Etsy Seller Interview with Frankie of FrankieNormanDesigns

How FrankieNormanDesigns 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, I’m Frankie, the artist and shop owner of Frankie Norman Designs. I sell custom portraits as well as whimsical prints to make the everyday magical.  I started my Etsy shop as a graduate fresh out of arts university, desperate to make a living from the one thing I know how to do well: draw! Being an illustrator is the only future I’ve ever dreamed of, but we all know being an artist isn’t an easy career path to go down.

Etsy offered a way to make my art commercial and gave me the chance to share my designs with the world. I remember uploading my first listing (a couple portrait) and being completely overwhelmed when I got that first order. Someone liked my art?! After that, it snowballed. The orders began pouring in, and before I knew it, I was sending illustrations out to the whole world. I still can’t believe that someone I’ve never met thousands of miles away treasures a portrait drawn by me and has it hanging proudly in their home. It gives me the fuzzies!  Once I knew how successful the portraits were, I realised that people really like art that reflects them and their lives. This is when my shop turned to focusing on custom artwork rather than standard prints. Now I draw pets, houses, families, and anything else customers might request.

Favorite items

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

My favourite item has to be my original listings, the couple portraits.

I have such a special place in my heart for these, as they mean so much to the recipients. During the pandemic, they became extra significant as a way to unite people in artwork who perhaps couldn’t be together in real life. In some instances, I’ve added deceased family members to wedding portraits so that they could be part of the big day, even if it’s just in spirit. These can get quite emotional! I offer the portraits as both digital downloads and physical prints so that there are a range of options for affordability. It also helps to have the digital option for when the portraits are needed faster than the international post can deliver. Some people leave wedding gifts until the very last minute)!

Since my initial success with this listing, the market for custom portraits has become quite saturated, and it can be hard to stand out. It’s important for me to try and set my portraits apart from those of other sellers, but I think I manage that simply by caring so much about them.
It’s the little details that matter in portraits, such as a special necklace one might be wearing or the way someone’s eyes crinkle when they smile.
I like to think my artwork is so well received because of its sincerity. We’re living in a remote world, and it’s nice to put such a personal touch on things. My favourite listing, in terms of enjoyment to complete, has to be the engagement portraits.

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a photographer hiding in the bushes when their partner gets down on one knee, so it’s really fun to be able to recreate that moment for people. The buyer describes the scene with as many details as they’d like, and I get to create a little story with the artwork. So fun!

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 have a terrible memory, so I can’t remember exactly how long it was, but it was definitely a while!  There weren’t many other portrait sellers on Etsy at the time, and it was certainly quite disheartening not getting any views or sales for those first few months. I wondered if there just wasn’t a market for my product, but keeping the faith and staying in my lane paid off. Everything is worth it when you see that little red order notification. Being featured on Etsy definitely helps; I think that's how the ball got rolling for me. 

Attracting customers requires a variety of methods. One of the most effective ways has to be through social media platforms (which, I will admit, I’m terrible at using)! I always build a good relationship with previous customers, and a lot of my foot traffic is currently from repeat buyers or friends of theirs who have seen my work and love it. I make sure to update my shop regularly, editing listings keywords and tags to optimise my position in the search results. I also always offer promotions and discounts, especially in our current economy where money is tight. Note: Be careful with this, as you don’t want to end up underselling yourself!

Managing FrankieNormanDesigns

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?

It’s just me managing the shop and wearing all the hats. I’ll be very honest; I'm much more of an artist than a businesswoman, and I like to keep things as organic as possible! 

I don’t use any other apps or tools to run my store, as I’ve never felt the need to. However, as I mentioned before, with Etsy becoming more crowded, this might be something I need to look into to keep those sales rolling in.

Fulfilment is nice and easy; I have a commission queue spreadsheet that I add all new orders to alongside my off-Etsy projects. I have different statuses (draught, draught sent, image approved, order shipped, etc.). I’m sure my cyber security partner would love for me to be more technical with the shop, but I can never get my head around it. The less digital, the better for me! 

In terms of shipping, I’m trying to stay loyal to my local village post office.

It certainly works out more expensive than buying my labels from Etsy, but I feel like it’s really important to support these places. Plus, the post office is two doors down from me, and a chat with Debbie, the postmistress, always makes my day.

The future of FrankieNormanDesigns

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

To have sold portraits to every single country in the world! 
But realistically, I’d like to start selling more hand painted items. 
The decision to work with digitally painted artwork was one that made sense when I started my shop, it is faster and allows for more changes to be made. 
But with the advancement of AI and other digital techniques flooding the industry, I would like to move back to traditionally painted products. It will be interesting to see if these illustrations are appealing to the wider market. 
At the end of the day I’d just feel so lucky if I can continue with this as my full time job for the foreseeable future !

Advice for new sellers

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

My advice is to carve your own niche! Although you may see certain shops or products making loads of sales, don’t copy them. Find something new or different. It’s always better to do something you truly love and care about than chase the money. If it’s meant to be, then your genuineness will shine through, and you’ll be successful no matter what.