Etsy Seller Interview with Efi of 2eggsProject

How 2eggsProject got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

Well, my 2eggsProject... I could talk for hours and hours. It‘s funny, because sometimes I actually feel like it‘s a human being. Like we are growing up together. It‘s teaching me, and I can’t get enough of learning. So, I’ve been a crafter forever! After graduating from architecture school, I was totally passionate about creating. Long story short, the hobby turned into a profession, and my work matured step by step. Etsy was the beginning, the first, the biggest, and the most adventurous step. Through it, I started communicating my 2 Eggs Project to international shoppers. It was ideal for me if I could manage to promote my work all around the world while living in a country that had been seriously affected by the financial crisis. And that actually happened. Work, persistence, and patience created a growing project that makes me thrilled and proud and gives me the power I need to keep up with everyday challenges and changes.

Deciding what to sell was not that obvious. I used to say "yes" to anything that came to mind and would keep experimenting a lot. It‘s like it led me there. After about 2 years, I realised that I had somehow created my own target group. I realised that I somehow had a great appeal to Greek communities, mostly in America.

When I realised, thanks to Etsy, that what I was up to was more than loved, I took a deep breath and moved on. Etsy showed me that there is no limit, no borders, and everything is more than possible. My next big step was wholesaling. I managed to enter more than 20 Greek islands through some beautiful concept stores, based there and selling my products. This also happened with Greek-American sellers, who chose to have my eggs in their selling points far away from home! My next wish and goal is to be a selling point in Australia, where many Greeks are based, too! So, Australia, can you hear me?!

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

I am in total love with all my Greek prints! So, I will definitely go to my Greek designs. Actually, I find deep inspiration all around me. The Greek culture, the philosophy, the sea, the sun, the sayings, the colours, the islands I feel like I travel all these roads through my sketches to people who miss Greece, to people who have never visited Greece, or to people who would love to have a taste of Greece. I’ve met a lot of third-generation Greeks that I will probably never meet in person, but they‘ve opened their homes and hearts to me and my designs. They send me their stories, and the most important thing is that they make me feel like I am actually part of their stories. This is my most precious part of this story, and no money is included in it. The moment a girl asks me to create an onesie with the Parthenon on it, saying my "Born to Make History" quote, in order to announce her pregnancy to her "yiayia", who moved to Australia 40 years before, I just stay thrilled and speechless. I have so many stories, like this one, that have filled my eyes with tears all these years, making me feel more than grateful.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

I will never forget that day. I was bleary-eyed, making some coffee, and all of a sudden, I heard one of the most beautiful sounds in the world for the first time. It was the one and only "Cha ching" sound effect on my Etsy app. It sounded like a "welcome" song to this beautiful world of Etsy, to this new world I got lucky to start experiencing that day. It wasn‘t long after I opened my Etsy shop, but it was a little before Christmas, and the first listings that got online were digital calendars, which helped a lot. I used to have a partner during that period, a friend from university named Lilian, but unfortunately, our roads crossed some time later due to some inevitable differences. It actually got going quite fast, but indeed, I remember both of us spending hours and hours watching videos, studying, and searching about how an Etsy shop actually works. We even attended some seminars and webinars in and out of the country on this! This keeps being an unstoppable situation; you have to keep up with the changes and adapt to them, which many times requires a lot of time and energy.

Managing 2eggsProject

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

The fact is that it is actually a one-woman show. Beside this, throughout the years, enough people—professionals and non—have given me a hand when things got too hard to handle by myself. I am so grateful for all of them! I have to admit that both people who know me and people who have never met me have hugged me in a way that has surprised me many times. I guess this comes from the vibe I give when I come to talk about this child of mine. Shipping, apps, tools, and anything that has to do with the global digital marketplace always change, and you should always find ways to make your life and your clients’ lives easier. So, you are always doing constant research for the best solution.

The future of 2eggsProject

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

I would love to keep seeing this project of mine grow. This is my main goal. What I actually love about Etsy is that it always surprises me. I mean that I may set a goal and then another one steps in all of a sudden—maybe because someone from a country that I hardly knew existed pops up and sets a new goal for me! I would for sure love to have many more surprises, get to work on projects for people all over the world, and never get bored! This may be a good chance to learn geography as well, which is not my best part in any case!

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

Throughout these years, I came across people asking me how to create a story like mine. The sparkle in their eyes was missing a lot of the time. I may sound romantic, but you won’t succeed in this specific field unless your first and only motivation is love. Loving what you do and getting excited about travelling around the world with your goodies Insisting, persisting, and keeping up to date are more than necessary. You should believe in it and never step back. Setting goals and doing your best to meet them No obstacle should let you down (ok, no more than one or two days!). I wish you the best of luck! Enjoy the journey and keep moving forward! What I still remind myself now and then is that there is no right time. So, just go!

SPREAD THE LOVE, SPREAD THE EGGS!

Kind regards from Greece,

Efi L.