Etsy Seller Interview with Jennifer of jenniferladd

How jenniferladd 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?

I’m Jennifer Ladd. I sell my handmade bags, accessories, and home goods in my Etsy shop. I opened my shop in 2007—soon after I adopted my oldest daughter and quit my teaching job to stay home with her. My shop gave me an opportunity to take a little break from mom life every day and spend a little time being creative on my own. I have always loved sewing purses, so that was an obvious choice for what I should sell in my shop. But my shop has also evolved over the years as my life has evolved. When I started, I sold a lot of baby gear in addition to my handbags. Now that my kids are 16 and 13, baby gear is not part of my own life anymore, so I find myself straying away from creating it for my shop. Instead, I have shifted my focus to jewelry and home decor. It is fun to create, and my daughters give me new ideas all the time. My youngest daughter wanted a new decoration for her bedroom wall a few months ago, for example, so I made a fabric wall hanging for her. We loved how it turned out, so I started selling them in my shop the next week!

Another big change I have recently made is how I make my handmade items. I started my shop using pre-made fabrics, but about 2 years ago, I started learning surface pattern design and started to create my own fabrics with my hand-drawn designs that I created digitally. I now create all my items using only fabrics I have designed myself. I absolutely love spending time creating patterns for my fabrics, and I have even more pride in the items I create because I know each item is unique and cannot be found anywhere else online. I still have a few items in my shop from before I made the switch (most of them discounted right now!), but my eventual goal is to sell those items and have a shop entirely full of Jennifer Ladd designs!

Favorite items

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

My favorites are always my purses because I’ve been selling those since I opened my shop over 15 years ago! And you can never have too many cute purses! My current favorite is this purple screen-printed clutch. I think its simple design makes a big impact.

I also love my cute coin purses, and they are usually my biggest sellers. They are so handy, and they make great, thoughtful little gifts.

My tote bags are also selling very well. I make a lot of pretty, floral tote bags that are perfect for every day. But I also make some quirky tote bags that have a niche audience, and I think people appreciate how unique they are. My DND dice tote bag, for example, was inspired by my DND-loving oldest daughter. It is not for everyone, obviously, but perfect for anyone as obsessed as my daughter is!

Finally, I love the new wall hangings I have been selling. They are so cute, an easy way to add a little spot of color in your home, and they make great gifts!

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 made my first sale within a few days of opening my shop! I was so surprised and so full of joy. I loved that feeling of knowing someone appreciated what I made enough to want to own it. I use social media to attract customers, as well as word of mouth from past customers and some advertising as well. I am a shy person, so self-promotion is my least favorite part of owning a shop, but I try to promote my work somewhere online at least once a day.

Managing jenniferladd

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 just me. I do all the designing, creating, selling, promoting, packaging, and shipping by myself. When I started my shop, I would run to the post office every time I needed a label, but now I use Etsy’s integrated shipping labels, and that has saved me a lot of time (and money, too!). I still take each package to the post office myself, though, to make sure it arrives safely.

The future of jenniferladd

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

My main goal is to continue my fabric design so that I can sell products with all my own hand-designed patterns. I also keep a running list of new products I would like to start selling, and it is just a matter of finding the time to develop them. I think my next offering will be colorful tea towels with my designs on them. Finally, I recently redesigned my standalone website (jenniferladd.com) in order to integrate my Redbubble and Society 6 shops into my marketing as well as consolidate all my creative endeavors into one place. I would love to develop that website more and start driving traffic there so that I can have more control over what my online presence looks like.

Advice for new sellers

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

Patience is important. Starting anything successful takes time, so expect to wait. But expect to put in quite a bit of work while you wait! When my life gets busy (life with teenagers, eeek! ), I spend less time on my shop, and it definitely shows in my sales numbers. But that is the huge benefit of my online shop—it works around my life! When I am able to find more time to create, promote, and market my work, I see that work pay off with more sales. My other advice is to love what you do. I create products that I love and would buy. That way, I am always putting my heart and soul into my work. If I love the product, I’m sure someone else will as well.