Etsy Seller Interview with Simon of RocketJackDesign

How RocketJackDesign 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?

Hi, I’m Simon. I’ve been a freelance graphic designer for over 25 years and have always loved creating art. Freelancing has given me the freedom to travel extensively—picking up work when needed and then taking breaks to explore it for as long as I like. My passion for travel started at 18 when I went Interrailing around Europe, and a few years later, I stayed with a friend working a ski season in France. That trip sparked a lifelong love for skiing and snowboarding, which has become a huge source of inspiration in my work.

Over the years, I’ve lived and worked in ski resorts across Australia, New Zealand, France, Austria, Canada, and the US. About 15 years ago, I met my wife, Hannah, while working in the French Alps. She shares my love for travel and skiing. We now live in Brighton with our two children. 

When I started Rocket Jack, we had one son, Caspar—his middle name is Rocket Jack, and he was the inspiration behind my shift from freelancing to becoming an artist and selling my own work. At the time, I was commuting to London, spending four hours a day traveling, and I knew it was time for a change.

Being self-employed allowed me to start creating art on the side. Once I made the big commitment of buying a professional printer, I could focus more on developing my products. I invested in a high-quality printer and sourced premium paper, so I could produce everything myself and ship globally. I learned a lot along the way, constantly refining my workflow and finding ways to streamline the (often painful) shipping process.

Initially, I tried selling art locally around Brighton, contacting galleries and shops, but had very little success. I displayed my work wherever I could, but it didn’t quite take off. My first designs didn’t connect as I’d hoped, and I realized I had priced myself too highly. So, I reduced my prices from gallery rates to something more competitive on Etsy—still at the higher end of the market, as I believe it’s important to value your work, and I do.

At the time, Etsy felt like the best option, and I still believe it’s a great platform for getting started. I began selling art prints and greeting cards, but while the cards sold well, the production process wasn’t sustainable. Eventually, I focused solely on prints.

When I first started, I didn’t do much research; I simply created what inspired me, without a clear direction or cohesion. Sales were slow but steady in the first year. Things really took off when I launched my first set of ski prints, and I began to focus more on skiing. However, I still included other designs inspired by various interests at the time—kids’ art, typography, food & drink, music and botanicals, etc.

After things picked up, I had the opportunity to license some of my art and also ventured into wholesale. One of my biggest milestones was earning royalties from 40,000 sales in IKEA. To be honest, the adventure and nature theme developed later. Looking back, if I were to start again, I’d take a different approach. The biggest change would be to focus on a single niche right from the start. I made the mistake of working on individual products instead of building a cohesive collection.

There’s a lot of competition out there, but I pride myself on creating everything myself, which allows me to offer a level of customization that not many others can match. Plus, being a graphic designer has equipped me with a lot of skills that make creating art and managing listings much easier.

Favorite items

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

My favorite listings are also my bestsellers—the ski prints. I’ve updated these several times to keep things fresh, but even the older versions continue to sell well. They’re especially popular in sets of three.

I love creating these prints because I’m passionate about working with mountain imagery. I’m constantly sourcing new references and ideas from social media, but my biggest inspiration comes from traveling to different ski resorts.

I think these prints sell well because, while there’s a fair amount of competition, my style stands out for its simplicity. The personalization options also make a big difference—while most of the competition focuses on location-specific designs, mine are more flexible and can be customized, which has a broader appeal.

Selling sets of three has been a great boost for my profit margins. There’s extra value for the customer, as they’re getting three prints for roughly the price of two. Plus, many people don’t want the hassle of deciding how to match multiple prints, so offering them as a set removes that decision and adds even more value.

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 a few months before I made my first sale. I wasn’t expecting instant results, but I was determined to keep improving my work and refining my listings. At first, I focused on getting good photos and writing clear descriptions, which I think helped make the difference.

To attract customers, I used a mix of strategies. Initially, I relied on Etsy’s search and SEO to drive traffic. As I grew more comfortable, I started promoting my shop through social media—mainly Instagram and Pinterest, where I could connect with like-minded adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts. Over time, these platforms helped increase visibility but I've struggled to maintain presence whilst working solo.

Managing RocketJackDesign

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 pretty much do everything myself. On occasion, I’ve worked with local PAs, but I found it difficult to balance due to the cost. As soon as profits allow, though, that will be the first thing I’ll invest in again.

Sometimes, I might request specific help on Fiverr or similar platforms, but the results can be hit or miss.

I work from a garden studio, which houses a small desk with my Mac and drawing tablet, as well as a production desk with my printer and shelves for paper and packaging.

Buying a proper label printer was a game-changer—I can’t believe I used to manually fill in post office forms on paper!

Hannah helps with some production when things get busy, especially during Q4.

I use a range of digital tools to manage my shop:

• Alura for research and SEO
• Vela for bulk listing edits and price changes
• Post Office Click and Go for online postage management and labels
• Parcel2Go for shipping where the post office isn’t suitable
• Trello for to-dos, notes, and frequently storing customer messages
• Adobe Illustrator for creating artwork
• Adobe InDesign for creating listings
• Adobe Photoshop for retouching photography and creating mockup images

I also use Gelato for dropshipping when I need unusual sizes, products I can’t produce myself, or speedy international delivery.

I also invested in a PR tool called Press Loft, which, although quite expensive, brought some great results. Through it, I managed to get features in traditional press, including an article in Good Housekeeping magazine, which led to around 50 sales. I’ve also run occasional sales and offered discount codes to keep things fresh and encourage repeat buyers.

The future of RocketJackDesign

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

My goal is obviously to increase sales. With more sales, I aim to bring in more help to handle the mundane and repetitive tasks, allowing me to focus more on creation and further development.

I think a greater focus is needed, so I plan to streamline my shop into a more defined niche—action and outdoors. This means removing listings that don’t align with this theme. I’ll be creating separate shops for the animal-themed and food-based designs, and I’ll also be phasing out long-standing underperforming products.

I plan to use market research to identify additional products that fit the niche, such as mugs and t-shirts, to increase the average order value and add appeal.

Advice for new sellers

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

Number one and most important—START NOW! Whatever it is, just get it going. It won’t be perfect at first, but you can adapt and learn as you go.

Don’t worry about making mistakes—if you’re not failing sometimes, you’re not pushing hard enough. 

Request feedback wherever possible, and focus on finding faults rather than fishing for compliments.

Learn from your mistakes and be ready to change direction when necessary.

Stay organised from the beginning. It may feel like extra work at first, but it will save you time and hassle when things take off.

Do product and market research—it doesn’t have to be complicated, and there are plenty of tools like Alura to help.

Keep your finances organised and separate from your personal accounts.

Use SKUs! Trust me, it’ll bite you later if you don’t.

Don’t overcomplicate things—if you can simplify a process, do it!

Make sure your listings are complete with all the relevant tags and a compelling title. Tools like Alura can help with this.

Good photography is essential—if you can’t do it yourself, get help. Avoid poor quality or cheap-looking mockups.

Invest in your business. Don’t hesitate to spend money on tools that will save you time on repetitive or slow tasks.

Don’t try to do everything. It can be overwhelming trying to manage multiple social media accounts, newsletters, local markets, and podcasts. Pick a couple of channels and focus on making them work.

Create quality over quantity, whether it’s in your listings, copywriting, or social content.