As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We
wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. All
throughout May we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of
the designer behind those adorable baby products!
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? I have always been creative, but never knew I was crafty until I attempted to make a diaper cake for a friend's baby shower. I had such a great time building the cake and selecting the perfect decorations that I was hooked! I made my next diaper cake - bigger & better - for my sister-in-law's baby shower and was asked by several attendees where I bought it. I started researching diaper cakes and realized that I could make different, creative and functional baby gifts in addition to diaper cakes. One new idea sparked another...and I had to try them all! Before I knew it, my dining room was full of finished products without a home, and BabyBinkz was born!
What is your favorite material to craft with? I love adding ribbon and appliques to my BabyBinkz products. I think they take handcrafted gifts to the next level and truly make them unique & special –they add the extra something that makes BabyBinkz products different!
How long have you been practicing your art/craft?
It’s a funny milestone, but I bought my first hot glue gun about 14 months ago. I really started making baby gifts as a possible business about a year now – hard to believe it has been a year already!
What training have you had or are you self-taught? Well, I have a Masters in diaper rolling, and I am working on my Doctorate right now. My thesis paper is on creating sweet treats out of reusable products.
But seriously, I am completely self-taught. Is there formal training or certifications for baby gifts? That might be another great business idea…hmmm.
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? Simply finding the TIME to do it all! Having a full-time job in addition to BabyBinkz really limits what I am able to do as far as promoting an online business. I have found that crafting and creating is really where my heart is, so I make the time where I can. I sleep a lot less, but I love what I do!
Any advice for other Etsy sellers?Have fun, love all of your products, stand by your work, and never sacrifice your quality standards. I never ship a product to a customer that I am not 110% in love with. I would rather remake it until it is perfect than send out a product that I am not proud of. Some call it OCD. Others call it anal retentive. I call it customer service. I will have to ask my shrink what she calls it…
What do you enjoy doing in your off time?What is this “off time” that you speak of? A business owner is never off duty.
Describe a typical day in your life... My husband travels for work during the week, so my dogs (Nibblez & Bitzy) and BabyBinkz keep me company while he is gone! I really don’t want to bore you…but since you asked, here is a typical weekday:
5:30 Wake up, think about going to the gym, decide not to go, play with my doggies, check emails, drink coffee & get ready for work
7:00ish – Place any order packages outside for USPS and head to work
12:00ish- Lunch at home; play with my doggies; check BabyBinkz email
6:00ish – Residual work from the day; play with my doggies & it’s BabyBinkz Time! (can be a combination of emails, listings, postings, Facebook, order fulfillment, new product development, product photos, website development, etc.)
12:00ish – Bedtime* this varies depending upon how much residual work / BabyBinkz work there is for the night!
REPEAT 4x before the weekend
Thank you Dana, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to grant us an interview!
