Etsy Seller Interview with Greta and Algirdas of Labanoris

How Labanoris 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?

Algirdas has worked with wood most of his adult life, mostly with furniture. As we started our life journey together, we found that we loved thinking about and creating new things, mainly small interior details. Firstly, we did this as a hobby, simply creating something nice for our home. Only later did we decide: if we love the result, perhaps there are people elsewhere who would like it too. That was when we began our Etsy journey. By the way, we still lived in Norway back then and only later moved to Lithuania.

Somehow it happened that we started making coat racks and hangers; we made one, and while making it, there were already five new ideas for others. It is still so today—we still have a long list of ideas for more coat racks. Another big section of our products is dog leash hangers. They are absolutely inspired by our fantastic Australian Shepherds!

Favorite items

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

The first product that we created and listed on Etsy is our bestseller, the Paw Print Hook. It is so lovely, and we have shipped it to so many happy dog lovers, that later we also created some variations of it (bigger, with two hooks, etc.).

Another item that we absolutely adore is our etno-patterned coat rack. It comes in different sizes, and we have just introduced etno-patterned single hooks. The etno-patterned hangers are loved in our home market just as much as overseas.

Both of these items, along with many others in our shop, are made of solid oak and covered with brown timber wax—two absolutely fantastic ingredients. They make the products feel special.

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 a long time for us to make our first sale. When we began, we were still unsure how big we wanted it to be (a hobby or a job? ), so we invested neither money nor time in our shop. But time passed, we started receiving orders, and that inspired us, firstly, to create more and more products and, secondly, to spend time optimizing our shop and attracting customers to it.

Managing Labanoris

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?

At this time, we do everything by ourselves. We don’t use any special apps or tools to help us. Perhaps when the sales increase more, we will need to find some help.

The future of Labanoris

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

From a business perspective, we see it as our main job. This means that we will continue creating new products and adding them to our shop. From the customer experience, we also have other ideas—not only coat racks and hangers—that we plan to implement this year. We hope that customers are going to love them.

Advice for new sellers

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

Do what you love doing, and the buyer will eventually find you (and your product will find its forever home!).