Etsy Seller Interview with Shanel of MyMiniatureKitchen

How MyMiniatureKitchen 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?

My name is Shanel, and I started My Miniature Kitchen to combine my passion for cooking and art into one big adventure! When I found out my baby girl was coming into the world in 2018, I knew it was time to find a way to stay home to take in every moment with her. I started playing with personal food jewelry for myself, and one thing led to another, and here we are today, creating miniature food creations while providing a full-time income for my family with my daughter and her baby brother by my side! All of my food jewelry is sculpted by hand using polymer clay. I use unique tools and techniques to create realistic miniature food sculptures that look like the real thing!

Favorite items

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

My favorite items in my shop are my red velvet cake stud earrings from my cake collection and my pizza keychain from my fast food collection. The earrings are my favorite because red velvet cake was the very first food I taught myself how to sculpt. The way those earrings turned out is why I’m in business today! They are, by coincidence, still my best-selling stud earrings to this day!

The pizza charm is my personal favorite because it was one of the most complicated and fun pieces I had to learn to sculpt. The mixed mediums and techniques used to create the realistic look are why I get excited every time a new order comes in! This charm is also one of my best sellers, because who doesn’t like carrying a slice of pizza with them everywhere they go?

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 didn’t make my first sale until about 7 weeks after opening an Etsy shop. This is due to my selling one-of-a-kind jewelry when I initially opened. But after I switched to miniature food jewelry, my first sale came in quickly and validated my product. I currently depend on search engine optimization, offsite advertising, and word of mouth to bring traffic to my shop.

Managing MyMiniatureKitchen

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 am the only one working at My Miniature Kitchen. I work out of a spare bedroom in my house that is set up like a studio space and is perfect for working. The studio is directly across from my kids’ playroom, so I can keep an eye on them while I work. I "hire" machines, tools, and software to help me with production. Examples are my Epson inkjet printer and AccuCut Grande Mark 2 die-cut machine, which help me print and cut quality backing cards for my jewelry quickly.

Because I have a quick turnaround time, I make sure that my systems are set up to make shipping and fulfillment a breeze. I keep my best sellers in stock and ready to ship on my inventory shelves. I have all shipping materials at my shipping station ready to go and use my Dymo 4XL laser printer to purchase and print shipping labels at my will. I then schedule package pick-up at my house to make sure all packages are shipped on time to the customers. As a busy stay-at-home mom, I do not always have the ability to make it to the post office before they close.

The future of MyMiniatureKitchen

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

Making a full-time living from home doing what I love gives me the flexibility to live my life in a way that works very well for my family, and I have no plans on giving that up. For that reason, my goals are to simply maintain what I have while growing in awareness. My miniature kitchen is already sold in stores, on multiple websites, and in person, but I plan to continue creating systems that will help me bring in as many sales as I can in order to give my kids the life they deserve while staying present in their lives every step of the way.

Advice for new sellers

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

My advice for new Etsy sellers is to focus on creating something that brings both you and consumers joy. But not one over the other. After that, take the time to learn how to properly optimize your shop for traffic and conversions so that you are not frustrated with chasing algorithms. Use Etsy to learn the basics of selling, but understand that it does not define you or your business. It is simply a door leading to a bigger scale of the opportunity.