Shop Of The Week: Jenco13

Visiting Jenco13 is a sure way to feel a serious need for something warm. Multi-colored shawls, scarves (with pockets!), cup cozies, cuddly baby blankets and more fill this Etsy store.

Jen freely admits that most of her items narrowly miss being kept. "I love each item I make and sometimes find them very hard to part with! I spend anywhere between 6-8 hours on a scarf to make sure my stitches are even and consistent. If it's not up to my standards, I rip out the stitches until I'm satisfied. I only sell things that I would use myself. When I'm done making things, my husband, Joe, normally has to remind me I already have a million scarves and cup cozies of my own!"

Jen credits her mom, a graphic designer and artist herself, with inspiring her. "She is amazing with colors! We try to get together at least once every 6 months to do an art day for the girls."

Husband Joe is also supportive. "He is an amazing supporter of my art work and never says to me, 'You're crocheting again?' He helps me pick out what my next projects are going to be."

Jen ships her work internationally and is happy to do custom items. "I love to take custom orders from people when they see something new that I have not thought about making before."

As head of the Etsy Twitter Team's PR Committee, Jen is an avid user of Twitter and has a few tricks of the trade to share.

"Each month I go on to friendorfollow.com to see who has been following me, who are my friends, and who is not following me. I first figure out who is no longer using their accounts and get rid of those friends, so that I have room to add those who are following me. I only spend about 30 minutes or so, because you can really get caught up doing things on Twitter!"

She also makes it a point to respond. "I ALWAYS respond to those who RT my information, recommend me for #followfridays or DM me. I feel its important to make those connections on Twitter."

Jen credits persistence and determination for helping her get her store going. "I am the little engine that could! I never give up on things. When times are tough, I stick to my goal and keep on trucking."

Become a fan of Jen on Facebook : http://tinyurl.com/ygnf96e or Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jenco13

Jenco13 is offering a two deals this week:

CUP COZIES ARE BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!
SCARVES ARE BUY ONE GET ONE 1/2 PRICED!
USE THE COUPON CODE -ETTROCKS!

Please note these deals are for the the lesser or equal amount of the second item chosen. Custom orders are welcome. It will be refunded through paypal within 24 hours of purchase. Buyer is responsible for shipping and handling of all items purchased (please see special rates for second items). Priority mail rates are available for US customers only.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade Jenco13.etsy.com

Happy Etsy-versary, Foxy G Knits!

Lois, from FoxyGKnits.etsy.com, was kind enough to share her stats for her first year on Etsy. She has accomplished a lot this year - more than mere numbers can convey. She has connected people and created community through her business. She is truly one of those kind souls many are lucky to know, myself included.

Today (9/29/09) is one year to the day that I signed up on Etsy, although I didn't list my first items until October 15th. Anniversaries cause me to be reflective; here is a wrap-up of my first 365 days in 371 words:

Sales: 59 sales (actually more because I bundled some orders for customer convenience)


Most unusual sale: In August, an art director who was filming a Georgia Lottery commercial featuring Atlanta Falcons contacted me by convo and Facebook 36 hours before I was leaving for California and asked me to call her as she wanted to purchase a red and black scarf. This might not have been unusual, but it was between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. She e-mailed me the next day to let me know which scarves she wanted to see and then came by my house at 7 p.m. that evening and purchased two. BTW, I did not let her in my house, but met her in front!

In August, I also had a shawl purchased by a playhouse costume shop.

Hearts: 300 shop hearts

Number of visitors to site: About 1,300 visitors last month and again this month

Made front page of Etsy on September 18th netting 294 visits and 19 shop hearts

The top five states from where my visitors come (GA, CA, NY, TX and FL) account for 49% of the visits.

I have been honored to be included in about 25 Treasuries, most put together by colleagues, a few by sellers I did not know.

I have been featured on various blogs with mentions on others. Written up most about Paying it Forward.

Started Foxy G.’s Den of i-KNIT-quity blog as part of marketing mix. Most viewers on one day: 119

Built Facebook biz page: 439 fans; established myself on Twitter. At #3 traffic source to my shop, Twitter appears to account for 13%. At #4 traffic source, Facebook accounts for 7.25% - for a combine total of 20%+.

Not being a numbers person, I have no idea how to put these facts and figures into context. I do know, however, that that most meaningful to me is my association with the EtsyTwitter Team and the wonderful, supportive people I am honored to call my friends.

- Lois

Thanks for sharing your numbers and your beautiful heart with us, Lois!! You are truly a valued member of this community and we all love you very much! We wish you much success as you head into year two!

- The Whole Etsy Twitter Team

Shop of the Week: Safiya Beauty

Everything about Nailah Safiya Blades’ shop at SafiyaBeauty.etsy.com is sumptuous. She creates natural bath and body products that merge natural and eco-friendly ingredients with luxurious indulgence. You can moisturize, polish, make suds, lather, and soak with her products.

Her shop announcement says, “Safiya’s philosophy is to provide you with the finest, purest natural and organic products, but never at the risk of neglecting your need to feel beautiful and smell delicious. Our products contain only what is absolutely necessary to make the absolute best product for your body without sacrificing your desire to feel fantastic.” It makes me want to check out her shop for something that will make me feel soft and pretty. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed!!

Nailah wants you to know that she works “very hard to make sure that my products are made with the very best ingredients I can find. I think as a culture, we pay very close attention to what we put into our bodies but not so much what we put on them, which is just as important. Because of that, all of my products are made with natural ingredients and contain no parabens, phthalates, or harsh preservatives. I also strive to provide an environmentally friendly product and go to great lengths to ensure this.

“I’m an indulgent person and I think that shows through with my products. I really enjoy creating products that will transport my consumer to their own little private spa. I love using creamy butters and skin-loving vegetable oils because they create such opulent products. I’m also slightly inspired by food! All of my bath bombs are cookies or cupcakes – I have a major sweet tooth.”


You can even see the indulgence in her products through her photos. The way the butters peak up firmly, you can tell they have a lot of body to them and will be luxuriously creamy.

Her favorite thing about her craft is “how the finished product makes others feel. I love watching someone try my body butters for the first time and see their eyes light up as they rub it into their skin or as they smell the scents. That’s definitely my favorite part!”

About Twitter: “I love Twitter! I think my biggest piece of Twitter advice would be to make sure it’s not all about you. I try to ‘RT’ [retweet] others or share articles that others may find helpful. I also use Twitter to announce any specials on my shop or when I have new blog posts.”

Are you looking for the perfect gift or favor? Custom and wholesale orders are welcomed by Safiya Beauty! They offer private labeling for weddings, showers and parties.

Follow her on Twitter @safiyabeauty
Read her blog at www.safiyabeauty.wordpress.com

Special for this Week: 15% off your entire order – just mention “EtsyTwitter” in the seller’s notes and she will reimburse you via PayPal refund.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade SafiyaBeauty.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Safiya Beauty/Nailah Safiya Blades

Shop Of The Week: Glitzy Events

Kimberley Williams, of Glitzy Events has one mission: to provide high quality products and personalized service to her clients. Whether working with brides-to-be, or those planning graduation, anniversary or other celebrations, Glitzy Events is a one-stop source for everything from gorgeous, fully customized invitations to products such as unity & memorial candles, place cards, menus, programs, etc.

Born out of Kimberley's frustrations while planning her own wedding, Glitzy Events is happy to design something unique for a customer. "We can take any design in our shop and customize it completely for our clients. If a client loves our work but wants something a little different we will work with them until we can come up with a design that they love. We don’t charge any additional design fees as we feel that this is part of the custom process." Located in New York, the shop currently ships to the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK and is always happy to provide shipping quotes for other International customers.

With a full service website as well as an Etsy location, Kim's always looking for ways to save time and has found Twitter to be very useful in reaching new clients.

"Twitterfeed.com has been an extremely helpful tool. As I list new items they are posted to my twitter account automatically within 30 minutes which then results in immediate views for my products. Using this tool saves me a lot of time and allows my products to be seen by hundreds of people almost instantly. This has helped me to connect with other professionals within and outside of my industry. These connections lead to referrals which lead to sales."

Glitzy Events is offering two specials this week: Become a Fan of their Facebook Page (http://facebook.com/GlitzyEvents), leave a comment on their Wall, and receive 5% off your full

invitation order

AND

Order 2 or more INVITATION samples and get free shipping...refund to be issued via Paypal.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade GlitzyEvents.etsy.com

Shop of the Week: Geek Details

Amanda Roberts, of GeekDetails.etsy.com, is a very creative artist. She makes a variety of handmade items that are all geeky in nature. She has everything from pinback buttons to handpainted dishware to specimens from her favorite books. She is constantly rolling out new products based on her favorite geeky past times. Her store inventory is a reflection of what she’s into at the moment. And it’s all wonderful geeky goodness!! But you don’t have to be a geek to enjoy her work. It’s all very fun and sometimes whimsical. Her buttons are quite witty!!

“I want my customers to know the attention to detail that goes into my products. I don’t make things I wouldn’t be happy with receiving myself. I love making custom orders and just because an item isn’t listed doesn’t mean I’m not willing to make it. Some of my favorite items stem from a customer contacting me about an idea they had.

“What inspires me: I can look at a shell shaped dish and figure out something to do with it or overhear a conversation during a party and run upstairs with a new idea for the store. Some of my best ideas for my store happen over a couple drinks with geeky male friends while discussing the finer points of Arathi Basin or heckling the zombie lore of a movie.”

Twitter tricks of the trade: “I have a widget on my blog now that posts to my Twitter account every time I post a new entry on the blog. It also does a Twitter feed in a sidebar of my blog for me. I’ve found this to be helpful in directing traffic to my blog or my Twitter and it also makes the Twitter account a bit easier to update.”

Follow her @geekdetails
Read her blog at geekdetails.com/blog


Special Deal for the Week: One FREE button for every $10 in merchandise purchased (shipping not included). Include the names of the buttons you’d like in the notes to seller. She will also have a listing up for a value pack of buttons that will be up for one week.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade geekdetails.etsy.com

Shop Of The Week: LMCreation

Lisa Murdin is the creative genius behind the rainbow array of wristlets, pouches, purses and more at LMCreation. Whether from fabric, vinyl, or occasionally leather, the store's creations add a splash of whimsy and color to anything you wear.

Lisa's aim is to make "the best quality piece that I can in my own style and with fabrics that really appeal to me. I also aim to provide the best customer service that I can, the same kind of service that I would like to receive as a customer." Inspired by the beautiful variety of fabrics available, Lisa, like many textile artists, often feels that the fabric "tells me what to do, so when I see the right fabric I just know that it will make a special bag or wristlet or whatever."

Her tip for using Twitter? "Get involved with other people on Twitter, respond to their tweets, re-tweet something that is interesting or good for a new twitter member who might need some help. I might tell people what I'm working on, but I only post links to items in my shop once or twice a day, no more than that. People get to know me and the things that I make and I've had sales and custom orders from twitter contacts, as well as being featured in blogs and treasuries."

Lisa ships worldwide and is happy to provide quotes on custom orders.

Special Deal Offered : 10% discount offered to Twitter customers until July 12. Use code "EtsyTwitter" in the Message to Seller and 10% of purchase price will be refunded.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade LMcreation.etsy.com

Team Treasuries

Created by JoslinJewels.etsy.com
Expires June 26th

Created by AbbyChaseDesigns.etsy.com
Expires June 26th

Created by WeeWoobies.etsy.com
Expires June 27th

Shop of the Week: NDN Chick

Leanna Pierre, of NDNChick.etsy.com, has been beading her whole life! She’s a member of the Colville Tribe in Cusick, Washington. Her work also includes greeting cards and bookmarks. Her bead work is intricate and the color choices are well designed. Some of her work is also very playful.

“I bead pretty much what ever I can get my hands on. I have made everything from hair barrettes to a beaded whistle. When I need to give my wrist and fingers a break from all the bead weaving and tacking I also make greeting cards.


When I make an item it's not just an item to me. A piece of myself goes into it while I am creating it. If I am feeling sad or mad I don't create anything, I don't want those feelings transferred to the new owner. Each item I create is special to me and sometimes it's hard for me to let it go.”

I asked Leanna how she got her start in bead weaving: “A lot of my inspiration comes from my mom. She's the one who taught me how to bead and she has stuck by me through everything. When I go through a crafting slump she's there to help me up and give me inspiration to continue making stuff. She's always there offering creative criticism and ideas. (Thanks, Mom!) My crafting dream is to become a great bead artist like her.”

Follow Leanna on Twitter @ndnchick
Read more on her blog at ndn-chick.blogspot.com

Special Offer This Week: Free shipping on all orders including international all week. The shipping prices are already changed so no need to wait for a refund or invoice.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade ndnchick.etsy.com

All photos copyright to Leanna Pierre/NDN Chick

New Team Participation Policies

Being part of a team means working together for a common goal. This means that you actually have to do something in order to reach that goal.

So I am implementing new Team Participation Policies effective immediately.

In order to participate in our team promotions and events you must be considered an Active Member. This includes all shops that are currently signed up for future spots as Shop of the Week.

In order to be considered an Active Member, you must do ONE of the following:

• Twitter about something team related at least 4 times per month. You must use the team hashtag #etsytwitter or I will not see your tweet. Of course I strongly encourage you to tweet about the team much more frequently than this as well.

• Blog about the Team at least once per month. If you can, please blog about each Shop of the Week as well as write up promotional posts about other team members.

• Create an Etsy Twitter Team Treasury

Additionally, I expect you to check in every month during our monthly roll calls in the Etsy Forum. This simply involves a quick hello in our thread as well as a quick tweet about the shop above you in the thread. This takes about 2 minutes to do. Checking in is mandatory to be considered an Active Member.

April's Check In thread can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6104094. Please check in if you have not already done so.

Failure to do these things will be grounds for one warning. If you do not do these things within one month after your warning, you will be asked to leave the team. If you receive more than three warnings during one year, you will be asked to leave the team. If you are signed up for a Shop of the Week spot in the future, you will forfeit your week if you are asked to leave the team.

I’m not asking for much of your time at all. Tweeting something takes less than five minutes. A blog post can take up less than 30 minutes. If you have time to work on and promote your Etsy shop and use Twitter, you have time to promote the Etsy Twitter Team.

Please, as always, feel free to email me with any questions or comments you have about this new policy.

Thank you!

Vickie
Etsy Twitter Team Leader
etsytwitterteam[at]gmail.com

P.S. We are not currently taking new memberships right now. Keep your eye on the blog for the next few months to see when we open up again. Thanks.