Manic Monday: modBelle

modBelle
Etsy | Blog

What got you started with selling online? What inspired you to put yourself out there?
I am a Ph.D. student as well as a crafter, so I was looking for something I could do part-time and enjoy. I have been a flea market junkie since my mother started taking me as a small child. I have also always been very impressed with my two grandmothers and their ability to sew anything imaginable. I decided to combine my love of vintage/one of a kind with sewing and modBelle was born. Every accessory or decoration is something I would wear or use to decorate my own home so I feel a real kinship with my products. I have been shopping on Etsy for a while and was impressed by the variety of handmade and vintage products people have to offer. My shop is very new, but I hope to find a place for myself in the online world.

What is your absolute favorite piece in your shop(s)?
My favorite piece right now is the U and I Sugar Sack Pillow. I like the idea of combining something vintage with something new. It is such a cute piece and I love that the name of the sugar company was U and I :)

What's the most important thing that you've learned through your experience selling and promoting yourself online?
The most important thing I’ve learned is it is a lot more difficult and time-consuming to get a successful shop going than you could ever imagine. It takes a great deal of persistence and networking to get people to visit your shop.


What is your favorite quote?
“My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage.” – Practical Magic

Wordless Wednesday

MaidenVoyageWEbFlierHorizon, originally uploaded by voltairenyc.

Manic Monday: The Mayflower

The Mayflower
Etsy | Etsy2 | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Flickr

What got you started with selling online? What inspired you to put yourself out there?
Honestly, as a full time college student, I need to work to pay my off my tuition. A lot of my friends are waiters, clerks and cashiers, and they hate their jobs. I thought that I'd do something different, something that I love and enjoy and would put my best efforts in instead. I found out about Etsy on BurdaStyle and thought this was the perfect opportunity for me.

What is your absolute favorite piece in your shop(s)?
I'd definitely say the Field of Flowers Skirt: http://www.etsy.com/listing/56103851/a-field-of-flowers-skirt-ready-to-ship

I'm in love with flowers and I love how it flows. I'm going to create more pieces around that soon!

What's the most important thing that you've learned through your experience selling and promoting yourself online?
You need to have a target market. It seems like it's some pretty obvious advice, but that wasn't the case for me. When I first started, I promoted and advertised EVERYWHERE, hoping that it would get me a lot of sales. When it didn't, I couldn't understand why. I spent a lot on advertising, shouldn't I be getting the same amount back in sales? No, not really. After reading up on how to promote and advertise, I found out I was wasting my energy and money on sites that wouldn't drive traffic to my shop. Then, I began researching up on specific blogs and websites to target, and since then, I have been able to drive at least some traffic to my shop.

What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is what inspires my style: "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."  - Leonardo da Vinci

Manic Monday: Ruby Tombstone

Ruby Tombstone
Etsy | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Ebay

What got you started with selling online? What inspired you to put yourself out there?

Believe it or not, it was buttons! I had been selling vintage clothing and nail art kits on eBay for a couple of years and was looking for bulk lots of vintage gear to restock my store. I came across a few lots of vintage buttons, and flashed back to being a kid and playing with Mum's old button tin. I bid on all of them, thinking I'd only win one or two, and lo and behold I won them all! Then I went to visit my mother and she gave me the old tin full of buttons I had played with as a kid! So from then on, and I had to find something to make with the buttons, so I started searching for findings, which led me to vintage cabochons.....and I just couldn't stop buying craft supplies. Now I have a house full of plastic crates!

What is your absolute favorite piece in your shop(s)?

Oh wow. That's hard. Whatever I happened to have worked on last is my usual answer! The last one I worked on was a piece made from a vintage 1960s Fuzzy Felt set from the UK. I used to play with them as a kid also, and it was amazing how well I recognised all the pieces! http://www.etsy.com/listing/72786817/bambi-vintage-fuzzy-felt-necklace-aqua

I also love "Poor Gladys", a zombie memento mori piece I finished recently. I constructed a whole backstory for the poor, doomed woman. There's a scrap from her dress, some beads from her jewelry, some smears of blood - which is actually my own. I had to stab myself in the hand 5 times before I could get a single drop of blood. Then afterwards I couldn't stop bleeding. Art is pain, I guess! http://www.etsy.com/listing/69933221/poor-gladys-zombie-necklace-memento-mori

What's the most important thing that you've learned through your experience selling and promoting yourself online?

Karma works! There's a team on Etsy that finds shops who haven't had many sales. Twice a week we pick 3 shops and bombard them with "hearts", sales, and promotion. I found my sales picked up immediately. It pays to pay it forward!

What is your favorite quote (funny, inspirational - anything!)? 

"It's an evil wind which blows no minds" (Robert Anton Wilson)

Wordless Wednesday

dream of bokeh, originally uploaded by litla.

Manic Monday: Paige

Paige
Etsy | Blog | Twitter

What got you started with selling online? What inspired you to put yourself out there?
Two reasons. One, I needed a creative outlet because I hated my day job and it was making me stabby. Two, I was looking to make a little extra money, and jewelry-making was a skill I'd had in my back pocket for a while--so I busted it out!

What is your absolute favorite piece in your shop?
Hmmm... It's hard to pick just one, but probably these earrings. I've been in love since I made them:
www.etsy.com/listing/71000851/rhinestone-and-crystal-bridal-earrings

 



What's the most important thing that you've learned through your experience selling and promoting yourself online?
I've learned that it's not easy. Running my own small business is awesome and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I'm not only the owner and designer, I'm the customer service manager, I'm the shipping department, I'm the marketing guru... It takes a lot to be everything at once, but nothing good is ever easy.

What is your favorite quote?
"When all else fails, there's always delusion." -- Conan O'Brien

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Changes at Tacky Fab

Nothing too dramatic, just a slight change in focus for my vintage shop. We're planning on selling a lot of the items from the Misc., Clothing and Purse & Bags sections at our upcoming garage sale, so at that point, the shop will mostly just feature vintage jewelry and books and various destash crafting supplies. So if you've had your eye on anything other than those, you may want to grab them in the next week or so before they disappear! The Mother's Day deal is still going, so you can use code TACKYMOM to get an extra 10% off your favorites.

Week Off!

Since I had a late night last night and completely forgot to schedule this morning's feature ahead, I'm taking a hiatus from Manic Monday this week. I don't think it would be fair for somebody to only get half a Monday, after all :)

So in honor of me having gotten to see Voltaire perform at The Church yet again last night, we're all taking a Monday off. I hope it's less rainy and chilly wherever you all are!