Search results (tags) for: "old school etsians"

Old School Etsians: zencreations04

2009-06-26T16:00:00-05:00

In celebrating Etsy's origins and its future, we continue the Old School Etsians series with this interview of Heather Nowell, a.k.a. zencreations04, who joined Etsy June 19, 2005.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make:
My name is Heather Nowell and I live in Mercersburg, PA with my husband Lance and our daughter Zoe. I started Zen Creations Jewelry shortly after my daughter was born and got the idea for the name from her initials. I mostly work with wire and gemstones to create handcrafted jewelry, but I like to mix it up from time to time and use enamels, PMC, wood and various other materials.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I remember I had to join the minute I saw Etsy! There were only a handful of sellers on at that time and some of the categories were empty or only had one or two items. I remember a time when there were only a couple hundred pages in the Jewelry Category! The Top Sellers and Top Items pages were some of my favorites. [The Top Sellers site feature was removed in November 2006 with the release of V2.] I remember checking them every day. It's amazing how much Etsy has changed and grown over the years.

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?

Before I started Zen Creations Jewelry, I worked as a jeweler making high-end jewelry, working mainly with diamonds, platinum and gold. The pieces were very expensive and they were not something that everyone could afford. With Zen Creations, I wanted to create jewelry that was beautiful and affordable. In the beginning, I mainly worked with sterling silver, crystals and glass. The first few items in my shop were the same cluster earrings, but in many different colors! As time went on I added more styles, used a wider range of materials, and improved my wire wrapping skills.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?

Yes! I have a day job and a family that keep me busy and don't leave me with very much time to create and maintain my own website. I also vend at craft shows year round, but Etsy provides me with the perfect venue to sell my goods between shows.

What have you learned about selling?

Oh, if only I knew back then what I know now! When I started out, I had no idea what I was doing. Since then I've learned how to better promote my shop, take better photographs, and provide my customers with the best customer service possible.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
I would love for Etsy to continue to grow and evolve and to provide sellers the tools they need for success.

Are you an Old School Etsian? Leave your memories of the early days in the comments!

Old School Etsians: MadebyMilla

2009-06-19T10:45:00-05:00

Camilla Stacey, a.k.a. MadebyMilla, is an Old School Etsian — one of the first shops on Etsy that is still active. She joined on June 18, 2005.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
I'm Camilla Stacey, otherwise known as MadebyMilla. I am an artist and curator based by the seaside in the United Kingdom, making work with a strong basis in crafts. When I first came to Etsy I was making clothing, badges and my infamous "spooky doll face brooches." These days I am concentrating on making giant drawings, learning hand embroidery, and screenprinting rude pictures on vintage hankies.

Even though I've been on Etsy since the very beginning, I feel like I'm still not 100% sure of my identity here, which is why my shop is always a bit of a jumble of items ranging from $1 badges and zines to fine art pieces.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
When I first came to Etsy (via GetCrafty.com) I was one of the only international members, let alone sellers. I signed up within the first week, if I recall correctly, and registered as a seller (number 98) the minute it became possible for international members to do so.

I do really miss those early days when I made it onto the "Top 100 Sellers" page just by the fact I'd sold two things! [The Top Sellers site feature was removed in November 2006 with the release of V2.] I miss being able to see the entire contents of a category on one page. I miss knowing who everyone is and the personal communication between members and Admin. I think it's great that Etsy has grown as well as it has done, but I do miss the days when I could keep track of who sold what, and knew where to find whatever it was I felt I needed to spend money on at any given time. I also really miss how the Forums were in the old days — so s-l-o-w I could actually keep up with what was happening.

"Awesome" Ribbon brooch by minorthread.

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
My work has retained a lot of the same themes (I'm obsessed with ideas to do with memory, collection and nostalgia), but thanks to the fact I decided to go back to art school two years ago and take a second degree, I've moved away from some of the accessory/toy/clothing type things I used to concentrate on and now am focusing more on creating art pieces.

I still want to make work that is accessible to all, so I make sure that I have badges and zines available when I have exhibitions and in my Etsy shop. It's important to me that people are able to afford what I make so I create a wide variety of pieces that come in at all kinds of prices. I'd like to move into selling more of my "fine art," but I haven't yet found a way that I'm comfortable with. At the moment I'm still testing the waters...Ok, so it's taken me four years to get this far; in another four years I might finally have a cohesive shop! (I've sold some of my art via my other shop: www.camillastacey.etsy.com.)

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
I think breaking up with Etsy would be very hard to do. Having been here from practically day one, it would be hard to leave. At times I wonder why I still maintain a shop (when sales are slow or I lack any enthusiasm for making new work), but I appreciate the way I find it so easy to run my shop here. Maybe having lived through all the changes to Etsy, it all seems pretty simple to me. Recently as my work (art shows, etc) has really increased I've found I've had less and less time for Etsy. I've never been someone disciplined enough to keep listing new items each day. I think that shows in my sales (not brilliant for four years), but I'm happy to keep ticking over and see where that gets me.

What have you learned about selling?
I've learned that it's much easier to make it into the Top Sellers list when there's only 97 other people! I've learned that good photos do make a difference, but I haven't learned enough to make myself sit down and re-do all of mine, no matter how many times I think I should get around to it. Promotion works, but spamming is supremely irritating (which is why I haven't signed up for Twitter, I'm afraid).

I've learned that creating networks amongst your peers can be a good thing and doesn't always mean someone's going to steal your ideas. I've had a lot of support from people online, and I wouldn't be here without my "virtual" friends.

I am always impressed when something I buy comes to me well packaged, but no matter how many little extras might be included, if the product isn't well made I'm not going to come back. I've learned that all of the good advice in the world won't help you sell stuff if you don't actually act on it. I have to say my shop is still home to poor quality photos, terrible descriptions and my gift wrapping leaves a lot to be desired...I hope that doesn't put you off!

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
While I welcome the chance to buy Vintage items on Etsy, I would love to see them separated off into their own website — the same with Supplies. I find it so frustrating to look for ways to spend my money and come across pages of commercially produced supplies. I also HATE that vintage starts in the 80s — I was a teenager in the 80s, can you imagine how old that makes me feel!

As I've started to develop my practice as an artist I've come to see the need for a more clearly defined space for Art amongst all the other items on Etsy. There have been long battles fought over the terminology of print and printmaking, and I don't think they are all over yet. I know you can't please all the people all the time, but there is some fantastic work from leading contemporary artists that gets lost amongst mis-catagorised stuff. It would be a shame if Etsy lost out on this talent due to lack of control over what happens in its shops.

Are you an Old School Etsian? Leave your memories of the early days in the comments!

Old School Etsians: Christy Petterson

2009-06-18T17:25:00-05:00

Christy Petterson, a.k.a. abardis, signed up for Etsy on June 19, 2005. She's a beloved member of the community — both on Etsy and in her local city, Atlanta, where she founded ICE, Indie Craft Experience.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
My name is Christy Petterson, and I'm an Atlanta native, which is quite the rarity. My day job is in public relations, and I co-organize the Indie Craft Experience, a twice-a-year craft market in Atlanta. I'm also an avid writer, and I'm secretly working on a project that I hope will turn into a book someday. My parents made me wait until I was 12 years old to get my ears pierced, which is the only explanation I can come up with for why I am so obsessed with earrings! I do not leave the house unless I'm wearing a pair, and they are pretty much all I make these days.

June 18, 2005 was a big day! Not only was it the day Etsy launched, it was also the date of the very first Indie Craft Experience. Somehow I perked up from my exhaustion-induced coma on June 19th long enough to join Etsy! My Etsy ID is #116, which makes me the 21st person to sign up.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
It's funny: I feel like I got a sneak peek of Etsy before it was Etsy. When Rob was developing the idea for it, he posted on GetCrafty.com to see who might be willing to chat with him about some of the logistics of the site. He and I ended up emailing a bit, and one result of that was the original Indie Craft Experience cotton tote bag. A tradition we've carried on throughout our events is to hand out swag bags to the first 500 attendees. So Etsy, before it even launched, volunteered to sponsor our event by printing these amazing, multi-colored tote bags. I think Matt and Rob printed them by hand, which probably just about killed them...they really went way, way, way above and beyond. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for us, and I cherish my tote to this day!

Christy's booth set-up at a craft fair.

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
It has changed so much! When Etsy launched I was sewing bags and purses out of recycled fabrics. Nowadays, I make earrings that I screenprint with my own designs. I also make hairpins out of fabric buttons. I design some of my fabric and have it printed on Spoonflower and the rest of the fabric I've picked up along the way. I'm a real sucker for fabric! So the hairpins allow me to keep in touch with my love of fabric, and the earrings allow me to keep up my love affair with printmaking. I'm proud of myself for learning how to incorporate my designs into my creations. One of my patterns that I use on earrings is based on a photo I took of the Atlanta skyline, and another is based on a photo I took of wallpaper in my grandmother's guest bathroom. It is straight from the 70s and an amazing floral design.

Photo from when Vanessa met Christy at ICE in 2007.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Yes, I plan on sticking around!

What have you learned about selling and shopping on Etsy?
Well, you'll notice I haven't sold much during my years on Etsy. Organizing the Indie Craft Experience (plus my day job, writing and spending time with my equally busy husband) takes up so much of my time that I don't have too much of a chance to sell. I have tried to support Etsy and its sellers by buying, though. So, I'll tell you what I've learned from buying and observing. Be nice. Be consistent. Have beautiful photos. Build relationships. Promote your shop whenever you can. And make a quality product.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
My biggest wish for Etsy is staying power. I'd hate for the general public to look at buying handmade and Etsy as a trend. It's up to all of us to continue on the crusade of how important it is to buy handmade. I'm extremely hopeful!

Are you an Old School Etsian? Leave your memories of the early days in the comments!

Old School Etsians: AlisonRose

2008-06-18T13:30:00-05:00

Alison and Nicolaus aka AlisonRose are Old School Etsians — one of the first shops on Etsy that is still active. They joined on June 19, 2005. We checked in to see how they're doing in honor of Etsy's 3rd Birthday.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
'Alison Rose' is made up of myself, Alison, and my boyfriend, Nicholas. We are a small Columbus-based company specializing in the design and creation of both one-of-a-kind and screen-printed handbags and T-shirts. 'Alison Rose' was born from the combination of both of our interests: fashion design and printmaking.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
We first heard of Etsy at Renegade Craft Fair in New York through Leah Kramer of Craftster.org fame. It's been really exciting to see how much it's grown since then!

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I consider what we were making in the beginning very similar to what we do now, handmade and hand-screened. We used to print the t-shirts in our living room and now we have an entire basement studio. The process has just evolved.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
I think we'll always be a part of Etsy.

What have you learned about selling?
It's important to have confidence in your work.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
A customer gallery might be a great way to make the customers a bigger part of the site. I think Etsy has evolved so much that I can't wait to see what it becomes in the future!

Are you an Old School Etsian? Leave your memories of the early days in the comments!

Old School Etsians: mmmfiber

2008-06-18T11:00:00-05:00

Etsians are what make our world go 'round over here at the Etsy Labs offices. The site has now been up for 3 years and we want to give a shout-out to some of our first sellers. mmmfiber is member number 113 (and the actual 1st Etsian is 96 since Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 and 1-92 were test data). She creates deliciously cozy woolen items.

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
My name is Adrienne Shaffer, I live in beautiful Portland, OR and my company is Mmm…Fiber!
I make knit, crocheted and needle felted accessories such as scarves, scarflettes, brooches, hairpins, shawls and more. I love fun fibers and bright colors, which I think definitely comes through when you visit my shop.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I joined Etsy the day after it opened. I had begun selling scarflettes in an eBay store a few months before with some success, but felt as though my hard work was getting lost in the sea of inexpensive, mass-produced goods that are the staple there. Not having the capital to build my own website, finding Etsy, for me, was the perfect fit. Being one of the first sellers was fun. All of us were learning and growing together, trying to find our place in the crazy handmade world. I remember obsessively watching the “top sellers” and “top items” lists and was a little sad to see them go, but I think in the long run it was a good thing for me not to worry so much about rankings and just focus on my work. I do really hope that Pounce (or some other app) can feature a purely random items generator, as the “random” page is one of the things I miss the most about Version 1.

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I started out selling only basic crocheted scarflettes and they are still one of my top items, but have since branched out with many new scarf and scarflette designs, wraps, shawls and capelets, and also discovered a love for needle felting.

Do you have an anecdote that crystallizes how you feel about the Community on Etsy?
Not really an anecdote, but just a general observation about how really wonderful and amazing the Etsy community, and the general crafting community, has been. I’m a bit of a shy lass, and was very nervous about selling my creations and competing with other more established crafters. What I found was a warm and accepting extended family, best exemplified in our PDX Street Team. Our Etsy shops brought us together, but we have since forged a very strong bond of support, respect and the desire to help each other succeed. It’s incredible.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Etsy is still the perfect venue for someone like me. I have a full time job and not a lot of time to build, maintain and drive traffic to my own separate site. Etsy’s format has worked well for me and I do see myself sticking around for quite a while.

What have you learned about selling?
I’m not much for market research, trend watching and the like. I tend to make what I enjoy making and hope that others will like it as well. I think if you are confident in your work and believe in what you are doing, that will shine through and is something that buyers of handmade really look for.

Good customer service is the key. Take care of your customers with friendly communication, quality work, reliable shipping and good follow-up and they will keep coming back to you.

It is incredibly important to focus on the business and marketing side of the equation, which I know is hard for some people. Do one little thing to market your shop every day, even if it is something as simple as wearing one of your items to the grocery store or post office.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
When I opened my shop, I had no idea that Etsy would grow like it has! It’s been an incredible ride. The growing pains have been many, but so have the great leaps forward. I think the Admin team has risen to the challenge and are doing an awesome job taming the wild beast! I’m always amazed at the new things the engineers and others come up with, so I leave the vision and innovation in your capable hands. Everything I could ask for in the way of improvements has happened or is in the works, so, thanks!!

Read our other Old School Etsian pieces.
See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!

Old School Etsians: ChristineRenee

2008-06-17T12:10:00-05:00

Etsy turns 3 years old on June 18, 2008. We decided it was the perfect time to contact some of our "Elder Etsians" and pay them a little tribute. ChristineRenee of Chicago, Illinois joined Etsy on June 18, 2005, and clocks in as the fifth person to join Etsy. And as you can see if you click through and see her shop's url, her user id is number 100. Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 (1-92 were test data). It's your moment to shine, ChristineRenee!

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
My name is ChristineRenee and I make a hodge podge of stuff — mostly with recycled materials. But I am best known for my Zombie Escape Plan Journals, which were inspired by a crazy, late-night thread in the Etc. forum. (See, hanging out in the forums does pay off sometimes.) I also make buttons, magnets, pocket mirrors, patches... and whatever else pops into my head.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I remember signing up for Etsy on a whim, thinking it was just something fun to do that wasn't going to cost me anything (there weren't any fees back then!) and being surprised a few days later when someone actually bought one of my button sets. I was hooked!

It is amazing to think of how much Etsy has changed since then. I remember when there were only a few hundred items in each category and looking at each and every one of them in one evening was possible. (I dare anyone to try that now!)

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
When I started out on Etsy I was just making buttons. I had one 1-inch button machine and that was it. Now I have a whole arsenal of crafty machinery to make buttons, magnets and pocket mirrors in three different sizes and spiral-bound notebooks.

I've also started doing more gocco printing lately. I had my Print Gocco long before Etsy was born and hadn't used it in years. But all the great gocco art here inspired me to get back into it again. And I recently opened a second shop — ChristineRenee2 — for my original collage art.

I love that I can come up with an idea and test it out on Etsy to see if people like it before investing a lot of time into it. (I get A LOT of ideas, and believe me, they aren't all good!)

Do you have an anecdote that crystallizes how you think about the Community on Etsy?
Last year I had the opportunity to meet a lot of fellow Etsians at Renegade Chicago. And I realized that after admiring their work here and getting to know them in the forums I had built them up in my mind to be mini celebrities. So meeting them and putting faces with names was a major thrill. I was way more excited about meeting Stellaloella in person than I would have been to meet someone like Johnny Depp or Oprah.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Definitely! I can't imagine my life without Etsy. I even left my job in October 2006 thanks to Etsy. (My shop here isn't my sole means of support, but it was a major factor in my decision.)

Who knows what life will bring, but I see myself always having a shop here, even if it's just as a hobby.

Anyway, I HAVE to stick with it, because the longer I'm here, the cooler it is to say that I've been here since day one.

What have you learned about selling?
I have learned that repeat customers are golden and keeping them happy is priority number one. If you can do that, then you will build a steady customer base that will keep growing as they tell their friends about you.

But it won't happen overnight.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
I simply want Etsy to continue to grow and be successful without losing its soul.

momentofstars was the very first Etsian. You can read her Old School Etsian piece here.
See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!

Old School Etsians: momentofstars

2008-06-16T13:00:00-05:00

Etsy turns 3 years old on June 18, 2008. We decided it was the perfect time to contact some of our "Elder Etsians" and pay them a little tribute. momentofstars was the first official Etsian. She joined Etsy on June 18, 2005, and as you can see if you click through and see her shop's url, her user id is number 96. Rob, Chris, and Haim — Etsy's original founders — are numbers 93,94,95 (1-92 were test data). It's your moment to shine, momentofstars!

Please introduce yourself and talk a bit about what you make.
Hi, I'm Fawne DeRosia aka momentofstars and I'm an artist, wife, and mommy living in a small town in central Georgia. I spend most of my time taking care of my family and working at the local arts council. In my spare time I paint, draw, make linocuts and zines and just try to keep busy creatively. I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades. I'm always buying supplies for new things I want to learn, so I have unfinished projects stashed all over the place. I've tried needle felting, sewing, jewelry making, crochet, and knitting.

Hearken back to the old days of Etsy...Any fond memories?
I remember first hearing about Etsy! I remember attending the first ICE event in Atlanta and loving every second of it. Etsy was on the give-away bag and I just had to know all about it. The next day I logged on and created my store. I made my first sale just days later.

[My studio's located in an almost finished guestroom in our basement. I've set up a small desk so my five year old can work beside me. Her name is Mazzy and she says she wants to be an artist when she grows up. ]

How has what you create changed over the past few years, if at all?
I started out painting cute critters onto little wood plaques, then I moved on to little collages and oil paintings and now I'm working on making a lot of linocut prints. I think I'm much more confident in my style and ability and I hope it shows.

Do you see yourself on Etsy for the long haul?
Definitely. Now that my daughter is in school, I'm working on making my Etsy shop better. Before I kept it casual and updated the products at random times. Nowadays I'm trying to update at least once a week and keeping track of my projects on my blog so customers can see what I'm working on at that time.

What have you learned about selling?
It's the little things that are important, like packaging and including a little thank you note with your sold items. People really appreciate that! Also, selling is a bit of a rollercoaster: sales can be up up up one week then down the next.

What do you want for the future of Etsy?
Just keep on keeping on! I love seeing new features on Etsy and I especially love seeing new hearts for my shop (hint hint)!

See who else on Etsy has a Birthday today!