How Thegreenlanesshimmer 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?

I’m a landscape photographer and artist living in Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, in southwest England. I have sold my photos of Dartmoor on Etsy since 2012. We never know what life has in store for us, and in 2013, I fell ill with a serious illness and became a wheelchair user. I switched to two smaller, lighter cameras that are easier to use and hold, but I still visit the moor most weeks to photograph its beautiful landscape. I use a zoom lens to capture places I can't get to physically.

I am a wheelchair user, but things are complicated a bit by the fact I can't sit up for more than an hour a day or travel very much. With these factors in mind, ingenuity has to play a big role! I'm lucky to live in a Devon market town that is literally half a mile from Dartmoor. So there are many places to discover close by, within about a five-mile radius of where I live. We live in an age where everything is more accessible and easy to use, including photographic equipment. I sell prints, greeting cards, books, oracle decks, and hand-made earrings. All the printed products are made by me and printed in the UK, in Bristol and South Devon.

Favorite items

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

My favorite products are my Oracle decks. I have produced three decks. They sell well, especially in the USA; independently produced Oracle decks are popular and are becoming more so. I only order my decks in very small batches, so they’re very limited editions.

Round forest oracle cards in stock indie deck.
Dartmoor oracle cards set in stock indie deck.
Nocturne oracle deck in stock indie deck

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?

My first sale happened after a couple of weeks, I think, and was a greeting card. I attract customers to my shop via my social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Mastodon.

Managing Thegreenlanesshimmer 

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 only me! I have a stock of books, greeting cards, and prints which I put in the post. 

The future of Thegreenlanesshimmer  

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

To keep selling, my Dartmoor calendar, which raises money for charity, is always popular in the autumn.

Alura Team
Alura Team

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