Etsy Seller Interview with Elayna of MoonphireDesign

How MoonphireDesign 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! My name is Elayna, and I am the artist behind Moonphire Design. I started on Etsy 11 years ago, selling felt food plushies. Back then, I remember seeing some artists on DeviantArt who were making kawaii food plushies with little faces on them. They were so cute, but, at the time, I couldn’t afford to buy the plushies from these artists. I already had a background in art and had just started working on an art degree, so I decided to try putting my skills to use to make some for myself with inexpensive materials. It turned out I really enjoyed sewing, so from there I started sewing French toast, pancakes, cookies, and more with little faces on them entirely by hand. I received a lot of compliments on my work when I showed it to family and friends, many of whom suggested I try selling it online. So, with the encouragement of the people in my life, I created my Etsy shop and was surprised to see people were actually interested in buying my little felt creations!

As my skills developed, I started working with higher-quality materials like minky, purchased a sewing machine, and started creating more complicated plushies like dragons, cats, and foxes. As I started working with different and more complicated creations, the offers in my Etsy shop shifted from felt food plushies to cute creatures made from minky fabric.

Many of my creations now start on my embroidery machine to handle the face and details. Then I will take a pattern, trace it onto the fabric, cut the pieces out, and stitch them together with my sewing machine. After that, it’ll be stuffed with fluffy polyester fiberfill, sewed shut, and then it'll be ready to go!

Favorite items

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

Oh, this is a tough one to answer! Let me go with the top 3 that I absolutely love to make. First is the purple butterfly dragon. Purple is my favorite color, and even though it takes a while on my embroidery machine for the details, I love taking all of the pieces and bringing them together, and watching them come to life.

The second is my galaxy dragon plush. It’s one of the largest plushies I've made, and I absolutely love working with the Galaxy print fabric. Because the galaxy fabric varies in look depending on where you cut the pattern pieces from, each dragon comes out with a unique placement for the color and stars. I enjoy making something that is a little different and unique for each person. Dragons are also my favorite mythical creature, so I’m pretty biased here.

Lastly, there is my pumpkin cat plush. I had the idea for this a couple of years ago, and I have loved it ever since! It’s a pumpkin. It’s a cat. It’s a pumpkin cat, and that is all that is needed to adore this plush. I haven’t made an embroidery file for the face yet, as there is a certain charm to using fabric for the face details. It reminds me of the days of hand-sewing faces on food plushies.

These are all selling well, and it makes me happy to see that other people also see the same cuteness in them that I do.

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 me about 2 months to earn my first sale. On Etsy’s platform, I’ve worked to optimize my SEO so my items can be found in searches. Most of my sales do come from people who have found me organically on Etsy’s platform. A smaller amount of sales do come from people who follow or have found my social media pages, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or my website. Additionally, I drive traffic to my Etsy shop from in-person conventions that I sell at, where I’m able to hand out business cards with my shop information on them.

Managing MoonphireDesign 

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 entirely mine! I’m the artist, marketing department, and fulfillment department. When it comes to the tools I use to keep track of and organize myself, I am pretty old-school. I’m a tactile person, and I remember things best when I physically write them down, so I keep track of what orders I have and what dates to ship them in a notebook. I also keep notes on things to stock, supplies I need to purchase, etc.

I use Etsy’s platform for buying shipping labels, and I ship items as soon as they are finished. I’m grateful for the USPS package pickup service and utilize it in order to get all of my packages sent out.

The future of MoonphireDesign 

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

I absolutely want to be able to be an artist full-time. I have goals and benchmarks in place in order to reach that goal, and I get closer to them every year. So my overarching goal is to keep growing my shop and to keep making new and better creations than what I made the previous year.

Advice for new sellers

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

Don’t measure your success by the sellers around you. Your path to success will be unique. Some people achieve success quickly, while others take more time, and that is okay! Grow at your own pace, put your heart into everything you do, and remember that your willpower and ability to change and adapt to the market are the ingredients you need for success.

And for some practical advice, have your paperwork in order! Make sure you are following your local and federal tax laws, registering your business, claiming your website domain before someone else does, and claiming your social media handles.