Etsy Seller Interview with Lisa of TheEnglishIvy

How TheEnglishIvy 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 Etsy shop was not yet conceived when my fiance and I had the wild idea of leaving our lives behind and hitting the road. We quit our jobs and sold or donated almost every possession we owned. We traded our apartment for a 26’ RV trailer, said goodbye to friends and family, and went on an indefinite adventure together. For a few years, we traveled through various states, sometimes moving to a new campground every 3 or 4 days, and other times staying put for several weeks at a time. We biked, hiked, visited natural wonders, met some amazing and crazy people, and lived every day to the fullest. We are both musicians, so we spent a lot of time writing and playing music together, drawing inspiration from all of our newfound experiences. It was this lifestyle that cultivated the beginnings of a future that I had never for a moment considered I would have.

One evening, we were relaxing by the campfire, and I was telling my fiance about an old hobby I hadn’t pursued in years: macrame and jewelry making. We happened to have a spool of hemp twine in the RV, and I quickly made a macrame bracelet out of it. He was impressed and started making requests for more jewelry, so the next day we went to a craft store and purchased a few more spools of hemp cord in various colors and some unique beads and charms. I now had so much spare time on my hands and the freedom to simply create, I was overflowing with ideas and jewelry designs. Every evening I would make more and more pieces until I had a whole box full of one-of-a-kind, handmade hemp jewelry. "You should sell this stuff on Etsy!" he proclaimed. By the next day, I had an Etsy shop open with a few listings and many more to come. It started as a little seedling of a hobby, but would eventually bloom into a full-grown business to provide for all of our needs.

Favorite items

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

My double helix hemp bracelet is one of my favorites:

There are lots of artisans around the world who make macrame jewelry, and many of them also use hemp, but this particular style is one that I don’t see very often elsewhere. I use two different colors to make it, and since I have so many color options to choose from, there are literally thousands of possible color combinations this bracelet can be made in. My customers very often choose unique combinations, so almost every time I make it, it’s a completely different look than any of the previous ones. People love being able to design something that is customized to their personality through color, and I think that’s what makes this product so popular.

Another of my favorite items to make is the gemstone shamballa bracelet. I offer a variety of different gemstones; here’s one of them:

Similarly, each one of these bracelets has a look and personality of its own. When it comes to gemstones and minerals, every bead is totally unique, so no two bracelets will look the same. I take a lot of enjoyment in choosing the stones I use on each bracelet and rearranging them to highlight their best features. I love handling them and feeling the weight of them, admiring their natural patterns, striations, inclusions, and chatoyancy. Working with these stones is cathartic and meditative for me. Gemstone and mineral bracelets sell very well, and I know that’s because I’m not the only one who sees the beauty in these stones, naturally created in the earth.

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 was about two or three months before I received my first sale. At the time, I only had a small handful of listings. They weren’t optimized well, and my photos were very amateurish. I wasn’t really focusing on my shop while I was out adventuring with my fiance and my dog. But when that first sale came in, all of a sudden, a spark was ignited. Somebody who was a complete stranger to me saw my item and chose to spend their hard-earned money on it. That experience brought a feeling of accomplishment and worth that I hadn’t quite felt before, and it really pushed me to focus my intentions on creating a business I could be proud of.

In the early months of my shop, I started a Pinterest and Instagram account just to share photos of my items. I eventually stopped posting on social media because I became so busy with fulfilling orders that I no longer had the time or energy to promote. Nowadays, most of my customers find me simply through Etsy search or Google. The Instagram and Pinterest accounts are still live, and I do get clicks through them sometimes, but the majority of the time, my customers find me through SEO or from recommendations from previous customers. There are definitely things I could be doing to attract even more customers to my shop, but my order volume takes up enough of my time that I couldn’t handle any more business than I already get organically, so I don’t worry about it.

Managing TheEnglishIvy

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 a one-woman operation completely. I handle every aspect of my business: I make the products, photograph and list them, answer all emails and customer service inquiries, do packaging, gift wrapping, and shipping, manage my inventory, source new materials, do the bookkeeping, ensure I am compliant with current permits and business laws, and I even do my own taxes.

There are a few logistical tools and services I utilize to help keep business running smoothly.

Craftybase: it's like having a massive online database of every material I own (which numbers in the thousands). It helps me track materials used for each order, keeps up with inventory levels, imports and organizes financial data from Etsy, provides reports that detail how my products are doing, where my customers are, and even organizes everything I need to file my taxes every year. It’s not a hands-off system, and since I have a lot of custom products, I do a lot of manual data entry, but it definitely saves me a lot of time and keeps every logistical detail organized for me.

Corel Paintshop Pro: When I started this business, I had never edited a photograph before and had no experience with graphic design of any kind, but this program allows me to do a lot with my photos to ensure that they look the best and most true to life that they can be. Even after years of using this program, I’m still learning new ways to use it. I won’t pretend that I’m an expert in photography or photo editing, but my listing photos have come a long way since I started, and I have Corel to thank for that.

Pirateship: I use PirateShip to create shipping labels for my Etsy orders. I prefer Pirateship over Etsy shipping labels for several reasons: they allow me to buy labels with my credit card so I can accrue cashback points; they offer deeper discounts that allow me to keep my shipping charges low for my customers; and they have exceptional customer service.

USPS: Without the post office, I would not be able to run my business. I schedule pick-ups every day, and the mail carrier collects and scans my packages for me, so I never have to find a way to the post office. I could never thank them enough for what they do for my business.

The future of TheEnglishIvy 

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

I’m in the process of creating a standalone website for my business. I will still have an Etsy shop for as long as they will have me, but I’m looking to expand my business off of Etsy as well. My website will have even more color options, more products, and exclusive discounts that will not be available anywhere else. I’m a very busy bee, so creating that website is a big enough goal on its own, for now.

Advice for new sellers

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

The best piece of advice I can offer is this: read the Etsy Seller Handbook. I have read this thing so many times that I could probably quote every page of it. A lot of mistakes sellers make in the beginning (including me when I started) could be avoided by just reading the articles that Etsy provides. Etsy tells you exactly how to set up your listings; how to format your titles and descriptions; how to find the best keywords; how the search algorithm works; how to photograph your items; and so much more. Etsy has many rules about what can and can’t be sold on their platform, and some of them are very different from what’s permissible on other marketplaces. Understanding what Etsy is all about can prevent a lot of heartbreak when listings are deactivated or shops are suspended for inadvertently breaking the rules.

Other than that, don’t be afraid to just jump in and start. You don’t have to have an amazing shop on day one. You can start out small and grow over time, and you can learn as you go. You might not know who your target customers are, what prices you should charge, or which products will be popular. Experience is the best teacher as long as you are willing to learn and adapt.