Two years ago I listed the first items in my brand new
shop. I had found Etsy several months before and made my first purchases, although not with my current shop name. Didn't thought about becoming a seller at first. I have degree in management of arts and concepts like products and marketing were my everyday language, but putting something I've created myself for sale was a different cup of tea. It really meant getting out of my comfort zone, but I'm glad I did.
So here I am. My second year on Etsy has been very productive. Not in sales, but in different other ways. I chose to slow down to give myself time to figure out where this journey has to lead me. Time to focus on my creativity. Time to discover new terrains. Time to work on the product (!), because after all it comes down to one - it's all about the story. You hear that on Etsy every day, don't you? And here comes the hardest part in stepping from the shoes of a manager into the shoes of an artist - it's about revealing yourself. It's about your message and your story and not about somebody else's.
Despite the fact that my formal education in arts has more to do with drawing and painting I love working with different mediums and recently got hooked on enameling (and yes, I feel a little sorry for not choosing glass as my main direction in the art school). To make my shop look less cluttered I've decided to focus on enameled pieces and let the felt and mixed media items expire and not to renew them. However, if something has caught your eye just let me know and I'll make a listing for you.
My second
shop which I opened last year has been rather quiet one and I'm thinking about putting it on a vacation mode mainly because I'm not that productive in the knitting department and most of my scarves are gone before I get to list them in my shop which, in fact, is something to be happy about.
So, what's next?
My plans for the nearest future are to
focus on marketing,
write in Latvian (there's something brewing),
try to make my enamel look more Latvian (but you won't see that very soon),
and create, create, create....
Thank you all for hanging around with me, for your support, wonderful feedback and encouraging comments which inspire me on this journey.
Cheers!
