How ArtistDakota 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?
Hi! My name is Dakota Daetwiler, and I have been a professional oil painter (sometimes acrylic too!) for over a decade. It all started when my son was born. I did a little painting for fun and posted it online; someone offered to buy it for $60. I was so excited. So I painted more, and thus began my career as an artist! I opened my own gallery in my hometown in California for a while when I was just 24 years old. (I had $600 in my bank account; looking back, I was taking a huge risk, but I believed in myself and just went for it!) Then in 2019, I opened another gallery in a small tourist town next to my hometown called Ferndale, California. It was so much fun, and I loved every minute of it, but with the start of COVID and the world changing, I decided a change was in order and moved with my family 3500 miles to the state of Maine. Now I work from home and post all of my work online. This ended up being a positive life-changing move, as just a year later I was diagnosed with Lupus, and I would have had to close my gallery anyway. Working from home has taken so much stress off of me and allowed me to really focus on my health and well-being so that I can manage this disease.
2020 was really the start of my Etsy store; even though I have had it up since 2012, I never really had much on there. I really began listing things frequently in 2020, and it has just taken off massively since then with the help of social media. I make my own original oil paintings and canvas or photo prints, and I think that really sets me apart. I quality check and hand sign each one, and I write a little note to my customers. I do also have items that are fulfilled by other companies, like my sweatshirts and cups, but almost everything else I make and ship myself. It’s really important to me to remain a mostly handcrafted shop that sells unique and individualized products. I only sell things with my original artwork on them, not things you will find in other places or on other platforms. (Except for the people I license with, like Diamond Art Club!) Check out my work on their site; it’s so much fun.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
My favorite items in my shop are, of course, my original paintings. They are so special to me, and even though I price them high because I get so attached to them, they do sell pretty well. I have painted on average about 20 to 30 paintings a year for the past 10 years, and I have, I think, 10 or 12 at the moment for sale. I love what I do, and I think people enjoy the highly detailed work I produce, if not to buy it, then just to look at it and see the story it tells. I just finished an oil painting called "Endless Cheese," where the mice are pretending to be witches casting a spell for endless cheese. I have so much fun creating these paintings!
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 don’t remember what my very first sale was; it was so long ago. But my advice to anyone looking to open an Etsy shop is to just take your time with the listings, fill out each section, and utilize all the tools they give you, like keywords and SEO. I also use Etsy ads (I think I do $5 a day right now, but during the holidays I do $10 a day). They are really helpful for getting people to your shop and reaching new customers. And of course, utilize social media! That has been a game changer for me overall.
Managing ArtistDakota
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?
I run my shop myself, besides some of the items that are fulfilled by outside companies (people who I license my work with, sweatshirt printing, cups, and mugs).) Those are shipped by separate manufacturers for me, which makes things much easier. That way I can focus on making original artwork and stretching canvas orders, which, as I said above, I already do myself with a 44" Epson canvas printer and wood frames I make in my shop. It can sometimes get overwhelming if things explode online, but I am always grateful for sales! This shop and my website are what pay my bills and allow me to paint every day, so I am always so happy when I hear the Etsy "cha-ching!" on my phone.
The future of ArtistDakota
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I am working on adding more products this year that people request and also getting more licensing deals for things like puzzles and gift items. Currently, I am finishing up my zodiac series of original paintings; they have been in the works for about a year, and I still have six to go. People seem to be really excited about this series. You can see them all on my social media sites, particularly Facebook if you have it. Just search for "Paintings by Dakota Daetwiler" on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Don’t be discouraged by all the Amazon drop shippers. I really wish Etsy would put a stop to the unoriginal stuff on there, but we can’t control it. So, my philosophy is: people can tell who is authentic on there; you will stand out in the crowd just by being YOU!
ArtistDakota
Paintings By Dakota Daetwiler
