1. Tell us about your shop.
My boutique is a collection of handknit accessories and jewelry. Lately I’ve focused on using rocks and natural stones, and working with wire.
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| Turquoise Stone Necklace |
2. Why did you open it?
I've been crafty forever, but I initially started wire-knitting jewelry pieces and saw a market for them on etsy. However, the process was really hard on my hands. I went back to knitting with softer fibers, but had collected enough jewelry-making tools and supplies that I began repairing and then making my own jewelry. A friend then asked me to re-create a cairn necklace for her, and that took me in a whole other direction that I find really fulfilling.
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| Cairn Necklace |
3. How do you create your items?
Right now my favorite supplies are beach stones and crystals. Jewelry items are a collision of expanding stash, experimentation, and inspiration. I tend to work in spurts, as I imagine many creative people do. I only knit in cooler weather, which seems more and more rare here in LA.
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| Lavender Loop Scarf |
4. What is your workspace like?
Most of my knitting happens in a special chair, away from the dogs after the kids are in bed. In temperate weather I take my jewelry stash outside – especially the rocks and natural stones – and concoct new pieces while my youngest plays in the yard. The rest of the time I’m at a standing workstation in my studio. It always looks like my stash has exploded to some degree, but that mess sometimes helps spur some of the most creative pieces.
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| Spider Necklace & Earrings Set |
5. What advice would you give to someone just opening an Etsy shop?
I’m still a baby seller (or maybe a tot…coming up on 200 sales) but here are a few things that would have saved me some time and stress. If you sell items, try to take nice pictures, outside, in the early evening just before sunset. Use your most flattering photos first and last in your listings. Use a hook at the end of your listings (last one, one of a kind, while supplies last, limited offer, or how the item will make customer feel) and either put effort into keyword loading or spend some money on advertising. And finally, customer service really is key.
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| Long Ornate Gold Vintage Dangles |
6. Where can we find you?
