Etsy Seller Interview with Rasa and Indre of MrBowlCeramics

How MrBowlCeramics 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?

Mr. Bowl Ceramics was born because we felt exhausted from what we call „normal" life: working hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., reaching goals, crunching numbers, etc. We needed a break to stop and find out who we are and what we want to be. And that's how Mr. Bowl Ceramics was born. People say you cannot change the world, but you can change yourself, and by doing that, you can have an impact on bigger things in the world. So we hope that at the end of our lives, we will be able to say, We did something good for ourselves, our family and friends, and our planet. 

We are two potters who love to sink their hands in wet clay and build something functional as well as beautiful. We want to inspire people to find time in their day to eat dinner with family, meet some friends, or just be themselves without pretending to be somebody else who is better. We want to encourage people to live their best lives through premium-made ceramics that make the dining experience much fancier and homely, which the family will love.

 All Mr. Bowl Ceramics dinnerware is made to order and made especially for you. We believe every item should be made with a purpose. Just imagine that as soon as we get your order, we start building every dish from scratch, putting all our love and passion into the process. Every plate and bowl will be touched millions of times, carefully built, and made to be unique and special. While we are working on your dishes, we encourage you to sit on your couch, take a sip of your favorite drink, relax, and start planning your dream dinner, because when you get your dishes, you’ll definitely feel the need to have special occasions with your beloved ones more often. Because you ordered not just a dinnerware set, you bought a new family tradition of being together—you bought time for yourself, your family, and friends.

Favorite items

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

These are our favorites and the most popular among our customers. I believe people "feel" that we love to make these. It's hard to explain, but I guess when you love something and put all your heart and soul into it, people can read that from pictures and descriptions,  and they want to have it. And, of course, these items are beautiful, functional, and, at the same time, give your home a unique look.

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?

We opened our Etsy shop in Spring 2017. The first sale was in the middle of the summer. We waited for it so impatiently. I can still remember that joyous feeling when we heard of Cha-Ching for the first time. Actually, we feel the same every time we make a sale. There is no simple answer to how we attract customers to our shop. I believe the magic combination consists of great products, beautiful pictures, full and clear descriptions, excellent and respectful communication with customers, strong SEO, Etsy Ads, Social media, and, of course, many reviews.

Managing MrBowlCeramics

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?

Yes, we do everything ourselves with our four hands. The only tool we use is Etsy Rank for SEO.

Since we make tableware on purpose—only when it is needed—customers have to wait until it's done. This is the main reason our plates and bowls are made in 7–12 weeks. Let us share the detailed process of plate birth: first of all, we have to knead the clay to prepare it for the work. Then, with a rolling pin, we make a slab from which we form a plate. When it gets a bit solid, we tidy up the rim. Usually, it takes a few hours to finish a plate, and we touch it about a million times! When the plate is finished, we keep it covered for about a week, so it dries slowly. As soon as the plate is dry, we rub it to see if something is not quite as good as we’d like it to be. And only when a plate looks great for us is it loaded into the kiln for the first 28 hours of firing. During this process, the plate becomes solid and hard. After the firing and before glazing, we always wash dishes to avoid any dust, so as soon as they get dry again, we glaze them with a brush. Then, we load items into the kiln for the last 28 hours of firing. When we open the kiln, we see all the magic that happened during the firing! We unload everything, shave the marks left from the metal needles on which plates are usually put, wash everything again, and then we can carefully pack items and ship them to the customer. Every item needs at least 200 minutes of our time. But if we add the time needed for firing, it turns out to be 3500 minutes in total. Production of one item takes 3500 minutes. It sounds a lot, but is it? The standard working week is 40 hours, which is 2400 minutes. How do those 3500 minutes sound now?

Therefore, we ship our tableware mostly with couriers, and we insure our shipments in case of a breakage, although that happens very rarely. We love our customers; we want them to get the best product and customer service, so we always make an extra effort to offer that.

The future of MrBowlCeramics

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

A few years ago, we reached the moment in our work when we had to decide where we wanted to go with our business. It was a classic question for small businesses: if we turn to the still-handmade-but-more-mass-production side, involving larger quantities, lower prices, and hiring people, Or should we keep our small studio of two, where dishes made especially for customers are born, where a limited amount of items can be produced, and where we care about the rational use of our resources? As we strive to maintain a high standard of quality in our work and our care about the world and what will be left to our children and future generations, we’ve decided to choose an unpopular path and remain true to ourselves and our beliefs. We decided to continue to produce only small quantities of tableware, only as much as our customers need and only when they need them, continue to pack dishes in eco-friendly materials, and search for additional ways to further contribute to sustainable living both in the production process and in our personal lives.

Our goal is to keep ourselves happy with what we do and fulfill our customers' expectations.

Advice for new sellers

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

Our advice would be to just do it. We knew about Etsy for a long time, but it took us two years to open the shop. We were afraid of something, it looked difficult and challenging, there were things we didn’t know. But now, when we look back, we wouldn’t wait for two years to make a move. Because it’s a waste of time. So if you want to sell your handmade product, don’t waste your time and go on Etsy. Set your goals and try to make a small step every day towards them. There will be good days and some bad days along the way, but the idea is to move forward step by step. And in a few years, you will be surprised at how far you have come.