Meet Etsy Seller KSMonkeysBoutique

KSMonkeysBoutique has been selling on Etsy since March 2014, they sell beautiful handmade custom clothing and embroidery items! Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
I started sewing as a young girl, helping an elderly neighbor sew for babies in the hospital. From that time forward I was always sewing. After I had my first child in April of 2005 I wanted the cute boutique clothing for her but as a young couple we couldn't afford the high prices. I started making her cute outfits and then my family and friends started asking for me to make their girls dresses. I didn't officially open KSMonkeys until my 2nd daughter was born in 2007.

What is the story behind your shop name?
I originally names my shop Beautiful Baby Bugz, After I had my third daughter in 2009 I knew I wanted to rename the shop something after my girls. I have always called all of my girls my little monkeys and my older 3 first initials are K, S and M. So after playing with lots of names my husband said on day how about KSMonkeys. And so KSMonkeys was born!

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
What surprised me the most is the amount of orders I get! My family has always said that is a nice hobby to have, but won't pay the bills! I love that I am now doing something I love and paying those bills!

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
Oh jeez picking just one!! I think if I had to pick one it would be my set with the shirt "Happy Girls are the Prettiest Girls" I tell my girls this all the time!

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
The most challenging thing about selling on Etsy is the amount of creativity that is out there. There are some days that I will just browse Etsy! There are a lot of creative and talented crafters out there!

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
I have always said If I won't put it on my girls then I won't put it on yours! I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I have been know to redo an outfit for the slightest imperfection.

What do you do when you aren't working?
When I am not working I love playing with my girls, hanging out with my husband or jsut relaxing after a hard days work.

KSMonkeysBoutique is offering a 15% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDS" at checkout. Valid until December 31st 2014.


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Meet Etsy Seller JoellesDolls

JoellesDolls has been selling on Etsy since January 2007, they sell beautiful unique art dolls and cloth dolls. Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
I had been selling my one of a kind handmade cloth dolls at arts and crafts shows in Upstate New York. I wanted to reach a wider market. So I opened a JoellesDolls shop on Etsy in 2007. It was my first online shop, and it worked. I sold my first doll on Etsy to a customer in California. That was pretty exciting. Since then, I've shipped dolls throughout the U.S. and to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom. Someday, I hope there will be one of Joelle's Dolls on every continent.

What is the story behind your shop name?
My mom named me Joelle after a nun who was my brother's kindergarten teacher, Sister Mary Joelle. My husband said my name is pretty and unusual, and recommended I use it as my shop name.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
I make a variety of dolls, from mini dolls and dress up dolls that are mostly aimed at children, to very fancy collectible dolls. Over the years, I have made original characters that are angels, brides and grooms, ballerinas and bikers, cowboys and farmers, fairies, mermaids, nuns, princesses, pirates and witches. All of my dolls come from my own original designs and no two are exactly alike.
My favorite dolls to make are girls with fancy outfits. I love going through my stash of fabrics, imagining an outfit, and selecting the material and trims to make it.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
Getting my dolls seen on Etsy is the toughest challenge. The marketplace is so big, it is hard to get noticed. Allowing shops to sell items on Etsy that are not handmade has made it even more difficult. I try to drive traffic to my Etsy shop using an off-site JoellesDolls.com website, a Joelle's Dolls page on Facebook, and a Joelle's Dolls account on Twitter.

What do you do when you aren't working?
I am a mom to three grown sons who are creative. One is a cartoonist and illustrator, one a writer, and one is a guitarist in a punk rock band.
In addition to being a dollmaker, I have another unusual job, working at a Syracuse teaching hospital as a standardized patient. Standardized patients are people who help train the resident doctors and med students. We are given a script with a character that has specific ailments. We act as patients during simulated visits to the doctor so that the students can practice giving examinations and their diagnostic and communication skills. Sometimes I have my heart listened to six times a day.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
I love cats. If my husband would agree to it, I would have a house full of cats. But I only have two right now. So I make a lot of cat dolls.

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Meet Etsy Seller Misslottiesboutique

Misslottiesboutique has been selling on Etsy since November 2013, they sell ballet skirts and all things beautiful! Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
We have been dancing for 25 years. When we were five years old, Momma Lottie put her little babies in ballet class, and we have been dancing ever since!
As the little Lotties grew and became interested in many things, we began traveling multiple avenues. In middle school everyone had to take ""Consumer and Family Studies"". The most fun part of this class was that everyone sewed a pillow. Momma Lottie brought out her sewing machine, and the creative process began. The sunny yellow and pink striped pillows are still proudly displayed!
College studies provided degrees in Education, Fashion, and Dance. As you can see, these are the foundations of Miss Lottie's Ballet Boutique.
Once the idea of our shop was born, the designs began. It's fun to see all the thoughts come together in thrilling colors on a piece of paper. The fashion sketches made the dream come to life, and the thoughts, combinations, and sketches are endless! Our work table is covered in beautiful visions and dreams!
Next, we began sewing ballet skirts to wear while teaching dance classes. Every time a new skirt was worn, the children loved them! The kids got excited to see what new and beautiful skirt would be worn next. The older dancers even coined the phrase ""Miss Lottie's Skirt Day"" where we would bring the skirt collection and the dancers would have a fun day all dancing like Miss Lottie!
That's when we decided that every little girl should feel special and beautiful and have fun dancing just for joy. Miss Lottie's skirts make every little girl feel like a prima ballerina.

What is the story behind your shop name?
The shop name, Miss Lottie, actually came from a poem that we wrote. It talks about a little girl dancing for joy with her mother. That poem has been so dear to all of us that we decided it was the perfect name for our shop.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
We enjoy making all of our creations. It's fun to think of different themes and color combinations. Our hair bows coordinate with our skirts.
Every skirt and hair bow first begins with a trip to the fabric store. Now, this may not sound exciting, but this is actually a little like Christmas morning for us. We walk in the door with a few ideas on hand, but the magic comes from the discovery around us. Maybe it's a button that sparks the first idea, or it could be a new color of chiffon. Every inspiration begins differently!
We take that inspiration and then we're off. Pairing, matching, mixing and creating until we have everything that we need to make the perfect set!
We bring it all back to our work table and then begin creating. It's all a wonderful team effort.

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
We want every little girl to feel like a prima ballerina! Whether she takes dance lessons every week, or dances in her own living room, every little girl needs to feel like a princess! The little ballerina in your life will dance for joy every time she wears a Miss Lottie's Ballet Boutique Creation!

What do you do when you aren't working?
There are two fields that we love to do besides creating our ballet skirts and hair accessories. The first is Musical Theater, and the second is Children's Stories and Poetry.
Musical Theater has been in the forefront of our lives for a long time. Momma Lottie grew up in school and church choir, and passed the love to her Little Lotties. We became more deeply involved in musical theater during college. Taking courses in both performance and behind the scenes, as well as performing in numerous musicals and plays. Now we bring that passion to our students in musical theater classes. Creating wonderful shows for the kids to perform for a fun loving audience. We write the script, choreograph the dances, edit the music, build the sets and sew the costumes. Then, it's show time!
We also love to write and illustrate. We have written and illustrated several children's books. They are unpublished, but maybe someday :)

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
We are so glad to be featured in this blog. It is such an honor to share what we love and what we do with everyone. We hope that you have enjoyed getting to know us, and we hope to get to know you too! Stop by our shop and see what we have in store for the little ballerina in your life!

Misslottiesboutique is offering a 10% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "LETSDANCE" at checkout. Valid until September 30th 2014.

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Meet Etsy Seller AtelierSpatz

Atelier Spatz has been selling on Etsy since October 2013 (almost a year), they sell a real assortment of beautiful items for kids. From dress up outfits (perfect for Halloween!) to everyday clothing, play mats and bibs! Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
My grand-mothers and mother have been great crafters, so making things by hand has been a family passion. I got a child's sewing machine when I was about 10 years old and all my Christmas presents were hand made until I was 18. I knitted my way through university and making things by hand balanced out my desk job career. Eventually, I started knitting for family and friends, for my own kids, and just people who had seen my creations.
Starting an Etsy shop was a natural extension.

What is the story behind your shop name?
"Spatz" is the German word for Sparrow. In the South of Germany - where I am originally from - we use it as a term of endearment for little kids.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
I love making children's costumes. The Bird Cape and the Native American outfit are amongst my favourites and I would love to make another bird cape in African wax print fabrics of blue and yellow hues. But I just finished a great pirate outfit and am working on an astronaut, so... the list of favourites gets ever larger.

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
Creating childhood treasures!
My work is all about making the life of kids and their parents more joyful. May this be through a baby play quilt that becomes an heirloom and gets passed through generations, a simple little changing mat that brings joy to the ever recurring task of nappy changing or a stunning costume that creates an unforgettable memory.

What do you do when you aren't working?
I enjoy being a mother!

Please tell us a little about the children's items market / handmade movement in your Country? 
In the UK, parents are increasingly keen to enjoy handmade items of good quality / organic materials. There are more and more classes to learn crafts available and people remember the joys and value of hand made items.

Watch out for Atelier Spatz anniversary discount code in October to be published on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/atelierspatz
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Meet Etsy Seller Littlelilybamboo

Littlelilybamboo has been selling on Etsy since June 2009, they sell organic bamboo baby towels and wipes! Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
It first started when a friend of mine expressed her disappointment at the lack of quality of baby washcloths. I had been looking to start some sort of hobby, so I started looking into it. When I found bamboo fabric online, I knew I had to try it, so ordered a yard and experimented. It just grew from there!

What is the story behind your shop name?
I had been trying to think of a cute name for it, and was coming up blank. One day I was talking to our second daughter Tegan and called her by her nickname, Little Lily (lily is her middle name). As soon as I said it, I knew I had my business name!

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
I was surprised at just how much work one could put into it! I knew it would be lots of work, but between editing photos, perfecting SEO, and writing the perfect descriptions...I'm still miles away from where I want my shop to be! I really do love working on it though...almost as much as I love sewing the products!

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
I've always loved making my towels. I love the creative freedom I have with them, and picking fabrics is always fun!
I just started making cuddle blankets though, and I have to say, I'm falling in love with them quickly!

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
I'm usually pretty competitive with just myself, but I find that on etsy I find it hard not play the comparing game. There are so many great shops out there and sometimes I find that instead of being inspired by them I start to feel discouraged that I'll "never have a shop that nice/successful" (although I know I can build a shop and business that fits me perfectly).

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
I have a passion for babies in general. I know how nervous I was as a new mom, especially when it came to bathing and calming my baby. I wanted to create a business that provides products to help moms with those things. I'm in the process of adding tutorial to my blog for bathing a newborn, swaddling, etc. My current motto is "we make bath time cozy!"

What do you do when you aren't working?
My husband and I have five daughters, and I'm a stay at home mom. We live out in the country, and when we are not doing chores at home, the girls and I love to get together with friends who live near us. We seem to keep ourselves pretty busy!

Littlelilybamboo is offering a 15% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDS15" at checkout. Valid until September 3rd 2014.
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Meet Etsy Seller Cutencurlybowtique

CuteNCurlyBowtique has been selling on Etsy since December 2011, they sell beautiful hair accessories in lots of lovely colours! Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
My daughter! I was always looking for unique, one of a kind hair accessories for her.

What is the story behind your shop name?
My daughter again! Her cute curly hair is the inspiration behind the name. :)

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
What surprised me the most is the community on Etsy. Which is a wonderful surprise! And I never thought I would be spending so much time editing pictures of hair bows! LOL

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
It's very hard to pick just one, I love creating everything in my shop. But these little mini witch hat fascinators were so fun and time consuming but so worth it!

What do you do when you aren't working?
When I'm not working on hair accessories for my etsy shop, I generally spend quality time with my family. I also work full time and when I get the chance I like to read.

CuteNCurlyBowtique is offering a 10% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDSTEAM" at checkout. Valid until August 31st 2014.


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