MsAnomaly's interview with 2RavenChicks
1. When did you open your Etsy store and begin selling?We posted items to our shop the middle of May 2009. We did not get our first sale for about a month. We had just joined the Beagle Team and had our sale a couple of days later (the Beagle Team is good luck!) We were SO excited – we could hardly believe that someone would want to buy our jewelry over the internet! Our most exciting sales to date have been to Forks, Washington (you Twilight fans know what I’m talking about) and Australia! I panicked a bit about how to mail the International package, but the lady at our Post Office helped me right through it.
2. How did you select your shop’s name?I LOVE ravens. I think they are the most amazing, clever birds. They are such survivors and are so funny to watch. My DH refers to our teenage daughters and myself as his hungry chicks in the nest that he has to go out and provide for. Two of us making jewelry +Raven+chicks = 2RavenChicks.
3. What do you create and sell in your Etsy shop?Costume jewelry – a lot of it with vintage bits and pieces. We want to add birdhouses, but our summers are so busy we haven’t found time. In the winter when minus 40F temperatures and colder coop us up indoors, we will be a lot more productive. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head of what I’d like to do and what I’d like our shop to look like. With working full time and all the summer projects and activities – I don’t think our shop will be what I want for a few months. A photo redo is definitely in order!
4. How did you become involved in your craft?Both my 17-year-old Nicole and I make items for the shop. About two years ago, she needed to do a fundraiser for a wonderful youth service organization she is in – the Rainbow Girls (link posted on our blog). I had made a couple of pairs of earrings at a crafty friend’s house and she said we should try to make some earrings. We headed off to Joann’s and loaded up. We made earrings and bracelets for the sale and my DH made some birdhouses. We got to our first craft fair with high hopes on top of the world. Our hearts sunk as we saw all the jewelry there. We looked at each other and said we won’t sell any of our jewelry. We were wrong – people actually were buying our earrings and bracelets! Her fundraiser was a roaring success and we fell in love with a new craft.
5. Explain your favorite part of the creative process.The time Nicole and I share together. She is one of the best people I know and I love spending time with her. We give each other feedback, drink tea and often watch Jane Austen movies and chick flicks when we make jewelry. It’s our girl time. Just looking at all the beads, charms and stones is so therapeutic and relaxing for us. Sometimes we act so goofy – coming up with atrocious bead combos, asking the other what they think, and things like that.
6. Do you sell in another Etsy store or anywhere outside of Etsy? If so, where?Nicole and I have only done one craft fair and a harvest festival, but plan on doing more before year’s end. We would like to get some of our items into local shops, but have not mustered up enough courage to do that yet
7. So far, what project are you most proud of?Nicole likes the Bollywood inspired bracelet she made:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=26261888I like my octopus necklace:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=250402378. What advice can you give to someone who would like to learn your craft?Even if you are not making fine high-end jewelry, you should make sure jump rings and loops are tightly closed! Stones, beads and charms should be secured in a way that they will stay put! Wear your own jewelry to make sure it will stand up to everyday wear and tear. I cringe to think that the people who bought our first attempts might have had them fall apart – some of our first loops were atrocious! If you plan to sell your jewelry, keep in mind competition in the jewelry market is fierce! Make what you love – because if it doesn’t sell – you can keep it yourself! Develop a tough skin; people can be incredibly rude and insensitive at times. Not everyone will like what you make and sometimes you will have to hear hurtful comments – especially when you put yourself out there to sell to the public. On the flip side - it is so satisfying and rewarding when someone gets excited about your jewelry and buys it letting you know it will make a perfect gift or it’s just what they’ve been looking for.
9. What motivated you to join the Etsy Beagle Street Team? Getting two beagle puppies! We bought them from a Breeder in Missouri but could not get them shipped to Fairbanks for some reason. My DH and I were going to an NFL Seahawks game last December and arranged for them to ship to the Seattle airport the day we would be flying back to Fairbanks. We carried them into the cabin. They were like magnets to everyone who saw them. Kids, seniors, Men. Puppy therapy is REAL (LOL).We donate all proceeds from the “Going to the Dogs” section of our Etsy shop to the Loving Companions Animal Rescue in North Pole, Alaska:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=2504023 We just had our first sale in our Going to the Dogs section! Our Lab/Newfie mix Lucky (aka Luckydog) appreciates that he was welcomed with open paws too!
10. Any other places we might find you (Flickr, blog, MySpace, etc.)? 2RavenChicks on Twitter, RavenChicks on Facebook and our blog:
http://2ravenchicks.blogspot.com/ - we have some photos of Lucky, Lucy and Sly on there.
Thank you for interviewing us Linda! You are our E6000! We love being part of the Beagle Team and welcome any comments or questions that any of you have!
