What's the story behind your Etsy shop?
Well, I've been selling on Etsy since June 12th, 2010, but that certainly wasn't the start of my crafty business ventures. I've been crafting and creating ever since I was a child, but my real passion was always sewing. Some of my first creations were coats for my dog (some of which she still wears today!), and fleece teddy bears with cute clothing accessories that my best friend and I would make in her basement and sell at craft fairs. I then migrated into clothing and accessories for myself. I'm a fashion school drop out (much to my parents dismay!) and actually stopped sewing for many years while I travelled and worked away from home, but I constantly found myself saying "I could make that!" or "If I only had my sewing machine!" So, after moving back home, marrying my husband, buying a home, and inheriting my Dad's Dad's rickety old sewing machine, I was back in my glory!
Cheeky Monkey Boutique was created after I had my first child. I discovered very quickly that losing soothers sucked, and all the soother saving products available in stores didn't suit my need. The soother leashes that I found either had velcro that my son would very easily pop off the soother, or they had wimpy clasps that he could pull off of his clothing. So, I decided to create something that addressed this issue. After overwhelming feedback from Mom's at my play groups, I decided to start selling on Etsy. The "Soother Saver" as it was originally called, was the first item that I ever listed! The rest of my product line fell in place from a combination of personal need, and custom client requests.
My very first Etsy listing was the Paul Frank Soother Saver!
What's YOUR story?
I am a Mom of two wonderful kids. An almost 3 year old son, and a 1.5 year old daughter. My daughter was born with a congenital heart defect which was diagnosed at 5 weeks old. She spent her first Christmas in the hospital (3 months old) having open heart surgery to repair the issues, and she's thriving and doing amazingly well now! I'm a part time B.Management degree student, as well as a part time Early Childhood Education student. My husband and I also own an HVAC contracting business. I'm am a very community minded person, and I take any opportunity that I can to give back. Aside from sewing and crafting, I love to spend time creating in the kitchen, gardening (although I rarely find time to do this). I enjoy all sports, especially baseball. There's not a lot that I don't like actually! Except spiders... I hate spiders!
What advice would you give someone looking to open an Etsy shop?
Know your market. Etsy is such a vast market place, and often it's swamped with similar items. Do your research before opening your shop to get a better idea of if it's something that's going to work for you or not. Although it's a long and drawn out process, make sure your pictures rock! The online market place is a great thing, but because buyers don't get the luxury of being able to touch and manipulate your product, be sure to give good photos so you're not leaving your buyer suprised when something arrives. In addition to good photos, make sure your descriptions of your items are detailed. Try to answer any questions that a buyer might have about your products so that they have less work to do. My last piece of advise, as with all things in life would be to make sure that you love what you do!
Know your market. Etsy is such a vast market place, and often it's swamped with similar items. Do your research before opening your shop to get a better idea of if it's something that's going to work for you or not. Although it's a long and drawn out process, make sure your pictures rock! The online market place is a great thing, but because buyers don't get the luxury of being able to touch and manipulate your product, be sure to give good photos so you're not leaving your buyer suprised when something arrives. In addition to good photos, make sure your descriptions of your items are detailed. Try to answer any questions that a buyer might have about your products so that they have less work to do. My last piece of advise, as with all things in life would be to make sure that you love what you do!
Name something you care about that most people don't.In relation to my etsy shop? I guess perhaps ironing! I swear my high school sewing teacher drove this into me! I press all my seams, and I make sure all my items are sewn "correctly" even though those small details are never seen by anyone, they drive me crazy if they're not done!
Name something you don't like that most people do.
Meat... I've been a vegetarian since I was a kid. A strange choice really since everyone in my family loves and eats meat! I guess I'm just a little strange! :)
What are your three favorite items in your shop?
my safari print wet bag
My reusable sandwich bag
What are you working on next for the shop?
Well, I've got a lot of "in progress" items, some of which are chalk board place mats, kids wallets, more wet bags, and just overall more selection of the current items I've got in stock.
As with many other WB etsy sellers, any WB member can use coupon code "WeddingBells10" to receive 10% off thier entire order!
As I've mentioned above, I love to design and create, and therefore I welcome all custom orders! If you've got an idea of something you'd like to see, convo me and I'd be happy to try to work out the details of making it for you!
Also, don't forget to join my facebook page to stay up to date with the latest happenings!
Your shop is so cute and your pictures rock (I am jealous)! Great post.
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