Things I'm learning Thru Our Etsy Shop

Ok so when I opened my first shop concentrating on my fine art and illustration it was tough... I didn't know how to market it, I was just kinda thowing coins in the air and seeing where they lay. It took me a year to get 6 sales on etsy. When we started the Sunflower Express shop Knowing what I have learned in Marketing the show and running that business on a completely different level, I think I started to approach the new etsy shop in a completely different way.
Marketing is key. I use all of my social skills to market sometimes it is completely overwhelming how much time I actually spend marketing. Of course this takes some of the fun out of the whole creating for a living thing but IT WORKS.
I love seeing what other people are working on and how they interpret life thru what they create... You can tell A lot about someone based on what they create. I'm drawn to the quirky stuff on etsy... I can spot a fellow quirkster a mile away.
Our intention was to create lots of stuff for kids but the whole CPSIA nonsense kinda killed that. I create stuff for adults mostly now... kids really love our cuff bracelets and button rings. Hopefully if the stupid law can get changed or repealed I can go back to doing that in the future. But the line is taking off.
We got some of our notecards in a boutique in Berlin Maryland called A Perfect Touch on Main Street. Its the cutie little town where they shot the movie Runaway Bride. Which is very cool if only for the fact that I love that movie.

I'm learning to branch out. To not be scared and to just get out there and mix it up. I know alot about alot of things just thru my experiences in graphic design and illustration thru SSC A&D. I don't mind sharing and I utilize etsy's forum to share my knowledge and also to draw from the knowledge of everyone else in that very diverse and knowledgeable community.
Most importantly I have learned that I've got good taste and if you work your ass off and are slightly anal retentive you can put out a whole lotta work! AND you can start to sell.
Our shop got off the ground for real in the beggining of May I now have 3 sales. Not bad in a month and a half especially with a line that is very different from most jewelry out there. I hope to continue to find out niche market and capitalize on the cool, unique factor of our stuff.

Sunflower Express will continue to get out there and do the whole craft circuit and I'm seriously persuing wholesaling now. I also would love to approach other blogs about doing a feature. I'm no media whore by any means... I'm waiting for the show to take off so we can hire a Ms. Crafty... (I'm joking, Maybe not joking lol...) But exposure is a plus!