How FreshAirDesignsPhoto 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?
My name is Carrie Armstrong, and I’m the owner and creator of Fresh Air Designs Photo. My shop sells custom photo jewelry and gifts to help celebrate the special moments and people in life. I’ve always had a passion for photography and working with my hands, and I also love seeing loved ones' eyes light up when they receive a truly special gift. My hobby of nature photography, which started with my first camera at the age of ten, led to creating and sharing cards and gifts with friends and family over the years. Several years ago, I taught myself jewelry basics and how to make photo jewelry; this sparked a lot of interest from others, and I eventually opened my shop on Etsy.
Alongside my second job as a children’s book editor, photography has always been a wonderful creative outlet for me, for more than 20 years now. I'm often inspired by the simple beauty found in nature, and that’s where the name "Fresh Air Designs" originated. My background as an editor in the publishing industry has given me an eye for detail and an appreciation for what we all seem to enjoy the most: connection and beauty. We all have a favorite photo that holds a special memory, makes us smile, or that we simply cherish because that person or pet is no longer there. Offering personalized keepsakes has been a great way to provide a service that people connect with and appreciate. This has been the backbone and drive for my Etsy business. When creating products, I look for both something that inspires me design-wise and something that meets customer needs. Working on custom orders in particular has been a great way to discover what customers are looking for and use this knowledge as a jumping-off point for new products.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
Some of my favorite items in the shop are my pet loss necklaces:
and more recently, birthdate/stone bangle bracelets.
These all have simple designs, get great customer feedback and are just overall great sellers. The pet loss necklaces and keychains are the customer favorites, and as a pet lover myself, it’s been really rewarding to work on these keepsakes for people to cherish and remember their lost pets. I never get tired of customer messages and reviews sharing that the recipient cried happy tears when they received a necklace, and it’s now one of their favorite things. Creating memorial pieces in general has been the most rewarding part of my business. It's a great way to provide a service and product with a purpose—something they can hold onto during a difficult time.
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?
My shop had been open for about a week when my first sale came through, for a memorial photo keychain. I can still picture the photo I worked with for that first customer. Currently, I just sell on Etsy and have a growing customer base of repeat customers who support the shop as well. With my Etsy shop not being a full-time job for now, I currently don’t do any advertising or social media promotion either. While I do participate in sales from time to time, I run them very infrequently as I prefer to keep items very reasonably priced up front.
Managing FreshAirDesignsPhoto
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?
My shop is currently run by just me! From the initial product design process through managing Etsy listings, ordering parts, editing photos, communicating with customers, and shipping, I am there for the whole process. As each order is custom and often a sentimental item, it’s important to me to be involved from start to finish. My husband and teenage son help prepare all of my shipping and packaging materials so that I can have everything on hand and streamline shipping. I find that keeping all of my systems organized — from jewelry parts to my photo libraries and customer logs—is essential. If the shop did become more full-time at some point, I would start by outsourcing a few of the jobs I currently do and could eventually train others on almost all aspects.
I use several photo editing tools, including Lightroom and Gimp, but PicMonkey is my go-to for editing customer photos quickly, cropping to fit my jewelry templates, and exporting previews for customers to review. The interface is simple and straightforward to learn, with plenty of how-to videos. One of the benefits of this program is that it’s online, so I can go from one computer to another, along with having mobile access. So if I’m away from my computer, I still have easy access if I need to create or edit something quickly.
Other essentials, equipment-wise, in my studio are my Pro photo printer and Munbyn thermal label printer for shipping labels. The professional photo printer is essential for getting clear photos that won’t fade during my jewelry-making process. The shipping label maker is a thermal one, which requires no ink and really helps streamline the shipping process, which is a lifesaver during busy holiday ordering months.
Batching has been important in running my business as well, and I try to work in phases by batching groups of orders together into several phases, including photo editing, customer contact, jewelry making, and shipping processes, to work most efficiently.
The future of FreshAirDesignsPhoto
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
One goal we have is to eventually create my own website. My shop currently drives about 22% of my own traffic from repeat customers, so it would be great to expand out to my own website alongside Etsy. I’m also planning to expand my product line a bit and will be introducing a new line of earrings first!
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
For those just getting started on Etsy, a great tool is to learn from other sellers as much as you can. Join some Facebook Etsy seller groups, which are great places to learn some of the basics of Etsy. Just be sure to maintain your independence and lean into your personal experiences as these groups do offer all kinds of feedback—not every post will be helpful, relevant, or positive, of course! But generally speaking, this is a great way to engage with other creatives and get a sense of the Etsy community. As you’re developing your products, check out what other top sellers in your market are selling and let that inspire you; just be sure to stay true to your voice and style and create original products. It’s much easier to stay committed when first starting out if you’ve really put your best into what you’re offering. Learn SEO and how to take great product photos. Once you’ve got your listings up, just be patient and persistent. Get on every day even if you don’t have a sale. If your product is good and you’ve put in the work, you will sell. As a last note, customer service really does matter. Keeping a professional attitude and mindset when running your shop will always serve you well.
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 4.1%
FreshAirDesignsPhoto
Photography gifts and custom photo jewelry
