life and the stress of the day to day that some people have. So, from boxes came crochet things like hats and scarves. I told my husband because I buy the crafting supplies and enjoy creating things, I didn't want a stockpile of "stuff" sitting around our small apartment. My best friend was actually the person to tell me "you should start an Etsy shop!" .... so to her we applaud.
I shortly discoverd that having an Etsy shop in the sea of millions of people was very hard. I researched a bit and discovred that my boxes were pretty unique compared to the others that were up for grabs in other shops. Talented artists stock Etsy with such a vibrancy that its hard to compete with others. I continued to build on my available items in my shop and discovered that if I had more than 30 items, I was getting more hits. Now aday's I try to keep approx 80 items available for the sake of having a stocked store for folks to discover new finds and gifts.
I get a real thrill out of selling something handmade to someone, Ive shipped things all over the United States and as far as New Finland which, was really exciting. I've sold "props" to a certain someone to be featured in a Movie... that was VERY exciting.
Simple things catch me and lift my spirits up. Like many crafters you hit a wall.
I discovered Heartsy.me (whom is now closed due to I don't know why) that would feature my shop, sell vouchers and i'd basically be wiped clean in my shop. I found out that the first time around, I was getting hosed. Good for the folks that had gotten such an amazing deal on pretties but oh dear...for me..not so well.. I was loosing profits and I felt really bummed. I kept on trucking on, all a learning experience. A few months later I sold vouchers again on Heartsy. This time coming out on the positive side.
I dedicated all my time and effort after coming home from an already full time job to create things for my Etsy shop. I was not getting a "day off" for weeks and weeks if not months. I was consumed. Etsy had me by the hair and it was not letting go....
I took a month off from creating any new products for my Etsy shop. About a year ago we moved into our new Apartment home in a better neighborhood and closer to work for my Husband and I. Our dining room was going untouched and not being used. We have a 2 bedroom apartment home, my window in the dining room faces a very large pine tree (I think) My husband bought me my first table from Craigslist. As we are young and putting him threw college money is tight so we had to make due. $50 bought me the table that is home to my cutting mat and laptop. Our kitchen table in the far right corner now houses storage space under for my ready to ship items and storage on top for fabrics and other supplies. I use Antique Ball Wire jars to store spools of thread,Velcro,ribbon,bobbles and bits. I found a box of about 12 blue jars from the early 1940's if not sooner at a second hand store-I was thrilled and grinning ear to ear feeling as if I just hit the mother goose! The next piece of furniture to the right of the corner table is an ugly shelf my husband homed that was going to the dump..Hey..another persons junk is another s treasure! I found other pieces of shelving at second hand stores for super duper cheap-im uniquely fantastic and bargain shopping ;-) and during my break from Etsy I made drapes for my kitchen table and attached a curtain rod to my ugly book shelf and then had sewn bunting to the bottom for an added color pop. This space is special to me.
After a long break from Etsy i'm back, in almost full action.
Im still learning to blog so please, bare with me. I really enjoy writing. This also feeds my desire to share :)
