Etsy Seller Interview with Kay of TheMidnightKraftDesk

How TheMidnightKraftDesk 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 Karla ‘Kay’ Fatula, and I am the owner and founder of The Midnight Kraft Desk. I specialise in unique embellishments for scrapbooking and cardmaking, with an emphasis on butterflies and hummingbirds. I also create mini albums, premade scrapbook pages, altered art, and most recently, digital journal cards. The Midnight Kraft Desk began as Kay’s Kreative Korner in 2009; butterfly embellishments have always been the primary focus of my shop. The butterfly represents change, freedom, the beginning of something new, grace, and beauty. I have both a bachelor's and a master's degree in Management Information Systems, but my passion has always been art. My small Etsy shop provided the opportunity for me to delve into my creative side.

Originally, the butterflies in my shop were based on real butterflies from all around the world. I purchased Photoshop and am self-taught in utilising the different graphic design tools within Photoshop to create my own designs. With time, I started designing my own butterflies with sentiment and quotes on their wings and allowed customers to personalise the butterflies with their own favourite sentiment and/or quotes. I also added ‘transparent’ butterflies to my shop, which are butterflies made from acetate. Eventually, I expanded my shop to include premade scrapbook pages, mini albums, and altered art. This expansion prompted me to rename my shop to The Midnight Kraft Desk—a reference to when I’m usually working on Etsy orders. Since I work full time, it’s usually late in the evening until well past midnight that I’m in my craft room working on orders. The ‘K’ in Kraft refers to the fact that my name is spelled with a ‘K’ and not a C. Most recently, I have expanded to digital journal cards and hope to continue growing within the digital graphic market.

Favorite items

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

Butterflies have been and, I feel, will always be the strongest sellers in my shop, as well as my favourite items. There are over 200 different types of butterflies to pick from, and this list is constantly growing. A few of my favourite butterflies include Transparent Butterfly Embellishments (G9), Pumpkin Spice Butterfly Embellishments, and So She Did Butterfly Embellishments.

I feel that it’s the versatility of my butterflies that makes them a best seller. Throughout the years, customers have used my butterflies in ways that I had never dreamed of. Besides using them for scrapbook pages, cards, and mini albums, my butterflies have also been used to decorate wedding, bridal, and/or baby shower favours, on wedding veils, for decorating wedding cakes, featured in scrapbook kits, and in paying tribute to loved ones that have passed.

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?

If I remember correctly, I had my first sale within a month of opening my shop. Currently, I advertise my shop primarily via Facebook as well as SEO, including Pinterest and Etsy Search. In addition, I have received social media exposure from bloggers and crafters sharing my butterflies in their posts or YouTube channels; this exposure has driven much growth and attention to my shop.

Managing TheMidnightKraftDesk

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?

My shop has always been managed solely by me. Tools used for my shop are your basic crafting tools, i.e., scissors, trimmer, adhesive, glitter, etc., with the exception of Photoshop, which is primarily used for designing any new butterflies added to my shop and the digital journal cards. For shipping and fulfilment, I use Etsy’s integrated shipping labels for mailing.

The future of TheMidnightKraftDesk 

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

My goal is to expand the digital products within my shop. I’ve started with digital journal cards, and several have become popular sellers. I’m hoping to continue expanding digital journal cards and digital graphics.

Advice for new sellers

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

Patience is key when starting as a new seller. Do not expect to see immediate results. It took me approximately 3–5 years to truly find the direction I wanted my shop to go. Also, take the time to take amazing photos. I invested in the We R Memory Keepers ShotBox Photography kit and retook all of the photos within my shop. In addition, I’ve added videos to several of my listings. Take advantage of the video option for the listings. I noticed that my sales increased after I started adding videos to my listings.