Local Etsy Artist Feature!

This is my first time featuring another local (i.e. Seattle area) artist from Etsy. I hope you enjoy exploring other Etsy shops as I will try to feature a new artist every two weeks.

Featuring Happy Dog Buttons:

What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Adventurous

Cheerful

Honest

How long have you been crafting?

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t doing some kind of craft. My mom loves to do crafts, so it’s in the genes.

When did you start selling on Etsy and what inspired you to give it a try?

I’ve been selling at craft shows and street fairs and customers would always ask me if I had a website. I like the feeling of community at Etsy.

Besides creating, what are you passionate about?

I love listening to music, I have it on all the time in my craft room and in the car.

What does your craft space look like? Are you an organized crafter or would you be embarrassed for us to take a peak at your workspace? (Please share a picture if you’re willing)

I make attempts at being organized, there are shelves and drawers with files and containers, but my work surface is a mess.

Because I like many different crafts I have piles of material spilling out of the closet, drawers full of jewelry making and card making supplies. I would not let anyone take a picture of my work space.

Describe your Etsy shop in three words.

Fun

Stylish

Practical

Currently, what are your favorite 3 items from your shop?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74244823/little-purple-johnny-jump-ups-pocket

http://www.etsy.com/listing/73436095/purple-bird-pocket-mirror

http://www.etsy.com/listing/75378344/i-love-heart-chicken-pinback-button

What are some of your favorite Etsy shops?

My favorite shop is Creations by M, I by a lot of my images from her, she’s great to work with.

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

I love the cute little frogs in this shop. The descriptions are great. http://www.etsy.com/shop/madebyclifford

I also like Yesterdays Memories. I’ve purchased my address labels from this shop, the shipping is really quick.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/YesterdaysMemories09

Finally, what suggestions would you make to someone who’s thinking about starting an Etsy shop?

I know a lot of people design their logos and are creative in writing, but I hired someone to help me get set up and I think it really helped me.

Also, make sure you have a large stock of items for your customer to choose from. Even if you specialize in just one thing, offer it in different sizes, designs, colors etc. That’s what disappoints me the most when I look at a shop and they only have 4 items for sale.

Thanks for reading today, and don't miss the next Etsy artist feature!

Frustrated to Tears

This post is just for my venting purposes and you don't have to read it. Although I'd like to hear feedback from people on the topic.

I found out this week through other Etsians that Taggies has a very very vague patent on "two pieces of fabric sewn together with ribbon loops". I knew all along that Taggies exist, but my Tag-Go Blankies are smaller (10"x10"), I use minky on one side, and my ribbons are different. I assumed I was okay, but apparently NOT! I'm so frustrated and confused right now that I'm in tears trying to decide if I should just leave my adorable Tag-Go Blankies in my shop until someone asks me to remove them or just remove them on my own. It's completely ridiculous how big corporations can wipe out the little business trying to get going with just one broad patent. I've already been dealing with CPSIA guidelines and making sure my items are 100% safe for infants/children. Now finding out that 4 out the 15 items in my shop could get me a lawsuit is horrible! In a way I'd LOVE to keep them in my shop just to say a big "Screw you!" to Taggies. They can't possibly monitor all of the taggie-like items on Etsy since I'm not the only one selling them! But again, they've got lawyers & $$$$ and little me has no funds for a lawsuit. It seriously makes me wonder if my other items are patented. Or should I go patent my Scrubbie-Cloth as nylon netting and cotton yarn?! See how crazy this is! Okay, I think I'm done with my little rant. So I guess this is goodbye to my cute Tag-Go Blankies :(

Here's an old Etsy forum post on the topic: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5473682

Featuring Etsy Sellers

I've decided to feature an Etsy seller each month. Preferably local (i.e. Seattle area) to help them with marketing, and my shop will hopefully be featured on other blogs. So check back as I'll be featuring a shop soon!

New Way of Listing

Etsy has changed the way we sellers list items for sale. So this is my job today: update all of my items for sale. I've also been working on some new items so stay tuned because I'll preview them here first!

Welcome Stumblers!

I'd just like to say "Hello" to anyone who may have found this blog via Stumble Upon. This is an attempt at marketing for my Etsy shop (which you can find by clicking on the tabs above). I hope you enjoy my blog, and please follow. Once I reach 25 followers I'll post an exclusive coupon code!

New Fabric a.k.a. Christmas in May!

A week or so ago I ordered some fabric from Joann Fabrics online since I couldn't find what I wanted in the store. Well, on Saturday the box arrived, and I could hardly wait to open it! Much to my delight it contained all of the cute fabric I was expecting plus two balls of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn (one of them scented). Adorable prints included: Curious George, Pooh and Piglet, Animal Talk, and red plaid. I'll post pictures as I make things out of the new fabric and yarn.

Just Keep Sewing (and Knitting and Crocheting)...

This week I've been reading a lot of posts and forums on Etsy about improving my shop. Instead of grouping items together in one listing I've separated them into separate listings. This is a win-win for me as it gives my shop more items, and also gives more listings when a customer searches for an item. I've also changed my shop section titles. Since my shop tag line is "knitting, crochet, and sewing"; I decided to use those as section titles instead of "for home, for baby, for fun". That way my customers will know what craft they are getting (I can tell the difference between knit & crochet, but many people don't know).

I'm going to start a new tradition on my blog (here) and my Facebook page: item of the month. I'll post an item from my Etsy shop for the month and an item on Amazon that goes well with it. So for this month the item is the Duck Tag-Go Blankie pictured to the right------>
I think it makes a great baby gift along with the book "Make Way for Duckings" (one of my favorite childhood books). You can find it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Way-Ducklings-Robert-McCloskey/dp/0670050172/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305229729&sr=1-4