How leschiwelt 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?
Hello friends, My name is Nora Leschinski, and since I am a trained and studied wood sculptor, it is obvious that the material wood is one of my favorite elements. The theme of relief was mine from the beginning, and so the idea for my store developed right at the start of my self-employment in 2010: hand-sized blocks of wood made of oak, on which an image is carved flat. Just like a printing block, except that I still paint the motif in color. A hole for hanging—ready is the work of art for the wall.
At first, everything went through the German sales platform Dawanda, but with the year 2013, Etsy took over all sellers along with their products, and so the customer base expanded automatically. As a designer, I needed variety, so, among other things, postcards and posters came into the business, whose motifs often found reference to the wooden pictures. It took about 4 years until I was in the black and no longer needed outside financial help. At the same time, I went to markets and asked in suitable stores for opportunities to exhibit and sell, so I developed some cooperation with sales galleries.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
A very specific owl has a special meaning in the reliefs for me; it was my very first piece and a gift to my sister. This unconscious prototype still makes me remember the beginnings. When the wooden owl later hung in her apartment, many of her friends asked me if they could not also get something similar. In the meantime, there are countless different owls around me. But now to a few of my absolute favorite pieces:
Mountains: They are the symbols of freedom and travel. Even though the colors always have different nuances, there are always a few dainty, stylized plants growing under the moonlight in the foreground. Each of the wooden cubes, due to its depth, can be easily placed in your favorite place.
Inhabitants of the Forest:
Birds:Not only one of my favorites but also the best-selling product in my relief repertoire. The bird is, of course, again an animal of freedom, and it's wonderful to try this flying creature in a variety of color combinations. There are countless variations, and they still give me and my fans the greatest pleasure.
BIRD TREE: This tree is just fun because it's inhabited by a little feathered guy. Who wouldn't want to move in with him? Since it is handmade, no two pieces are alike; the bird always looks different. Of course, there are many other trees at Leschiwelt; they give me and the fans a lot of pleasure.
GEOMETRY: Here I particularly like the superficially stylized geometry, which is no doubt inspired by my love of Bauhaus.
GODZILLA: He's one of the oldest motifs, and he hasn't changed much since then. I love monsters, and he probably graces a mass of nursery walls. But I'm sure he makes more than just kids happy.
BELOVED FOOD: If you celebrate cooking and eating like me, of course you love beautiful food or fruits on your kitchen wall. Pomegranate is not the only one in my fundus. There are also lemons, pears, pumpkins, strawberries, cabbage, beets, shells, onions, and so on.
FLOWERS: Many collectors know how much I love my garden and that its inhabitants inspire me almost daily. This includes all kinds of flowers, which are wonderful to give away to dear friends, banned in wood, etc. Of course, there is one or the other flower, which was created by a special customer request. This is also how my program expands.
CURIOUS : Who would I be if I didn't throw in a few quirky bits now and then? They arise spontaneously from the situation and bring some to smile and the others just to wonder…
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 fed the store with five animal motifs and had to wait only 3 days until the first buyer bit. The first sales motivated me, of course, to create more motifs, and so the beginning was made. Since most of the woods are the same size, many buyers develop a passion for collecting that I would never have thought possible. On each of my objects, no matter what they are, there is a hint of my label. So if somewhere an interested person holds a wooden object or a card of mine in his hand, he gets the necessary information to get to my website and thus to the Etsy store. In addition, there are about 10 sales galleries where my products hang, so new customers always discover my store because there are only a manageable number of objects to find everywhere. Facebook and Instagram help me spread the word about new work and fresh developments.
Managing leschiwelt
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?
I run my business by and large on my own, but I get great support from my significant other, who also went to art school and is a brilliant craftsman. He does a lot of preliminary work, prepares wood blanks for me, and builds anything practical that I want. For example, wooden boxes for posters, shelves and sideboards for presentations, movable walls, and much more. The nice thing about my work is that it touches so many areas, so there is a lot of variety. So I'm not only a designer but also a carpenter, packer, photographer, graphic designer, copywriter, mail carrier, customer service representative, salesperson, etc. The most important tool is the tablet, which is my faithful companion. I use it for photos and taking care of the store, and I can also work with it very well on the road. Since I live in the country, the post office is not exactly in my neighborhood. So when there are a lot of orders, I take the collected packages out twice a week. The little shops know me by now, of course, and once a year I bring them a few surprises as a thank you.
The future of leschiwelt
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
There are still so many ideas that want to be implemented. I also have a soft spot for other materials (like clay, wire, and canvas) that I hope to bring on board in the future. Etsy makes it possible to have immediate contact with so many different people from all over the world, even from the deepest province. I have been able to meet so many lovely people, and I hope that more such connections can be made.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Passion for your products is the most important thing. A good photo is half the battle. Today's technology makes it possible for everyone, but you also have to develop your eye for it. I prefer diffused daylight from the side.
It's not done by throwing a handful of products into the store. You have to take care of them and interact with them as much as possible on a daily basis to get people to notice them. As soon as I take my focus off the store for several days and am not active, the click count goes down. So it also costs quite a bit of time in front of the computer.
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: In 2022 it was about €1100 through the store
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 1.2 %
