Etsy Seller Interview with Jon & Mary of WATTOonline

How WATTOonline 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?

Our shop is called WATTO Distinctive Metal Wear. We are a husband and wife team: Mary Spencer and Jon "WATTO" Watson. Here's the story of why we started our Etsy shop, written from Mary’s perspective: After working for 17 years in graphic design, Jon wanted to work more with his hands. In 2005, he apprenticed at a metal shop and began making awesome sculptures. Of course, as his wife (I'm Mary), I have bragging rights! In 2007, he went out on his own, and we started "The Metal Gardener," a company for him to create organic and nature-inspired sculptures, lighting, and other functional works of art.

I (Mary) worked as a product developer in the social expression and game industries for many years. After the company I was working for shut its doors in Tucson, I needed a job. Jon came in one day with a buckle he had made "just because." My product development mind went into overdrive, and I saw us creating a line of metal accessories. Buckles were extremely hot at that time.

Both of us come up with ideas; Jon sketches them out and then draws them on the computer. Jon also does most of the metal work himself using a plasma cutter. Some of our tiny pieces have been cut using a water jet by a local metal fabricator. I take most of the product shots and assemble the accessories, adding key chains and chains. I answer emails, do the bookkeeping, ship the product, and manage the site.

Favorite items

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

My favourite items in the shop are our single-layer buckles because they add a nice touch to an outfit without being "too much." I like the new nature-inspired designs we came up with for COVID.

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?

We started back in 2009, when Etsy was big enough to get traffic but not so big that it was saturated. It was truly a handmade market back then, with special items. We made sales immediately, as there wasn’t a lot of competition in our category. At this point, we have been on Etsy long enough that the majority of our customers are return customers. We have several other artistic endeavours, so for now, we are mostly in maintenance mode and don’t do a lot to attract customers. Our focus with Etsy is to keep our current customers happy with great service and little extras like free gift wrapping.

Managing WATTOonline

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 (Mary) run the shop by myself. I occasionally use the Etsy app to check to see if I have orders or answer messages, but I usually do most of my work on my computer. I used to use a big digital camera, Photoshop, and Lightbox to correct all my images. Now, I use my iPhone because it has such a great camera and video maker. I keep it simple.

I use online shipping labels. I’ve used sources like stamps.com and Pirate Ship as well as Etsy shipping labels in the past. I’m currently using Etsy shipping labels now that Etsy has their financial reports nice and tidy. They used to be a little difficult to understand. I’ve got everything set up on an island, with all my shipping supplies set up behind my computer station and my label printer next to me. I have a system for each type of item, so packing and shipping are quick and painless. Once packed, I just print out my labels on my DYMO label printer and give them to my mail carrier. Easy peasy!

The future of WATTOonline

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

I do enamel work as well, so I’d like to possibly incorporate that into some of our items to give them a little colour. We are looking to add more new designs this year as well. Finding time to experiment is the hard part, but we would like to freshen things up.

Advice for new sellers

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

It’s harder to be found in the crowd now than it was in the past. Decide who you want to be. You can go with trendy art that may yield a lot of quick money and a lot of competition, which may last for a year or two. That’s one way. You could do something you love doing that you are passionate about and hope it sells. Some people choose this. Or you can fill a niche, do it differently than anyone else, and make it work with something you like to do. Whatever you choose, there are ways to make it work for you. No one is right or wrong. Be patient, as it’s harder to make sales online due to the competition, but you will eventually succeed. If you are in it to make money, make sure you look at all of your costs and how much money you want to make creating it, then set your price. Some shops find out after a year or two that they are actually losing money.