Etsy: Slowly, but Surely...  

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I swear, I'm not going to use this blog to really pump my etsy shop. I mean, sure, I'm going to mention it once or twice because my crafting is always evolving and that might mean that I might start selling different things, but it's really not the focus of my writing here.

What I AM going to talk about now, though, is the the evolution of my etsy to what it is today. I thought over what I was going to sell for a really long time. At first, I wanted to sell my knitted shawls. I even thought of a marketing campaign [it was a pretty good one, too, in my opinion]! But then I started to think more realistically... These things take me quite a few hours to knit and take two whole skeins of yarn, so what would I have to sell them for? Was anyone really going to pay like $30 for something they could probably knit themselves? And was I willing to devote so much time to knitting? The LAST thing I want to do is end up hating knitting. I LOVE to knit. It's my salvation. Nothing slows me down and takes my mind off the world like counting "knit one, purl two..."

So I came to the same conclusion that, like, 98% of etsy did: Jewelry is the cheapest, easiest, fastest solution. So I went to Michaels... and got overwhelmed. There are soooo many different beads and supplies, etc etc, that my brain just went into idea overload and I didn't know where to start. I decided just to use what I already had to start, so, I started...

Jewelry-making, to me, is easy. It is so easy that it doesn't feel special. And when you search through etsy, it ISN'T special. I wasn't satisfied. I wanted to bring something different to the table, to make me stand out. One thing I hate is being just like everyone else. So one day, I decided to play around with an idea and the materials I already had. That's how most of my crafts start [unless I'm crafting for a specific purpose, like a birthday gift or Halloween costume], and sure enough, I ended up painting my first set of pendants and bracelets.

I was excited to list them on etsy. I was proud of them, and was eager to see the response. People seemed to really like them. That didn't necessarily mean they would sell, since half the battle of etsy is actually getting people to SEE your store, but I was proud they were there. I thought they showed the world that yes, I do have more talent than just sticking beads together. And, after a little search around etsy, they were fairly unique. There were hand-painted wearable items, sure, but nothing just like mine.

So as it stands now, that is what my etsy is about. I had planned to paint my butt off for weeks straight so I could show at a Craft Fair this Fall, but I didn't get accepted because they already had too many jewelry vendors [fyi: I went there today and yes, dear Lord, there were a LOT of jewelry vendors selling swarovski bracelets and sterling silver charms... but NOTHING like my tuff]. I was hoping that a craft fair would really get the ball rolling for me, but it wasn't in the cards yet. My painted pieces are definitely the "best sellers," but with 15 sales total, it's not really saying much. I've had many different kinds of people tell me they love them and how unique they are. Even the store manager at a tattoo parlour thought I should showcase at a Tattoo Convention! lol But I kind of stalled after getting declined from the first craft fair, so not much has happened since [save for a few custom orders].

Can I see myself painting these little tiles forever? No. Because I don't want to do any one thing forever. I'll end up hating it! THAT'S why I love etsy. Because I can make whatever I want, list it, and see what happens. The down-side is the limited audience. My reputation is slowly building, but it's not any where close to bringing in the big dough yet.

In conclusion I'd just like to say that this is my dream... Making a living off of doing something I love, which is to create. The thought of putting something out there that is uniquely me and having someone else say "Wow! I love that" and paying to have it for themselves is just... AWESOME! So it's worth the effort and wait. Ultimately, I can't help but feel like I'm heading in the right direction.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 04, 2009 . You can leave a response and follow any responses to this entry through the Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) .

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