How InBloomFeltStudio 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 Kelsey, the creator of Bloom Felt Studio. I am a stay-at-home mom of 2, and this will sound weird, but one day (when the haze of sleepless nights was lifting), I woke up and had this strong desire to create something. I believe it was a blessing from God to give myself a creative outlet I’m passionate about and share some beauty with the world! My first idea was totally unrelated to what I’m selling now, which was making shadow boxes. I made a few and listed them as the first item in my shop, but I quickly realized that woodworking was not for me, and I dreaded making a sale because that meant I’d have to make more! But that was the catalyst that got it all going, and I turned to my next interest, making succulents out of felt. I love plants, but plants do not love my black thumb. I knew I wanted to offer a high-quality product, so I bought wool blend felt from Benzie Design and first made a few felt succulents for my own home. I instantly fell in love with the process and couldn’t stop creating new designs and trying different color combinations. I listed the succulents in place of the shadow boxes in my shop, and they became my first sales (and I was excited to make more when they sold!). Soon I had designed my first bouquet, and eventually I had about 10 made-to-order bouquet styles in my shop. The bouquets were a huge hit, but each flower takes a long time to craft, and as a one-woman show, I was unable to keep up with the demand. Now, I periodically have shop updates where I list a variety of one-of-a-kind bouquets and succulents that are ready to ship, along with a made-to-order single stem section of my shop where my customers can build their own bouquet, and I have begun releasing patterns and tutorials for my flower designs.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
I absolutely love preparing for a shop drop with ready-to-ship bouquets. I love the creative freedom of creating a brand new flower arrangement, deciding on a color palette, and then bringing my vision to life! I am so thrilled and amazed that every shop drop has sold out, and I hope my customers get excited for the releases and appreciate being able to buy something unique that will ship quickly.
I also love the Build a Bouquet section, which provides a steady source of income for my shop. I love seeing what colors and flower types my customers order, and then I get to bring THEIR visions to life! The variety of coming up with my own arrangements along with custom orders keeps things very interesting.
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?
It took about six weeks to get my first sale (so take it from me, don’t give up!). During that time, I had my shadow boxes and my succulents listed for about 3 weeks. Looking back on it now, I KNOW my pictures were terrible, but I learned as I went how to take better photos and better craft my listings—the important thing is to just get started and put your listings out there! You can always improve them over time. I believe that the time and attention I put into my listings attracts customers to my shop because otherwise I wouldn’t pay for the advertising or other marketing. The only other tool I currently use to attract customers to my shop is social media. I am active on Instagram and Tik Tok and enjoy sharing what I’m working on, shop updates, and my creative process. So follow me at @inbloomfeltstudio!
Managing InBloomFeltStudio
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 mostly me. I order supplies, design, and make my products, promote them on social media, communicate with customers, and package. I have to give credit to my husband for his endless support. He also drops the majority of my packages off at the post office and is my videographer for the tutorials. Thank you, Gregg! I utilize the Etsy app so I’m notified when customers reach out and fulfill the majority of my shipping labels through Etsy shipping, so I can easily keep track of my orders from the dashboard.
The future of InBloomFeltStudio
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I am so, so excited about current and future goals I’m working on to add a whole new element to my shop! Now that I’ve found my style and feel more confident in my designs, I’ve started releasing patterns and tutorials so my customers can make flowers too! My first two are available now, and I am thrilled that they are selling and have been well received so far. I am just in the beginning stages, but I am planning to release as many as possible this year, sharing all of my current designs, and I will make more as I create patterns for new flowers. I have also begun experimenting with making felt plants and needle felting and would love to eventually create tutorials for those too. I’ve found that crafting, working with my hands, and being creative bring me so much peace and joy, and my hope is that by teaching my craft to others, they can experience that too.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Just go for it! Your listings aren’t going to sell if you never activate them. I encourage you to find something you enjoy making and then keep adding more listings until you get a sale. If your products aren’t selling, pivot and try something else until you find what works, and then expand on what your customers are buying. For example, if you have a crochet shop and offer crocheted shirts, dresses, hats, and purses, but the purses are selling way more than anything else, make that your niche. Start offering more colors, styles, sizes, etc. It can be scary, but the best thing you can do is put yourself out there and don’t let fear of failure hold you back. Failure is just part of it—I've created things that haven’t sold, made some mistakes, and know that I’m going to make many more, but I believe that the mistakes help you grow. If you take the leap, find what you’re passionate about, and stay in touch with what’s trending and what customers are buying, success will follow.
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Typically around $1500
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 2.6%
InBloomFeltStudio
Felt Flowers, Succulents and Felt Art
