Meet Etsy Seller PixieBearParty

Today we would like to introduce you to

Etsy shop PixieBearParty

PixieBearParty has been selling on Etsy since October 2013, they sell colourful birthday party decorations, invitations and printables. 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 design cute and colorful party printable packages for children's birthdays and holiday parties.
My main motivation for starting my online business was that I wanted to build an income source which will enable me to work from home and spend time with my (future) children. I love graphic design, cartoons and lots of colors, and wanted to create something very cute and colorful for children. Designing digital party packages was the perfect fit for me.

What is the story behind your shop name?
Since Pixiebear is a printables shop for children's parties I wanted the name to represent something from my childhood. The name 'Pixiebear' combines two of my favorite things as a child (and to this day!) - Magical Fairy Creatures and Teddy Bears :)

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
When I opened my online shop, even though I knew there was a possibility for it to reach customers from anywhere in the globe, it still surprised me.
I am happy to see that people from countries very far from mine are purchasing my party printables and it is always a nice surprise. Since I sell digital files there are no shipping limitations and my files have reached many corners of the world. I love the fact that customers worldwide are enjoying my designs.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
One of my favorite party packages which I particularly enjoyed designing was the Rock Star themed birthday party. I loved going back to when I was a child dreaming of one day becoming a famous rock star (who hasn't done that, right?) and using those fun memories in the design process.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
I think marketing my shop outside of Etsy and driving traffic to it from sources other than the internal search on Etsy has been my biggest challenge so far. This year I want to put a greater emphasis on collaborating with blogs in order to extend the reach of my shop. I believe these sorts of collaborations can be of great value to everyone involved – the blogger, the blog readers and me. If you are reading this and would like to collaborate with me – I'd love to hear from you :)

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
My party printables are designed with independent savvy moms (and dads!) in mind. I want to create a time-saving solution for busy moms who value great design. In my party packages I aim to offer these moms a simple and easy way to create a beautiful, memorable party for their child.

What do you do when you aren't working?
When not working I love to take long walks with my husband and our dog, spend time with my family and travel the world.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
I hope my work will inspire you to create beautiful parties of your own. If you'd like more inspiration and party design ideas I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me:
Subscribe - http://eepurl.com/HyqrL
Pixiebear on Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/pixiebearparty/
Pixiebear on Facebook - www.facebook.com/pixiebearparty
Blog (coming soon!) - www.pixiebear.com
If you'd like to collaborate with me, drop me a line at: noa@pixiebear.com :)

PixieBearPartyis offering a 25% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "HAPPY25PARTY" at checkout. Valid until March 4th 2015.

Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

Tweet

Meet Etsy Seller PinkNounou

Today we would like to introduce you to

Etsy shop PinkNounou

PinkNounou has been selling on Etsy since September 2009, they sell beautiful softies, dolls, baby goods & paper products! Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
In the last few years the work I was doing as a graphic designer wasn’t fulfilling me, I needed to do something more creative and more “hand made” (a computer is a very useful tool but...) - and I loved fabrics, and also started to discover the work of other artists... All this together with my always and constant love for kids design and illustration lead me to start working on creating and designing my own line of products and showing them to the world through my shop.

What is the story behind your shop name?
My shop (brand) name is an abbreviation of the name of my daughter, together with a color - just simply that ;)

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
Sending my products to far away countries and the positive feedback.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
I really like to make my bibs that have a tale. Also the pillow dolls with classic fairytales - I enjoy children's tales so much so I love working around these kind of products! My daughter also loves them ;) and thats an extra motivation!
And love making the one-of-a-kind soft toys.

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
My soft toys (and all other products...) are the result of my passion about good design, illustration, children storybooks and fabrics.
I want to make toys that children can play and cuddle and will mean something special in their childhood. So that's why my collections are only in limited numbers and many are one-of-a-kind creations.
I'm a strong believer in good quality, not only in the design, but also on the materials and what you do with them in the end.

What do you do when you aren't working?
These days I do things mostly that my small daughter also enjoys and can participate - we do crafty things in our house, cook, or go to the park, in the summer we go to the beach - we both love that!
Sometimes when I'm tired I like to just sit on my couch and see a good movie.

Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

Tweet

Meet Etsy Seller HazardBaby

Today we would like to introduce you to

Etsy shop HazardBaby

HazardBaby has been selling on Etsy since July 2014, they sell humorous infant onesies, toddler t-shirts, rompers, and bibs printed with warning signs on them. Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
Originally from Princeton, NJ, I attended The University of Vermont where I graduated with a degree in Integrated Natural Resources.  After four years of working with the US Forest Service, my husband and I started a Country Store/Cider Mill business, while my husband, quite accidentally, began growing a masonry business.  After our first daughter was born, we re-evaluated our priorities and sold the store to focus on our new family and the masonry business.  Fast forward several years, with my two girls in school, I was beginning to look at my work options when the idea for Hazard Baby came along....

What is the story behind your shop name?
Hazard Baby was born at a propane filling station with a rented VW Camper Bus on a family tour of the Utah National Forests in 2011.  The warning label on the propane tank asked us to alert an official if we noticed an odor.  We decided that this warning also applied to babies!  We quickly realized that a great many warning and caution signs for equipment and material safety also apply to kids!  I soon got to work on designing the Hazard Baby logo and "titles".

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
I knew it would be "easy" to create an online shop..... I was and continue to be surprise at how large the market is out there, not only in baby clothes, but in online crafters in general.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
I enjoyed creating all of my warning/caution "titles"  Each one gave me a chuckle while designing them.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
What I find most challenging about being an Etsy seller (and in general an online seller) is marketing on a very small to almost no budget.  There are so many sellers of the same product, how do I make my brand stand out?

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
To create something fun.  My saying is "Because babies really should have warning labels!"  How many times have you heard a parent or grandparent say that?

What do you do when you aren't working?
I live in the mountains of NH with my husband, two children, dog, & several laying hens.  I enjoy being with my family, being outside in the garden in the summer, hiking, and knitting in my down time.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
"What's in store for Hazard Baby's future?  I have already designed 6 more titles that will soon be added to the current ten.  More sizes and colors!  Not only can we add more sizes to our onesie, toddler, and romper lines, but most of our titles can apply to youths as well.  Perhaps even adult sizes are in our future.  Cozy sweatshirts, long sleeved onesies & t-shirts, dress, hats, blankets, and bags.  Plus more titles.  I am constantly on the lookout for more tasteful ""warnings"".  The possibilities are endless!
When it comes down to it, I hope my customers have as much fun with their Hazard Baby clothing as I do in designing them."

HazardBabyis offering a free shipping on all orders in her Etsy shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "HBETSYFREESHIP" at checkout. Valid until July 31st 2015.


Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

Tweet

Meet Etsy Seller Simple Gifts Toys

Today we would like to introduce you to

Etsy shop simplegiftstoys

simplegiftstoys has been selling on Etsy since October 2012, they sell green and environmentally friendly wooden toys for children. 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 began making wooden toys as a small hobby to create gifts for friends and family. In 2011, I started to trade for cloth diapers and sell on social media. I opened my Etsy shop when I needed to expand my audience reach to support our goal of having me home with the kids.
Simple Gifts is now solvent business that helps support our family of four as we home school, homestead and otherwise evolve each day.

What is the story behind your shop name?
" 'Tis a gift to be simple, 'Tis a gift to be free..." ~Traditional Shaker Song
"Live simply so that others may simply live" ~Mahatma Gandhi
These two quotes always inspired me,  so when I needed a name for a wooden toy shop, "Simple Gifts" felt like a great fit.

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
For me, the big surprise has been the challenge of sustainable growth. As I've sold more, I've become especially aware of the environmental and societal impact of being part of consumerism. As such I've begun transitioning to cotton over silk, upcycled over wool, and opting for local and vegan products as often as possible. I also feel it is my responsibility to participate in tree buy back and planting programs and donate Simple Gifts to charitable organizations as often as possible.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
I think more so than an Etsy specific challenge,  my greatest difficulty has been balancing made to order products with my desire to make new things and see my ideas come to fruition.
I've recently moved the shop over to all in-stock items. It's a risk making what I dream over what is a known favorite...so I try to keep both flowing through the shop. It's a fun and exciting adventure!

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
Natural play has always proven important in my children's lives and my own. Through my preparation to become their teacher in 2013, I learned more about the qualities of wood, wool, silk, beeswax and other natural materials that can support their play and create further educational experiences. In each product I offer, I have four little hands exploring, creating and testing alongside me. We learn together and share our results with you. So much thanks is given each day to my family for their time and encouragement.

What do you do when you aren't working?
This question makes me chuckle just a bit. Laundry, dishes, cooking...
No seriously,  my favorite activities are volunteering at our local library, homesteading and homeschooling with my kiddos, painting and playing in the woods.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
I appreciate the opportunity to share and be part if this group. Thanks so much!

simplegiftstoys is offering a 10% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDS10" at checkout. Valid until February 11th 2015.


Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

Tweet

Meet Etsy Seller Design Girl Studio

Today we would like to introduce you to

Etsy shop Design Girl Studio

Design Girl Studio has been selling on Etsy since June 2009, they sell custom party decorations & invites for any occasion. Today they are going to give us a little peak behind the scenes of their Etsy shop.


What motivated you to start your shop?
After working in corporate America for 10 years, I felt my creativity wasn’t being used to the fullest.  It did pay the bills, but I was miserable.  I have always had a passion for design and needed an outlet to showcase that.  In 2009 I took a leap of faith and started design girl studio. The rest is history.

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
How much fun I have every single day.  It's amazing how your life changes when you love what you do for a living!  I've also been surprised by the number of friendships I have gained through the years.  So many families have worked with me from the very beginning and I have become a part of their home.  These friendships make working a home so much more fun.  It's like having co-workers but you can stay in your PJ's all day!

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
That's a tough one.  Our vintage cowboy baby shower banner is probably my favorite design right now.  Or maybe our chevron ladybug theme.  I love them all so I'll stop there.  :)

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
Being a work at home mom.  It really is a dream come true but is a struggle finding the right balance.  We have a schedule that we work to follow on a daily basis but my days never seem to go as planned.  I think it will probably always be a struggle that I deal with.

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
Our goal is to make your celebration planning a breeze and make you look like a natural party planner.

What do you do when you aren't working?
We live on a farm so there are always lots of chores to do!  And spending time with the family.  My resolution last year was that at 5:00 pm every night I would walk away from my office until my daughter was in bed.  I am a workaholic so some days this is a struggle but it has allowed us so much more family time.

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
A little bit about me. I studied Interior Design at Oklahoma University.  After working in corporate America for 10 years, I felt my creativity wasn’t being used to the fullest.  It did pay the bills, but I was miserable.  I have always had a passion for design and needed an outlet to showcase that.  In 2009 I took a leap of faith and started design girl studio. The rest is history.
I am married to my best friend. I am the mom to a baby girl who is quickly becoming a toddler, 2 step children (age 21 and 25) and 1 granddaughter.  That’s right I’m a new mom and Grandmom.  Life is never dull around here!
After living all over the United States I now call Kansas home.  That big white barn you see behind most of our pictures is in the field across the street from my studio window.  It’s close to 100 years old and was the main dairy barn for my husband’s family farm at one point in its life.  That’s right I said field.  We live in no-where land Kansas, right in the middle of farm fields.
Miss Jessica is the other part of our team.  For the last three years she has worked tirelessly with me.  A new KU graduate, with an eye for details! She works from home most days and in the studio 3-4 days a week.  She is involved in just about every aspect of our products.
This year we are celebrating our 7th year of creating party decorations on Etsy and serving over 20,000 customers.  We are so thankful so many customers have trusted us with their decoration needs!

Design Girl Studio is offering a 15% discount in her shop on orders over $25. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "ETSYKIDS" at checkout. Valid until February 28th 2015.

Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

Tweet

Meet Etsy Seller Fuzzlemania

Today we would like to introduce you to

Etsy shop fuzzlemania

fuzzlemania has been selling on Etsy since March 2012, they sell beautiful felt toys and felt toy patterns! 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 a set of patterns for making a felt family, house, trees, etc. that I wanted to sell.  It is something I made when my children were young (many years ago) and then turned into an ebook in recent years.  One pattern to sell wasn't much to look at in a shop, so I started making felt toys to sell, using the pattern set, and some new ones that weren't from the patterns.  Last year I added some felt brooches and felt magnets, too.  The ideas keep coming, and I'm enjoying making all the felt items; it is a fun hobby.

What is the story behind your shop name?
"Fuzzle" comes from the name of the pattern set that is for sale in the shop, "Fuzzle Family Felt."  I added the -mania ending so it would sound more exciting and just generally snazzier.

What surprised you most about having your own craft / online shop?
Sometimes I have been surprised by certain orders.  For example, I had a set of felt shapes-- and someone ordered two of them, though only one was available at the time.  So that was a surprise, but a pleasant one-- I did have time to quickly make up another set, so completing the order was OK.

What is your favourite creations from your shop?
I really like making the small felt dolls-- it's interesting to design their clothing and bead necklaces, etc . . . and grouping them together in families or smaller sets is something that is fun to do.

What do you find most challenging about being an Etsy seller?
Figuring out how to get customers (!)

What's your personal philosophy behind your shop / products?
Hmm . . . how about "keep it warm and fuzzy"?
I like to make toys that kids will enjoy playing with and parents will also like.  And I want to provide more patterns for crafters who would like to make their own felt toys.  That part (more pattern sets) is coming up in the future.

What do you do when you aren't working?
I usually only work on the felt toys in spare time, such as when riding in the car, waiting for an appointment, attending a listening type meeting, etc.  But I have many interests and pursuits besides hand-sewing with felt.  I'm a visual artist, and volunteer in two schools to bring art lessons to classes of kids, and I'm also a songwriter (www.dianehurstmusic.com).  I'm a wife, and a mom to two teens (the other kids are all grown and living on their own).

Anything else you'd like to tell us or share?
I'm glad for the opportunity to set up shops with Etsy (I have another shop called "All the Time Learning," with educational materials -- www.etsy.com/shop/allthetimelearning); it is an easy way to offer for sale the craft or other handmade items you make, and I'm always encouraging friends who like making things to visit Etsy, or set up their own Etsy shop.

fuzzlemaniais offering a 20% discount in her shop. To use the coupon visit her etsy store and enter code "JANUARY2015" at checkout. Valid until January 31st 2015.

Powered By Toastie Studio - Etsy Tools

Tweet