Etsy Seller Interview with Jan of PeaceMealArt

How PeaceMealArt 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 Jan, and my Etsy shop is PeaceMealArt. I started selling my mixed media and acrylic art and paper goods on Etsy in 2013 after doing a few local markets and art shows. Etsy seemed like a good way to connect with customers and be able to sell with minimal effort when not doing markets. I liked the idea of being part of an online community of makers and creatives as well.

As a kid, I spent hours cutting out paper dolls and crafting extensive stories around them. Paper always felt like a medium with such endless potential, and it is still my first love for storytelling and expression. Art hadn’t been part of my life since then, but in 2010, I followed an intuitive lead out of the holistic healing field and back into the creative arts. I have no formal art education, but I have learned from some local teachers and online classes that helped guide me toward mixed-media acrylic art. I brought many of the themes from my holistic health practice of self-love, promoting inner peace and justice, and nourishment of body and soul into my studio. (This is where PeaceMealArt derives from!) Most of my art has a collage feel to it, as that reflects my experience of life. Taking what resonates for us and applying it to the last thing we learned, adding new to old as we go. There is always room for new interpretations of old images, which is why I often use vintage magazines and papers in the layers of my canvases.

I also make greeting cards in a streamlined collage style as frameable art cards. They’ve been so popular, they’ve become a primary product. Each card is one of a kind; I never use templates or kits, and there is no print reproduction of anything I make. If you buy a greeting card from me, it is the only one like it. My cards focus on encouragement, humor, and spirituality. I provide cards for people and occasions that may not be available in big-box stores. My art and cards are inclusive of LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, and black and brown people. Proceeds from many of those items go to organizations that assist those individuals and groups at various levels.

Favorite items

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

My consistent best-sellers are occasion greeting cards and the boxed sets of one-of-a-kind cards. I love making them; they sell consistently, and I get great feedback from return customers. My favorites are special message/encouragement cards. I think these sell well because they speak to a specific need that is not addressed in typical retail offerings. When people who have been marginalized see themselves in one of these items, it connects them instantly. I keep my products intentionally affordable so that younger customers can have art and affirmation cards within their budget.

Not long ago, I collaborated with a well-known spoken word poet, using quotes from his books reinterpreted in collage style in cards. We sold them as box sets, and they sold out in an hour! Find your audience and a partner who can provide a little extra exposure, and people will respond. I still sell a few boxes, and these are my favorites to make.

My current favorite art is an intuitive creation using a special cosmic deck of cards I pull at random and then interpret into a canvas version. Whatever comes through is in the moment and feels very alive.

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 believe it took a good year before I had a legit organic sale. I wasn’t as focused on engaging customers to use Etsy at that time. In-person marketing and local shows were priorities. Even though I felt inept and technically confused, I decided to dig in and just get as familiar as I could with my own shop and the Etsy process from buyer to seller. I also learned a lot about SEO. I talked with a lot of sellers, looked through forums, looked at a lot of other shops selling in my category, and tried to figure out what they did that seemed to work. Paying attention to search terms, titles, descriptions, and photos helped a lot! And it is true: making one sale helps make another. I’ve learned not to freak out whenever Etsy makes a change; it’s never the end of the world, as some sellers might think. It does require adaptation and re-evaluation, and that’s what I try to do. I don’t spend a lot of money on ads. I focus more on changing up my descriptions and titles to keep them fresh. Photos and videos have proven to be the most important things I upgrade. I started out using a professional camera, but ultimately it was too complicated, so I switched to using my phone. I keep my phone current and learn how to use the camera and video to get the best quality. Generally, I don’t even use a stand, just my hand; I have invested in backdrops from Replica Surfaces and have a dedicated spot with natural light for photos. Streamlining these processes is the difference between getting a listing live or not. Done is always better than perfect!

I think it’s important to diversify your presence as much as possible, so I encourage customers to follow me on my socials, and I show new items once a week or so to engage. I’ve had an independent website established for a while, and I make sure that is in all my links: www.peacemealart.com. I don’t recommend using Etsy’s in-site website builder unless you really don’t feel you can manage or spend the money on your own. I’m always thinking about where people will be able to find me if one site crashes.

Managing PeaceMealArt 

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?

It’s just me! Because I have disabilities, I have to keep everything I do manageable. That means the technical aspects have to make sense for me, the production has to be realistic from making to processing to shipping, and there still needs to be space in all of it for me to be creative. I am an artist first and foremost; the business part is secondary. The biggest benefit of Etsy for me is the ease of their shipping process. Everything stays in one place, the discount is good, and customers get lots of information from purchase to delivery. I’ve used Marmalade to try to understand SEO as much as possible, but currently, I don’t use any tools consistently. There’s a lot of misinformation in Facebook groups and even in Etsy forums, so that can get tricky and frustrating. Mostly, I try new things, give them some time to work, then decide if it was worth it or not. Knowing the whole process will likely change in 6 months... again!

The future of PeaceMealArt 

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

While I would love to scale up a bit, I don’t want that to get so big that I can’t manage it on my own. It’s been suggested to me so many times to offer reproductions or prints of my cards and art as a way to increase revenue. For some people, that makes sense. The kind of art I make, it feels flat and disconnected. I plan to continue to make everything from scratch, handmade, and one-of-a-kind, and that means it will have to stay small. I’m ok with that. But I am always interested in making connections with new customers who "get" what I’m doing. I also really love collaborations and would enjoy music or poetry art projects in the future.

Advice for new sellers

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

My practical advice is twofold: 

1. Complete that About Shop section! It matters more than you think, and it doesn’t need to be too wordy or detailed, but customers need to know that you are a real human, now more than ever; 

2. Photos are your only way of connecting to your customer, so lighting, a decent camera (phones are fantastic), and a well-thought-out backdrop to contextualize your item are critical. Most photos taken on a phone can be edited there as well. I love using YouCut for video; it’s free for the basic features and is all done on your phone.

Advice that’s just as important when starting—and forever—is: Don’t mistake a lack of sales for a lack of talent. It’s so easy to doubt yourself when the numbers aren’t there, but there are so many reasons why sales may not happen. Just because you’re not seeing customers doesn’t mean they aren’t out there and waiting to connect with exactly what you are creating. Consider offering something in your wheelhouse that is trendy, but doesn’t make that your priority. Trends come and go, but your perspective and craft are what you’re trying to put out into the world. Stay true to your inspiration, but know you can continue to evolve as you grow. The game of small business/creative business is less about quantity and more about the quality of connections. Find your people! They’re out there!