Etsy Seller Interview with Inga and Kestas of BureBureSlippers

How BureBureSlippers 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?

We are Inga and Kestas, and we create and sell felted footwear. In 2006, Inga "discovered" felting, which is a typical story for many women: after having our first child, Inga stayed home to care for the baby and spent her free time crafting. She tried felting and immediately began making footwear. This led to the discovery of an old family history: Inga is a 3rd-generation shoemaker and used to play with her grandfather's tools in his workshop when she was a child. The slippers she made were so comfortable, lightweight, and "breathable" that friends and family began requesting pairs. Inga began making more and more, eventually starting to sell them online. We found the ETSY platform, and our journey on the site began. As orders increased, Kestas also joined the business, and currently our teenage children also help out.

Favorite items

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

Our favourite items are the unique envelope slippers created by Inga. Making them requires a lot of expertise and long hours of work. There is no room for mistakes as it is a complex design and no other felting master has figured out how to make them. Therefore, you can only find Envelopes slippers in the BureBure store. It doesn't need to be sold too much, as it is very difficult to make this footwear.

Another favourite pair of ours is the double-felted boots. They come in various colours, with the left slipper being yellow-turquoise and the right one being burgundy-turquoise. However, our clients can choose the colours for all of our models, and we are always happy when they place custom orders. The colour combinations are often unexpected and beautiful.

We have enough sales, as there is a limit to how much handmade footwear we can produce.

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?

Our first sale dates back to 2009, and it came quickly, given the lack of competition in those days. However, with the rise of Etsy, we now face stiff competition from a wide range of sellers. Fortunately, our store has an established reputation, and we are known in the market, which gives us an edge over some of our competitors. The challenge for us lies in competing with mass-produced products, which can be sold at lower prices. We, on the other hand, craft our items slowly, paying close attention to the details and using only the best materials. For instance, Inga carefully selects wool from Europe, which is a unique blend for felting, and the wool is dyed to create stunning colour combinations. Additionally, we sell excess wool in our Etsy shop to other felting enthusiasts.

Our focus is on offering high-quality products with unique designs. That's the only way we can set ourselves apart from the competition. Providing excellent customer service, fast shipping, and top-notch product photography, descriptions, and SEO is also crucial. It's a comprehensive process that demands constant attention, but it is necessary to stay competitive in this fast-paced market.

Our first sale was a long time ago, maybe in 2009. It came quickly because there was no competition back then. However, now on Etsy, there is strong competition. It's good that we have an established and well-known store, which helps us withstand the competition to some extent. Our biggest concern is the competition with mass-produced items. We cannot compete with them on price because we work slowly, make a lot of effort, and choose our materials very carefully. For example, Inga selects wool from Europe, which is a special blend of wool for felting. The wool is dyed, and unique colour combinations are created. We also sell excess wool in our Etsy shop to other felting masters. We compete on quality and product design, which is the only way to survive. It is also essential to have good customer service and shipping, as well as high-quality product photos, descriptions, and SEO. It's a complex process.

Managing BureBureSlippers

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?

Managing our Etsy shop can be time-consuming, but our skills help us streamline the process. Inga has a background in graphic design and is skilled in photography, photo editing, and banner creation. She stays up-to-date with the latest SEO news and trends and enjoys using tools and apps that can help improve our shop's visibility. We use Alura and other similar apps to find relevant keywords and manage our SEO. We found out about Alura through recommendations from successful Etsy sellers in Lithuania. It's a popular tool among the Etsy community, and we are glad that we discovered it through their recommendations.

Kestas, and now our teenage children, who are fluent in English, help us with customer service and responding to inquiries. We work as a team to ensure that we provide the best service to our clients.

For shipping and fulfilment, we use the best Lithuanian shipping service, siusk.siuntikas.lt, which makes the process quick and easy. Orders are automatically pulled from our Etsy shop, and we receive shipping labels within 20–30 seconds. This helps us avoid errors and minimise the time spent on shipping. Our main tools and apps are related to SEO and shipping.

The future of BureBureSlippers 

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

Our future goals for the shop include improving our products and optimising our production process. Then we aim to increase sales. We need to determine whether we want to become a bigger brand and be recognised globally while staying true to our core values of producing healthy, natural, and comfortable footwear with minimal environmental impact. If we decide to remain a small, family-run business, we will continue to do so. It all depends on our family's desires and aspirations.

Advice for new sellers

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

My advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop is to understand that it won't be an easy journey, but it can be interesting, creative, and educational. 

Firstly, I recommend selling what you're best at making and what you and your friends enjoy the most, as this will ensure that you know the qualities your products need to have and will always receive feedback. 

Invest in high-quality photos, texts, and SEO if you don't know how to do it yourself. Always stay updated with Etsy news. Strictly adhere to Etsy's rules. Unfortunately, over the years, I've heard sad stories about people who didn't follow the rules and lost their entire Etsy shop. Keep an eye on the latest Etsy apps. I feel like the era of artificial intelligence is coming, which will change and simplify Etsy administration. However, it will also increase competition, so creativity and uniqueness will become key. Find the nearest Etsy community, such as Etsy Lithuania, which is very strong and helps new members by providing a lot of advice. That's all.