Video Shopping for Great Gifts!

Animoto provides a great venue for making fun videos from photos. Here are some examples of 30 second videos our team members have made featuring great gifts from their Etsy shops!  Click the name to watch the show and hear the music.

HattieDesigns

Midnightcoiler

The Success Summit for Entrepreneur Women

 by Hayley Mullin of SockprintsOnEtsy

Recently I found myself in need of recharging my entrepreneur battery and was fortunate to have a friend reach out and invite me to a conference sponsored by Today’s Innovative Woman Magazine. The Success Summit for Entrepreneur Women was exactly what I needed to get refreshed and focused before the holiday sales and shopping season is here.

While at the conference I met another Etsy shop owner and we shared some of our “Aha” moments and how we might be able to take what we heard that day and apply it to our businesses. It was fun to find another Etsy member in the sea of over 200 women who attended the conference to exchange ideas big and small while fantastic speakers and networking opportunities filled the day.

Feeling some information overload when I returned home, I thought it would be helpful to go back through my lengthy notes and compile 5 take-home messages that I could focus on for the next few months. Here they are:

1. Elect yourself an expert. Instead of waiting around for others to tell you that you’re an expert, take a moment to reflect on your art or craft. Jot down your strengths and don’t be afraid to let others know that you are an authority!
2. Done is better than perfect. I have to admit that many times I have postponed adding new listings on Etsy because I wasn’t convinced that my description was perfected or my photos weren’t quite right. This was a good reminder that no one will be able to see or purchase products unless they’re posted - perfect or not!
3. Big Goals need Big Help. Don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. Even though you may have just proclaimed yourself an expert doesn’t mean that you couldn’t use some assistance now and then. Etsy’s teams are a perfect place for members to find help they might need. I feel extremely fortunate to have found a great team (ETTEAM) where shop owners share ideas, ask questions and help each other. Their experience is invaluable and I can’t imagine success and reaching goals on Etsy without help from teammates.
   
   
   
4. What we measure, we can improve. Be diligent and track information about your business. Etsy’s Dashboard makes it easy to view your shop’s views, orders, and other stats. Another great resource is CraftCult.com where you can view your shop and item hearts and favorites. I’ve also found it helpful to track our social media followers on a simple spreadsheet each week. I record the date and how many followers we have on Etsy, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media sites. If we have an increase in the number of followers on a particular site, I make a note of what promotion or event we may have been running at that time. I also look for which tweets, pins, and listings are favorited to see which items are getting more attention from prospective buyers and what has sold that week.
5. Be Seen. Etsy’s community makes it easy to gain exposure for your products and your shop. Simple things like joining teams, creating and commenting on treasuries, following and favoriting other shops, and posting in the forums are all good ways to get your name out there. Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest are also great avenues to pursue too. You can also create your own blog, or contribute as a guest blogger for other sites (like I’m doing now). Attending the recent women’s entrepreneur conference was also a good reminder for me to get out and away from my computer monitor and sock printing and meet other women business owners face to face to share what I do.

About the author, Hayley Mullin -- SockprintsOnEtsy, was founded by Hayley Mullin and Jann Middo on the sidelines of a Southern California youth soccer field in 2009 bringing a fun and fresh approach to socks. Hayley’s experience in apparel printing and Jann’s work in the hosiery industry provided the foundation to perfect printed images on socks. Never before have socks been available like this and Sockprints is thrilled to bring this new product to the marketplace. At SockprintsOnEtsy, a variety of sock designs are ready to be personalized and sold in sets of 2 or 3 depending on the sock style. Custom orders are also welcome.  

Etsy Treasury Team 5 Year Anniversary Sale! Extended thru October 6

Etsy Treasury Team's 5 Year Anniversary Sale!  Extended through Sunday,October 6. Use coupon code ETTEAM5ANNIVERSARY  at check out.

Participating Shops: 

Midnightcoiler 10% off $10 minimum

HattieDesigns 15% off

CharleneSevier 15% off

BeautifulbyCharlene 15% off

TLeeCustomDesigns 10% off (Custom gets discount, order today, purchase by 10/9)

Thimbledoodle 15% off

WeeBindery 10% off
Bazketmakr 10% off
PurpletoedGypsy 10% off
GabyCrochetCrafts 15% off
LaurelsbyLaurie 20% off
SockprintsonEtsy 15% off  
DivinaLocura 30% off

Interview with EfiWarsh

Efiwarsh – Unique jewelry, miniature dolls and home decor http://efiwarsh.etsy.com

Tell a little bit about yourself, your creations and your shop:

My name is Efi Warsh.
I am a wife, a mother of 3 grown up children, and a grandmother.
I am an artist from Israel.
I am a high school teacher but I quit my job about 14 years ago and joined my husband in managing our own company.

As a child, I grew up with an artist mother .Those moments had a tremendous impact on my life.
I have always enjoyed working with my hands. I have been drawing and painting since grade school and always had a passion for art until the day I discovered polymer clay.

Polymer clay has been my passion for the last 10 years . In the beginning there was no formal training for me. Self taught and a lot of practice made it perfect! I think that as an artist you either have it or you don’t. The only trick is finding what you are passionate about. I found that I love the versatility of the clay, the colors and the techniques. It can be shaped like clay, carved like wood, buffed like stone and layered like glass. It is an ever learning process of creativity, and just when you think you have tried it all, you find there is something new to try and to learn.

Right now I am concentrating on making polymer clay home decor...

Printed greeting cards of my illustrations...

I also design a limited and one-of-a-kind colorful handmade jewelry... 

Which of your items are you most proud of, and why?Well, honestly I think they are all my favorites. They are colorful, happy and unique! It’s quite strange as I don’t have a lot of colors in my daily clothing’s. But the items I love most are my Kokeshi Dolls. Some pieces have up to 6 hours of work in them to create one perfect doll with all the tiny details, but it’s worth the effort because the outcome is marvelous.

If you could choose what ever you wanted, what would be your ideal job?I’m very happy with what I’m doing right now and the way everything is going in my life. I have been sharing my artwork and selling it on-line since early 2008. All my pieces are hand made with love and care. My only wish is I could make my hobby a full time job. But since I work with my husband at our company, it has many benefits as when I feel inspired I can take a day off without the need to explain myself to the boss.

What is the best advice you’ve given or received?Follow your passion. Don’t give up and never stop doing what you love, no matter how slow sales may be sometimes, and don’t be afraid to promote yourself! If you don’t do it, who will!?

What makes you happy?I always try to see the bright side of everything. Therefore, the health of my family, the  smile of my granddaughter, the smell of a fresh roll, the first light of sun in the morning and a new item I create as I dreamed, makes me the happiest and richest woman in the world. As an artist I think you always know what the end result will look like even before you start! But to see the final project is the best part!

What do you value most in other people?Honesty. Patience. Tolerance.

Please ask a question for the next featured artist to answer.Have you ever experienced artist block and how did you overcome it?

You can see my work or purchase it, currently online at my Etsy shop:
Efiwarsh – Designs in polymer clay http://efiwarsh.etsy.com