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 June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Palm Dickerson from Crochet by Palm
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?
I have background in design, interior design and architecture. I also love arts and crafts, especially crocheting and knitting. My inspiration is my family, of course my children love wearing hat and soft blanket made from yarn.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft?
I started to crochet since I was very young around age 9-11 by watching my cousin making a heart shape pillow case for her mother as a gift. Somehow it fascinated me and I've been crocheted ever since.
What training have you had or are you self-taught?
I am a self-taught crocheter, but most of the time I imply a design knowledge into my crochet work as well.
What is your favorite material to craft with?
My favorite material to work with is merino yarn. It's soft and you can wash the garment made from this fiber.
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business?
Time management is the hardest part of turning a hobby into a business. I do have two little children and the baby on the way, also a full time mother and a military active duty's wife. We've been moving almost every year, and I've been through 7 deployments. It's very challenging try to manage everything, family, business, chores, and good customer service.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers?
When you're new to Etsy it takes time to catch up on orders. I was very excited when I got my first order :) It was 6 key chains. Personally, I think keep adding more items, sign up for different groups, read Etsy forum and seller handbook really help me a lot. Oh! tagging the right words and phrases is really important, too. The key is make what you love and people will love it.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time?
I like to take my kids to yarn store, and they're always complain :) I love to read crochet and knit magazine looking for new inspiration. I also paint when I do have free time.
Describe a typical day in your life...
Believe it or not, it's pretty difficult to describe my typical day. My everyday is different depending on what mood my kids are in :) We wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, get dress, and get ready for the day. I get to work when they take naps or after they're in bed. I enjoy working quietly when they're not around.
Where can we find your products online? My products are on Etsy website or on Facebook www.facebook.com/CrochetbyPalm.
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 June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Cheryl Viar from Coolbabyboutique
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? I love being creative and I created things for my photography business. Clients were asking where I got my outfits. When I told them I made them, they wanted to purchase them.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft? 5 years
What training have you had or are you self-taught? Self taught
What is your favorite material to craft with? Chiffon
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? Getting business and traffic to the site is the hardest thing. I sell local also.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers? Make quality products, keep them fresh and always keep your clients happy.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time? I enjoy playing with my new grand babies.
Describe a typical day in your life. Most of my inspiration comes to me while laying in bed trying to sleep at night. I put ideas on my phone. In the morning I start early then take a break at lunch for a couple hours to get house work done & ship out packages then start creating again til dinner. After dinner I take photos and post them on the site. I love what I do. It's relaxing & it makes me happy.
Where can we find your products online? My products are listed on Etsy and www.coolbabyboutique.com which takes you to my Etsy shop.
As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. Throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Heidi from Chunks Baby Junk.
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?
When my son was about seven months, I would play the sippy cup pick up game an insane amount of times. With all of the suction toys out there, I decided to find a way to make the cup suction to the high chair tray. It made for a much more peaceful mealtime!
How long have you been practicing your art/craft?
15 Months
What training have you had or are you self-taught?
I am self-taught. I didn't know how to sew but was determined to create these sippy straps.
What is your favorite material to craft with?
Ribbon
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business?
With sales increasing, it's harder to juggle everything that needs to be done.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers?
Believe in yourself and your product and true success will follow.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time?
I am a stay at home mom to a now 2 year old and a baby due in July. I enjoy spending as much time with my little guy before life gets more chaotic. He is all boy so we are outside riding every toy with wheels and playing on the swing set.
Describe a typical day in your life...
I chase a two year old little boy and two puggles during the day. We stay busy with different activities from swimming, story time, errands, playing outside, etc. During nap time & bed time is when I put all my energy into my business. I love my chaotic life and wouldn't change it for anything. I'm so happy other moms aren't having to play the pick up game as much anymore!! :)
Where can we find your products online? ChunksBabyJunk
As many of you know, EtsyBABY team members are extremely talented. We wanted to take a peek at the person behind the creativity. Throughout June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Carissa Wadding, owner/artist from Frogs & Fairytales, llc.
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?
My inspiration for
staring my own business came after having my first child, my son Carter.
While trying to decide how to decorate his room, I notice that I was
having a hard time finding art that I really loved, and could not find
anything personable. This inspired me to start creating children's room
decor that could be personalized to fit each customer's unique requests
by changing colors, adding a name, or creating a whole new design just
for them. I started my business in
the summer of 2009, as Wadding Creations. I opened an Etsy store in 2010
as Wadding Creations, after a friend, and Etsy seller, told me about
the site and encouraged me to check it out. After having many people
confuse Wadding Creations with Wedding Creations, I decided I needed to
change my business name to something a little more memorable and
exciting. In 2011 I changed my business name to Frogs & Fairytales
and became an LLC. I then opened a new Etsy shop under my current name.
What training have you had or are you self-taught? I am self-taught, no formal training other than the art classes I took while in high school.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft? I have always loved to draw, paint, and craft from the time I was little. As I got older, art became a way to relieve stress and escape from the business of daily life. I love the peace it brings me; many times when I draw or paint, I do it without tv or music on. When it's nice outside, I open a window and enjoy listening to the birds sing while I work.
What is your favorite material to craft with? I create children's room decor on canvas using acrylics, and also paint furniture, drawer knobs, and light switch covers using acrylics.
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? While my first born is now in school, I currently have a one year old son at home with me all day while I work. It can be difficult to juggle work and spending quality time with my son during the day. My day is very broken up, so I have to be able to multitask and jump from one thing to another quickly and efficiently. I have to remember to be "all in." I have a tendency to feel guilty about not giving my full attention to my son when I'm working, and then I feel guilty about not working when I'm giving my attention to my family. I have to remind myself to be "all in" in that moment; giving my full self to what I am doing now, and not worrying about the other aspects of my life at that moment.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers? My advice to other Etsy sellers would be to do what you love, but remember that you're not always going to love what you're doing. I love my job and would not trade it for anything. The fact that I get to create art every day, while staying home with my son, is an amazing opportunity, however some days are stressful, some days you just don't want to work. You also need to grow thick skin. Not everyone is going to love your work, and that's okay. You're not going to get into every art show you apply for or every store you ask to have your work sold in, and that's okay. I try to use bumps in the road as an opportunity to learn and grow. Why didn't they like my product? How can I improve/what can I add to get more people interested in what I do? Be open to change, including your thought process about your designs, and how to grow your business.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time? In my off time I love spending time with my boys, my husband, and our Australian Shepherd mix. We love being outdoors fishing, riding bikes, and going on walks. We love to check out the many events happening in our city, including the farmer's markets on the weekends. We enjoy traveling as well, usually to the ocean.
Describe a typical day in your life . . . My day starts by getting my oldest son and I ready in the morning. I take him to school while my husband gets ready for work and watches our one year old. After taking him to school, I start my work day with my youngest son in tow. He plays close by me while I work on orders. There are breaks for lunch, putting him down for a nap, etc. until we leave to pick up my son from school in the afternoon. I finish up what I am working on and then spend some time with my boys and cook dinner while we wait for my husband to get home. We spend time together as a family in the evening. Once we put the boys to bed, I usually go back to work for a little while before heading off to bed myself. On the weekends I try to focus completely on family time and not paint or create things for the business, except for the occasional email response to a customer or creating a listing for a customer. Again, what i have found is the key to juggling both home and work when you work from home and not feeling guilty about it, is being "all in" in what you are doing at that moment.
Where can we find your products online? You can find my work on Etsy, my website, and on Facebook!
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 June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Karen from TheDreamyBoutique
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? It has always been a dream of my sister and I to start our own business and sell our products.
With seven children combined, we love children and love creating these nurseries for other people to enjoy.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft? Growing up in a military family, and having to move pretty much every year, our mother taught us to sew. Both of us were making all of our own clothes by the time we were teenagers. There was no such thing as "the mall" in our vocabulary and we learned to create and design our own fashion. Without stating our actual age, combined we have over 60 years of experience!
What training have you had or are you self-taught? Although no formal training, we had the instruction and guidance of our loving mother
What is your favorite material to craft with? Cotton and minky are our favorite materials for our Nurseries.
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? I think the hardest part is just getting started and learning how to promote the business.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers? Follow your dreams, you are never too old to start!! With Etsy, it is so easy to get started.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time? We love spending time with our families. They are the most important things in our life.
Describe a typical day in your life... Our business is split between my sister and I. I currently still work a full time job and manage the business side, design service and advertising side of The Dreamy Boutique, my sister, starts her day out with a cup of coffee and her rotary cutter, she is the master of all the finished products.
Where can we find your products online? TheDreamyBoutique
We also have our website under construction.
We hope to add more products and hopefully another shop on Etsy.
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 June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Vicky from That's The Cutest Thing
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? I became a doting aunt to three nieces and three nephews in six years. Aunt Vicky had a very busy time of making coming-home-from-the-hospital outfits, security blankets, and afghans during that period of time! I found I really enjoyed the portability of handmade knit and crochet pieces for babies and children, and I had to find an outlet to sell my creations. In 2005 I began to sell at an annual craft show in Virginia. Customers immediately began to ask about placing custom orders, how to find my website, etc. I put off starting a true small business as I wasn't ready for my hobby to turn into a job. Each year I returned, my customers were more insistent and encouraging that I should have a year-round business outlet. I heard about Etsy from one of my customers in 2009, and after giving it a year's thought, I decided to try being a seller.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft? My wonderful grandmother taught me how to crochet and knit around the age of 6-7 years old. Let's just say it's been a long time!
What training have you had or are you self-taught? In addition to my grandmother's teaching, later in life I had to teach myself to read patterns as I'd not learned before. With that out of my way, I picked up my hook and needles and simply tried new stitches and projects. I learned a lot of new stitch patterns from making blankets for the babies and children in the pediatric intensive care unit where I worked. My renewed hobby took off and I haven't looked back since! When I began crafting with vintage buttons, I did take an introductory jewelry-making class. This year I've immersed myself in taking photography classes, which will both be a benefit to my shop and cross a "to-do" off my life's bucket list!
What is your favorite material to craft with? Specialty yarns, the more colorful, the better. I have much more than I should! This year I've also taken a shine to hand spun yarn which is the beginning of a very, very bad habit!
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? Staying organized, by far. I can't just jump in and open up a sixth project anymore because it's impossible to keep track of everything all at once. I love creating new items and listing them, but bookkeeping is a drag!
Any advice for other Etsy sellers? Do your research! I was really thankful that I spent six months learning about Etsy before I opened my shop; it helped me immensely in avoiding common seller mistakes.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time? Besides my full-time job as a nurse (the job that pays the bills!), most of my free time is channeled into my Etsy shop. Another passion of mine is to be a nursing volunteer on international medial missions and in a local community low-cost clinic. I also love antique shopping and collecting, traveling, photography, baking, gardening, and watching movies.
Describe a typical day in your life. That sounds like an easy question to answer, but for me it's not--I don't think I have a "typical day"! On my days off, I'll get up at 7 AM and spend part of the morning online working on my shop and everything else that goes with it. I try to exercise daily before I get too involved in other projects. I've resisted setting a routine for myself as there always seems to be something that comes up to lay my plans to waste. Instead of having a daily routine, I write out goals for the week on Sundays. I list personal, work, crafting, and business goals to work toward over the course of the week. So far that's helping me organize my time better. I also spend quite a bit of time on Facebook, which is one of my top referral sources.
Where can we find your products online? I currently don't have a website other than Etsy. However, I'd love for you to visit my Facebook page and my Pinterest page! I approach my Facebook page like a blog, so I'm always posting about my new creations, ready-to-ship photo prop sales, business endeavors, and travels. I post fabulous dessert recipes as well!
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 June, we will be interviewing shop
owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby
products!
Meet Mary Merkley from Sewn From The Heart 4 U
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? I have been sewing for as long as I can remember. I decided about a year ago, after working in the field of developmental disabilities for 18 years, and losing a 15 year old son, that there was nothing more important than my children. I wanted to be a work at home mom, and what better way than to do what I LOVE so much... sew. We created a shop on Etsy and it was immediately successful.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft? I have been sewing,
creating children's clothing, and doing garment alterations since I was
about 8 years old, I guess that would make it 30 years. Now I am aging
myself :)
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs and what training have you had or are you self-taught?
My mother is my inspiration and greatest teacher. She was always a stay
at home mother and she taught me to sew and crochet beginning at a very
young age. Since then I have taught myself many more skills which
enable me to create beautiful handmade clothing.
What is your favorite material to craft with? I love to create cotton nightgowns, dresses, rompers and many other items. Cotton is by far my favorite fabric.
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? I am a humanistic person. I love to give to others... I love to create the perfect item, to meet each person's needs. My biggest challenge was the business aspect of the "business". My husband is my business manager / partner and takes care of all of the "business" needs (advertising, billing, etc) while I sew my heart out to make others happy. We compliment each other well with his knowledge as an accountant and mine as a people person have created the perfect little shop for our customers.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers? Treat others with kindness, be prompt with responses and remember your own expectations as a customer. If you would want flexibility in ordering that perfect item... do the same for others.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time? In my off time, I enjoy watching my children grow and learn. I have a 19 year old son, a forever 15 angel son, a 9 year old son, and two daughters, 7 and 5. They are all very active and occupy ALL of my "free" time.
Describe a typical day in your life... Each morning I wake to chirping children. My husband goes off to work and I spend my days watching my children grow. They participate in baseball, hockey, figure skating, horseback riding and religious education. While they are in school I SEW and SEW and SEW. In addition to my Etsy shop, I have provide alteration services to local community members. I love to meet new people and I love to create the beautiful clothing.
Where can we find your products online? Visit our shop or on Facebook
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 June, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!
Meet Deborah from Sprouting JubeJube
What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs? Soon after my third child, Julia, was born I was determined to find a way to stay home with my children and earn a small income doing what I love to do. My sister who is a wonderful child/toddler photographer had done a shoot featuring Julia AKA JubeJube and called the shoot "Sprouting JubeJube". All four of my children play such an important part of my work and are a huge part of my inspiration.
How long have you been practicing your art/craft? I've been sewing ever since I can remember. My godmother used to take me to fabric stores and I'd choose a patter and the fabric. I can remember just sitting there and watching her putting garments together and explaining everything to me along the way. It wasn't long that I was making dresses for my dolls and then for myself.
What training have you had or are you self-taught? From 1999 to 2004 I worked in a fabric store and would take all the advice I could get from my colleague. I never took a sewing class, so I would say that I'm self taught.
What is your favorite material to craft with? I'll work with just about any type of fabric that I can get my hands on...Jersey, cotton, satin, wool and wool blends...I just love beautiful fabrics!
What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business? I would say the hardest aspect is giving a client what they want without compromising my brand or style. I have my own style and when I put my label on what I make I want the finished product to reflect my brand.
Any advice for other Etsy sellers? My advice is not to sell yourself short. When you price your items to be sold in your shop not to be afraid to price them correctly factoring in your materials and time spent on creating your finished product... not to forget as well the wear on any tools you may use.
What do you enjoy doing in your off time? I enjoy, on my time off, cooking and baking, knitting, reading, and of course taking time with my family even if its just to do yard work, as long as we're together and having fun.
Describe a typical day in your life... Sending off the big kids to school, breakfast with the babies, and running errands in the morning. Home for lunch then putting 2 year old Amelia down for a nap and getting 4 year old Julia into quiet time with a book or a movie. I have a couple of hours of work that can be done before the supper routine starts and then more work until about 9 pm...then some tv time with my spouse.
Where can we find your products online? You can find me on Etsy or on Facebook.
