By: Ann Marie Awad
Etsy, the popular craft website, is an up-to-date way for crafters to shill their wares worldwide. A cheaper, easier and more specialized alternative to Ebay or other similar sites, it offers sellers a variety of tools to get their products out there, right in front of prospective customers. The ability to search by color, brand, material, price and more also makes Etsy a comprehensive resource for people looking for unique gifts, accessories or art. With millions of sellers, it’s easy to get lost in a sea of yarn and felt, but somewhere in there, there’s a whole nest of crafters operating right out of Buffalo. Let me introduce you to some of them.
Since 2007, Beard has been selling her elegant jewelry designs on Etsy. Before, she was using her own website for her self-made brand Pretty Haute. “It didn’t perform as well as I wanted for how much it cost. A friend of mine suggested I look into Etsy and I quickly made the switch.” Nowadays, she has an Etsy shop along with her website, which is now powered by Etsy.
“There is a terrific community of sellers on Etsy and they are very helpful.” Her craft sales are supplemental income, as her day job at the Statler Center keeps her somewhat busy. When Beard has the time, she participates in the Buffalo Indie Market.
Her advice to prospective Etsy sellers? Don’t rely on Etsy for everything. Be your own marketing maven. “While Etsy does a lot for you, you still need to promote yourself in other ways. Recruit family and friends, send out business cards with every order, write a note on each packing slip, etc,” she says.
“Basically think of the best customer service you would want, and then provide that for others. Lastly, read up on state and federal laws regarding taxes and internet sales.”
Elm Studios is Meissner’s baby (well, aside from her two actual babies). In 2006 she joined Etsy making jewelry. Her mother had bought her a necklace she already had, so she returned it to buy beads to make a one of a kind necklace. “It became very therapeutic for me,” Meissner says.
“Being a new mom it was a good way to do something for me. I took $400 that I saved from graduation gifts and invested it in myself. I had about five stores that carried my jewelry, and would do jewelry parties on nights I would be able to get out,” she says. When she had her second daughter, she decided that she was going to decorate the girls’ room with a bird theme. “From there my bowls were born.”
The switch to pottery fostered a boom in Etsy business. Her shop is now at a whopping 2409 sales, and she has been featured in New York Wedding Magazine’s 2010 Winter Special Issue. Elm Studios has become a way for Meissner to support herself as a stay-at-home-mom, all the while doing what she loves.
“Etsy has given me so many opportunities,” she says. “I wouldn’t be sending my pieces to Ireland, Singapore, Denmark, United Kingdom and Australia without Etsy.”
Meissner’s advice for prospective Etsy sellers? Network, network, network. “If you have a product that you believe in, and the support of your friends and family, take a chance,” she says. “If customers are having a hard time finding you…reach out to them in other ways to direct them to your site. For example, Facebook, blogs and Twitter.”
Bielec has her hands full with a full time job and a roller derby career on the side, however she still has the time to sell her simple jewelry designs through her Etsy shop, Wendy’s Baubles.
“Before Etsy, I tried selling jewelry through my blog, as well as yard sales and Ebay. The most successful I’ve been at selling jewelry is through Etsy,” she says. “Being affiliated with a crafting site as opposed to an auction site has definitely brought more customers to buy my jewelry.”
Her shop has been open since 2005, and has been a surefire success. “It has definitely helped my crafting career because it has exposed my name and my jewelry to thousands of new customers that I wouldn’t have had doing craft shows or just selling from a personal website.”
Bielec’s advice for prospective Etsy sellers? An honest, mom and pop mentality. “Have a good product, have a variety of your product, and be honest about what you’re selling.”
Dungaree Dolly’s is a saturated vintage throwback. Dauria’s bags hearken back to an innocent time of Betty bangs and red lipstick. She specializes in custom handbags, available for order on her website, and she uses her Etsy shop to sell ready-made bags only. She calls it her “In Stock Dolly Shop.”
“I also do a few shows a year, so I am then left with a few bags that I have on hand.” These bags are snatched up right quick from the “In Stock Dolly Shop.” Dauria also makes scarves, checkbooks, aprons, hair clips and more, and she even has Dolly Bags T-shirts available on her website. It would seem that the crafty business has been kind to her.
“I really love Etsy and what it stands for – supporting small businesses and handmade items is something I hold dear,” she says. “And I think that is why Etsy is so popular because a lot of people feel the same way and are trying to avoid supporting companies that mass produce and under pay their employees.”
Dauria’s advice for prospective Etsy sellers? The website and Etsy shop combo: “It is great cross promotion – I find a lot of girls find me on Etsy, then they will go directly to my website and find exactly what they are looking for.”
—-
Ann Marie Awad is a
senior English major at the University at Buffalo, who is also studying
journalism. Awad has been published in Artvoice, Generation Magazine
and Eat Me Daily (a food blog). She has a passion for supporting local
businesses, great coffee and Saturday mornings at the farmers market.