Etsy Magic

I've had my etsy shop open for over a year now and it's been such a pleasure.

I am a planner. I have had business ideas for many years, most of them modest, but all of them extremely planned out. I worry myself with details. I really started sewing again, as many of us have, when my first daughter was born, over 5 years ago now. Back then I had a few ideas I thought were saleable, the dolls were just one of them. I worried so much about having every single detail planned out - from my labelling and packaging to my medium and long term goals. Don't get me wrong, I think they're important things to consider when really beginning a small business, but the likes of what I was considering, well, it was so small as to not really warrant all that angst. Then along came etsy. I can't even remember how I found her - but I did and thought, that's a way I can start small and I did.

I sold my first doll within an hour of listing her. I thought I'd done something wrong when I checked back and it was gone, I never considered it would actually sell. I have improved since my first sale, or feel I have, and the feedback has fed my enthusiasm tremendously.

My customers have all been generous with their feedback, but one in particular has been more than a customer. Sandy has been a great supporter of my product. She has purchased a lot from me, she has recommended me to friends and to other blogs. She has also, in a way that I guess could sound strange to some who haven't experienced it, become a friend to me across the miles. I don't measure friendship in terms of gifts at all, but I do measure that someone means something to me and I to them, when they send me things because they've thought of me, without anything in it for themselves.

Last week I posted about my icing problems. That night Sandy emailed me with a photo of something she had in her kitchen that was the very thing I was thinking of. She herself hadn't used it and felt unlikely that she would, so today, it arrived with me. A small gesture can feel so big sometimes. It's not just the icing kit, the fact that it's something we were looking for, it's the fact that she thought of me and that she acted on her thought. Thank you Sandy - again xx

While I'm giving her a plug - she is not only a lovely individual, but a talented one too. One of her many talents is on display in her own etsy shop - I particularly love the flash cards and think they're a great gift for younger children.