How MontourDesigns 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 started my Etsy shop two years after starting a home-based business, selling my handmade jewelry at farmer’s markets, craft fairs, and to family, friends, and strangers in unexpected places. When patrons began to ask me if I had a website, I investigated my options and discovered that I didn’t know enough to build my own website, but a new online marketplace (Etsy) provided an easy option that didn’t require a big investment up front. (In 2008, I wasn’t even making regular purchases online, so the e-commerce space was an unfamiliar landscape for me.)
The materials I use are sourced from all over the world. I purchase wire in bulk from a large manufacturer in North Carolina. I enjoy going to gem shows and gem shops and buying gemstones and other materials from other Etsy sellers. I play with the wire and things in my home studio and manage to come up with designs that I have the honor of shipping to buyers in all corners of the world.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
My favorite jewelry pieces tend to be the ones that require the most work. These aren’t necessarily the ones that sell the most often because they fall on the higher end of the price point scale. I enjoy learning new techniques and employing them in my new designs.
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 got my first sale about a year after opening my Etsy shop, which came from a friend of my husband. Since I planned on using my Etsy shop as an adjunct to my live event activities, I started with only a handful of listings that were not optimized for search. I was posting things as if I were building an online catalog, so the sales I started with were from all of my in-person activities. Later, I dug into learning to sell online in earnest and transitioned to mostly selling online. I still do some promotions at in-person events, but advertising has been a major source of my online sales.
Managing MontourDesigns
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 manage everything in my small business by myself. I use some search engine optimization and data collection tools, and I do my shipping management through Etsy for domestic orders and other shipping tools for international orders.
The future of MontourDesigns
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
My shop goals have always been to maximize sales and minimize overhead. I want to be able to maintain enough income to supplement my retirement income (if I end up with any) and keep my bills paid.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Never compare yourself to other sellers. It is truly comparing apples to oranges because there is no way to deduce what another seller is doing to get sales, what their costs are, or what their goals are. With so many variables, there is no way to use anyone else as a yardstick. Compare yourself to yourself; measure your own progress against your own statistics.
MontourDesigns
Distinctive Artisan Crafted Wire Art Jewelry
