Connie from Connie's Crochet

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 March, we will be interviewing shop owners, to get a glimpse of the designer behind those adorable baby products!

Meet Connie from Connie's Crochet

Marine baby clothes USMC baby hat and pants
you pick the size colors
Hobbyist License 11324  $55+

What inspired you to begin a shop featuring your own designs?
My children, my faith and my love for creating

How long have you been practicing your art/craft?
On and off for 44 years, non stop 4.5 years

What training have you had or are you self-taught?
My foster introduced me to crochet but most is self taught

What is your favorite material to craft with? Yarn and a hook

Crochet cowboy hat boots and vest
set you pick the colors and size $80+

What has been the hardest aspect of creating a hobby into a business?
Not taking on more then I can handle and learning to say no to customers
 


Any advice for other Etsy sellers?
Do lots of research and do not under value your self and your work by under pricing it. Go the extra mile to please your customer, say thank you a lot and don't stress. 


What do you enjoy doing in your off time?
Going to church, relaxing with the husband, spending time with the grand kids and playing games.

 
    

Dr Seuss birthday hat photo
prop diaper cover and tie included $55

Describe a typical day in your life.
My typical day anymore seems to be working on orders or emails 12-15 hours a day at least. I am up about 6:30 AM after coffee, emails and facebook of course, I start on orders for that day. I usually plan on creating 3-5 per day. I work on these orders and emails until about 4:00 PM. Then I get these orders ready to go to the post office. I do take little breaks throughout the day to eat a bit and get dressed. After the post office a take a 2-3 hour break and then its back to creating and planning the next days work. I want to slow down a bit on evenings and weekends but that is not usually possible. 

Where can we find your products online?  Connie's Crochet

An Interview With Cheryl Viar from Coolbabyboutique

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.

An Interview With Vicky from That's The Cutest Thing

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!

Newborn Crochet Flapper Hat - Giveaway

Team EtsyBABY shops are ready to GIVE AWAY hand crafted designer baby products for FREE!   

Today's Giveaway is sponsored by: Rollie Pollie Boutique

Newborn Crochet Flapper Hat

This super adorable hat is perfect for those cherished newborn 
pictures you've been wanting, and great for the up coming 
warmer months! A beautiful gem button to accent the hat and 
add that "perfect touch". Please do not leave your baby unattended while wearing this hat as the button can become a choking hazard.  
Retail Value: $25

a Rafflecopter giveaway