Today we have a really great post
featuring blogger and entrepreneur, Rebecca Ann. Rebecca continues to inspire many people with
her interesting and spiritually uplifting posts.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am an almost 20 year old gal who loves life. I am a
homeschool graduate of 2010. My parents decided to homeschool me when I reached
6th grade and I am ever grateful to them and the Lord for those great years of
learning. I strive to live a life of productivity and try to stay clear
of things that are techy besides my laptop. I love all things old fashioned,
vintage, and antique. I also am a strong believer in the Lord God of the
universe who sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins. He is the
inspiration behind my Etsy store and I would never have gotten started sewing
if it were not for His strength and encouragement from His Word and other
believers around me. Without my faith in the Lord it would have never been
possible to open the store.
What inspired
you to open an Etsy shop?
I would say a number of things inspired me to open my store.
First of all when I first heard of Etsy I was intrigued by all the homemade
items! I said someday I would check off my bucket list that I was able to hand
craft items for a store. I can't believe many years later I am actually opened
and am enjoying sewing for my store. I used to hate to sew, but when my sister
taught herself dress making and quilting I was very interested. So she inspired
me as well to learn to sew and finally open my store. My mother also inspired
me as she loves to make many types of crafts that are no sew and she was an
encouragement as well telling me I should sell all those hand sewn items I made
as gifts for my friends.
Where do you get
the inspiration for things in your shop?
I would say blogs and books and my sisters sewing. With the
internet there are so many blogs and places to find inspiration to sew
coasters, banners, napkins, and other goodies. But especially the blog called
Sew MaMa Sew inspired me to do a vintage
theme for my shop. I love all things red, blue and vintage. So I got lots of
inspiration from that blog as well as my sister’s love for red and blue in our
craft/sewing room decor. So the theme of our sewing room is the same as my
store, red and blue and vintage.
Other than sewing,
what are some of your other hobbies?
Besides sewing, crocheting, and knitting, I love to do
living history reenactments and sew clothing for myself and my family to wear
to events. I also love sewing modern clothing and quilts as well as home decor
cushions and curtains for our home. My first love before I learned to sew was
music and I still love music! I am studying to be a voice major for college and
enjoy singing and playing the piano at home and with friends. I also play the
piano for the services at my church and enjoy doing so. I also enjoy cooking
and baking with my sister and mother as well in our tiny kitchen. I also love
visiting historic sites, homes, and museums in our area. We live on the east
coast and there is so much history here. My family reenacts the Colonial Period
(French and Indian war, as well as the Revolutionary War), the Civil War, and
the War of 1812. So we get lots of inspiration from visiting historic sites and
places. The other day we visited Mount Vernon and it was so inspiring! I also
love thrifting and going shopping for bargains at the Goodwill or out of the
way thrift stores. My mother and I love doing this together and we find a lot
of antiques and vintage items for cheap.
Do you have any advice to anyone attempting to start their own
crafting business?
My advice for others wanting to start a home business for crafting would be to
try and share your crafts/sewing with your friends and family first. I have
gotten a lot of interest from people from my church, family, and neighbors and
friends in my area. So start small and maybe even don't do an Etsy store. Sell
things to your friends and family or first give the crafts as gifts to people.
My friends always receive handmade gifts, so they already see that I sew and do
crafts and may want to buy something from me.
I would also say “don't do it alone,” as you get inspiration or want to
start sewing or crafting your items, ask for advice or
opinions on the design or style of the items from friends and family. I was
saved a lot of times by my sister when something just was not right or did not
really cut it for the store.
Also read a lot of blogs and view other Etsy stores or online stores to
see how they do their business. You can get a lot of great ideas and advice
from other Etsy or other store owners. Also if you want to start an Etsy store,
add a lot of shops to your favorites list and items to your favorites. Then
those sellers will add you to their favorites perhaps and buy something from
you. I am also going to advertise in my local home school newsletter. So many
people love that I am an entrepreneur and want to support me by buying my
handmade products instead of made in china stuff.
Also do whip of some business cards or just some cards with your Etsy or
business name on them. Then when you tell someone about it they don't have to
remember the name in their head, they can see the address of the shop on the
card. I am in the process of doing this right now.
All in all I am so grateful to Stephanie Ann for letting me do this guest post.
I am very encouraged by her blog and her help by letting me share my Etsy store
with you all. If you have any questions do come over to my blog here- http://singinginhisname.blogspot.com/
and leave a comment.
Thanks Rebecca! Please do visit her
blog and Etsy Shop.
