West Hill Nook is having a sale!

Up next for Interview is West Hill Nook (Melissa Hansen). Please read all about her and her shop.. and check her announcement page-- she is having a Sale!


1) How did you come up with the name to your shop?
Actually, my husband came up with the name...We live in Munnsville which is nestled between two hills (the east and the west) We live on the west hill, hence the name.

2) What was the first thing that you created & sold that made you think- Wow- I CAN do this?

A large off-white afghan at the local Farmer's Market in Hamilton for $110.00.

3) Who or What started you on this path?
My husband, Bruce (who is ALWAYS supportive of what I do and takes genuine interest) and my friend Jessica (a local potter) who suggested I sell my products at the Farmer's Market.

4)What is the Favorite tool of your trade and why?
YARN - I am obsessed with it...I love the variety of colors and textures and love mixing colors to create beautiful one of a kind products. There are endless possibilities...

5) What is your best advice or tip to give another vendor?
Have faith in yourself and your products. Surrounding yourself with supportive and creative people can be very inspiring.

6) Are you doing any craft shows this year? Where can others find you?
I am currently at the Hamilton Farmer's Market on Saturdays 8-1

My products will be available at the Earlville Opera House Holiday Sale starting in November.

I am planning to do the indoor Farmer's Market at Madison Hall in Morrisville this fall.

7) What is your favorite item in your shop and why?

 

www.etsy.com/listing/86405184/warm-and-cozy-neutral-shell-pattern

My afghans have been and will always be my favorite items. They take many hours to create and when finished are so thick and warm. I love giving them to people as gifts. When I sell one, I know I am giving someone a quality product that is comfortable and will help them relax.

And I love this:

                                               crochet-baby-blanket-with-shell-stitch
Look how pretty this is! It looks so delicate. What a wonderful gift!


8) Please tell us your links (ie facebook/twitter/blog/web site etc).

my website: www.westhillnook.com
www.westhillnook.etsy.com
West Hill Nook on Facebook

Thanks Melissa!
** Remember Melissa is having a sale "I am currently having a sale...20% off all items in my shop (coupon code FALL20). I am also promoting my shawls by giving one away for free. Please see details on shop announcement page."

Later....Linda

The Interviews are Beginning

The Interviews are beginning...

Up first is Jaie Johnson and her shop - dirtygirldesigns Here are her answers...

1) How did you come up with the name to your shop?
Well, I'm a "dirty girl", so it seemed fitting. Some of my items can be pretty naughty, and I'm very counter culture. I do have lots of items for people who aren't into that sort of thing, but really I love being risque, and that is slowly expanding. I do keep the more "naughty" stuff in its own category so that if people don't want to see it, they don't have to.

2) What was the first thing that you created & sold that made you think- Wow- I CAN do this?

Well, my background is actually in historical sewing and I used to do commissions, but I decided that on Etsy, it was just too tough. One day, I started fooling with shrink plastic and decided it was a medium I really enjoyed. A few people I know are allergic to metal, but love rings, so I began making the plastic rings, my very first one was snatched up at a show and I've been evolving with them ever since.


3) Who or What started you on this path?
My grandfather was THE biggest auctioneer in the CNY area and he was in fact known all over the US and Canada. My step father was the only person who came second to him, so all I've ever known was auctions, antiques, but mostly how to hustle. It's a bit of a hard word, but to me it fits perfectly what I now do on Etsy. Granddad did antiques, I do stuff I make.

4)What is the Favorite tool of your trade and why?

My brain. Seriously. Sometimes the stuff I come up with just sitting here amuses me.

5) What is your best advice or tip to give another vendor?
Patience. None of this happens overnight. Not building stock, not getting orders. I had to revamp and restyle my Etsy store entirely this past May, and I'm still working on it.

6) Are you doing any craft shows this year? Where can others find you?

I don't do physical craft shows. I don't drive for one, and my old crafting partner retired last year. Plus, where I live, we just don't have a ton of craft shows. If I can find a new partner in crime, I'll start doing shows again.

7) What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
Right now, its my shrink plastic buttons. You wouldn't think shrink plastic lends itself to fancy buttons, but it does. I've seen adorable cut out buttons in the shapes of flowers and animals, and don't get me wrong, they're adorable, and I plan on doing them.
But I discovered a method for making some seriously color intense, super high gloss buttons that make a very high end custom button.
So far, I've made what I call "portrait buttons" featuring Marie Antoinette and Elizabeth Tudor and people love them. But for me, it is all about my Russian Inspired buttons. The colors are so intense, and I love nearly anything Russian.

www.etsy.com/listing/104588372/russian-inspired-shrink-plastic-buttons


** I also checked out her shop and here are some of my faves there:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/71934089/lovely-hand-cast-all-metal-fairy-fridge

And: 

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/100409541/mccalls-3686-1956-misses-dress-size-14

 8) Please tell us your links (ie facebook/twitter/web site etc).
www.dirtygirldesigns.net
facebook.com/dirtygirldesigns
dirtygirldesigns.wordpress.com/
twitter.com/Jaie_Johnson

Thanks Jaie for a great interview... Now everyone-- please go check out her shop and add it to your favorites and like her fb page-- etc.. We can all use followers!

later, Linda (TheHomespunLoft).

Tags and Keywords

Tags and Keywords and their importance...By using them effectively--- this is how others find your shop and the items in them. This is how you get much needed exposure. This is how others find your items for treasuries. Team Tags are super important!

As I was wandering around our member pages.. there are quite a few of you that do not use Team tags in your descriptions. How do you expect other team members to find you? I for one, do not have the time in my day to go through each of  the members page and check the shops for items that I want in my treasury. With a team tag- I just have to do a search for that tag and find the shops/items that way-- so much easier. 

Another problem I have seen is that there are some of the shops that use the same tag over  again. Like "PLUS Size", "Plus SIZE" &  "plus size" (notice the caps or not)... what? They have just wasted a tag(s). When in doubt-- add in a team tag! 

Also-- you are allowed 13 Tags-- USE them all. It can only help you.  Sometimes, I run out of descriptive adjectives for my items... and then you will see some items that pretty much have all my team tags in them!

Check your stats to see what others are looking for.. take your cue from them. If customers are searching for "Teal" shirts and you sell "Turquoise" Shirts... Change your tags to include "Teal"!  

What you might think is obvious-- might not be to someone searching. Try to think in those terms. Also a tag that just says "Big".. is a waste.. Something more like "Big Bath Towel" would be better. You are allowed 20 letters in your tags. Use them. By doing this.. (Big Bath Towel) you have just put 3 tags into 1 and effectively described what you are selling. Use your caps to seperate the words.

 

Also the Etsy help page is very good if you get stuck for a description. Here are some sites to help:

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/483

 

http://www.etsy.com/search-ads/keywords#list-n 

(this is just an interesting page.. might help you decide which words to used based on the prices that Etsy sets them at).

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/make-your-shop-more-relevant/

 

http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/internet/google-ranking-factors.htm

ttfn, Linda/The Homespun Loft

 

 

 

 

 

Let the Interviews Begin!

Starting shortly we will be Interviewing Team members.

Christina and I have come up with some questions, that might be off the beaten path to ask. We have no special order for the Vendor shops. We hope to get to everyone and are planning on getting an interview done twice a month. (if you have a special sale or reason to get your interview done at a certain time-- convo and we will try to accommodate you).

To start off we will be Interviewing shop owners with at least 10 items currently for sale in their Etsy shops and vendors that have CNY ETSY tagged in at least some of their items. (Doesn't have to be all- I for one belong to over 30 teams and you just can't use up all your tags on team tags...so I get it.. but some of your items should be team tagged).

Every once in a bit we will interview a non shop keeper just to get their prospective too.

And Please-- feel free to convo us with any questions or thoughts on the blog.

Thanks so much.
  Linda ( The Homespun Loft )
 Christina (luckyenoughdesigns)