Behind the Shop: Interview with an Etsy Seller - MimsMaine
Here is the first of what I hope becomes a permanent feature here: Behind the Shop. Part of what makes Etsy so unique is the direct interaction you get with the artists, the makers, the thinkers, the creators- a direct line to the shop owner. Every time I see something I love, favorite a shop, or purchase an item, I wonder about the person behind the scenes, running what a lot of the time is a one person business.
Today's feature is of one of my fave shops. Once you read through the interview, I think you'll find there's some amazing people back there. So without further ado, our first interview with MimsMaine - smart, insightful, and witty with tons of great advice for any Etsy Seller already doing business, or in the making.
Just me, although once in a while I enlist a little help cutting fabric.
A little over a year ago in earnest. I just stared at the empty shop for almost a year, too timid to press activate.
Is this a full time gig for you?
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| MimsMaine and family |
This is two full time jobs, no kidding. I work six to seven days a week, and never hit the sheets before one. Partial necessity and partial insanity. My husband lost his job two years ago. I still feel blessed, lucky...all of that.
What do you love most about it?
What always brings a smile is designing a new bag. Solving the new puzzle.
Imagining! But every artist knows that there is no new work without the work behind it. I can make the same bag fifty times and every time I am looking for the light, the better way. It is almost never tedious. In fact, I don't listen to music or the radio so my mind can be free to meander in search of the solution. If there is one it will be found eventually. What I lack in ability, I make up for in stamina.
What was first item you ever made/sold?
I was maybe five, when I sold a paper pirate hat to a dinner guest of my parents. They should have sent me to business school, not art school. Art is inevitable for an artist. Making a living at it...now there is the trick.
What are your plans for the future?
If my hands hold out, I will always be happy making something. It hardly matters what. My Etsy shop was supposed to be little girls dresses...last minute switch to bags.
In regards to business, I am researching manufacturing. Sadly there is little in the way of quality production in my home state. I would like to manufacture the 'Travel Pack' in waxed canvas for starters.
Favorite designers?
Kelly Wearstler, Angela Adams, Jean Paul Gaultier. But mostly I respond to details, shapes, colors that come from many directions. Most inspirational look....uniforms of the nineteenth century.
How do you stay inspired?
Breathing.
Do you have a workspace?
My studio is in my home. We live in a Catholic Church & rectory on the top of a mountain in Maine. The uninsulated Chapel is my studio, but in the winter I mostly work off the kitchen, close to the coffee pot & cookies.
Where else can we find you or your work?
I am asked that often. Being just me, I have not been able to accept any offers to be in boutiques.
I am not even on facebook, truly no time.
Coffee, Soda, or H2O?
Thank goodness I never smoked, because I would never be able to quit. Coffee is my ritual that I have not been able to temper in the slightest.
Question: Your top 5 most played songs on playlist?
playlist...whats that. But I do love the Steel Drivers, Jennifer Jackson, Casey Chambers, The Velvet Underground, The Violent Femms, Appellation & early punk.
You've got Excellent Feedback on Etsy- Any advice for new Etsy sellers (specifically of handmade goods)?
Thanks for noticing! I really enjoy mentoring, and am always happy to chat with a seller. I enjoy that as much as my work. There is not a single source or piece of information that I won't share. I have always felt that there is more than enough business for every talent to thrive.
I was amazed when I was looking for waxed canvas, how many Etsy sellers said it was their policy not to share sources & good luck to ya. Finally I came across a like minded guy on Etsy who sent me a novel of info and the cell phone number of his rep. It is putting yourself in a place of weakness on this planet to think that by helping someone your position is weakened.
My advise first off is just start! Even if you only have one photo, and are not so sure of what you are doing. Just start, it is the only way to get educated. Planning is safe...be a doer!
Do what you have to to have great photos. I invested in a great camera & set up as soon as the business could pay for it. Trading with a photographer friend is ideal.
When I started, I would do the $7 a day thingy. Not great. What I found to be more effective was listing something, preferably two items that look great together, every two hours. A couple dollars very well spent. I called it 'going fishing', I always got a bite.
Know when the Europeans and Australians are shopping. List then. What is a weird time here generates international sales. Australia is one of my most prolific buyers.
Very important.
An item is only worth what someone will pay for it! Let the market dictate your pricing, not you. It is not personal.
Understand that if you are selling/moving an item, even for say 20% less than your perceived value, there is a monetary marketing value to having it out in the world. Sales generate sales!
You should be moving everything you make, as fast as you can make it. Once you plateau, or reach saturation, as I have, you can start pricing to regulate or slow down sales. I raise prices to slow down sales, being that I can only make a finite amount. I have been five weeks behind since I started. This is only relevant to true handmade artists. We all know that many sellers really have a mini factory out back. Whatever!
Selling handmade is a very unique business model. Not like anything else.
Lastly...customer service.
I still believe the customer is always right. This week it has been difficult, but I hold to that idiom.
Even if someone writes to say they meant to order the blue one and forgot to tell me, they can still return or exchange. I am not attached to reasons. Anyone can return a bag, no questions asked. And as you guys know, customers will make many mistakes in ordering if there are any choices involved. I have myself! It is human nature to just press to order 'pretty picture' and not read a thing. A seller should bear that burden and consider it a cost of doing good business. My customer service has much room for improvement though. I have yet to manage to thank everyone when they place an order. Terrible, but true. When I buy on Etsy, I usually get a nice note right away. And it always makes me feel like I just need to get it together. But alas, not yet.
last advise....know that what you are doing is important in so many ways.
Besides transforming our economy, you are doing something true & real.
