This week I would like to welcome Michael and Heather
from EverydayDoxologies shop. Their shop
is full of handmade crates, and handmade soy candles. They also do custom
orders. This month Michael and Heather
are offering a 10% off all items in thier EverydayDoxologies shop. A special
coupon for our readers is available, so read on and learn a little about what
make EverydayDoxologies shop such a unique shop.
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| http://www.etsy.com/people/EverydayDoxologies |
1.What would you like us to know about you?
Michael and Heather have been best friends for 14 years. They started dating seven years ago, while Michael was deployed in Afghanistan. Six years ago, they got married. Last year, they adopted a son from Ethiopia. They’re due with another baby boy in November, and they formed this Etsy shop as a way to finance their adoption of a baby girl from Ethiopia.
2.When did you discover Etsy?
We found Etsy four years ago when we were looking specifically for artwork about Ethiopia that we could hang in our house. We renewed our love for Etsy when a cousin opened a shop on Etsy two years ago.
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| coupon code: MIS2MANOS |
3.What prompted you to open an Etsy Shop?
Heather became a stay-at-home mom after Million came home from Ethiopia and plans to continue when baby boy is born in November. We wanted something that would be more fun than work that would also contribute towards our saving for a second adoption.
4.What do you sell?
Our specialty is custom handmade crates, although we do offer soy candles as well as occasional greeting cards printed of oil pastel artwork Michael has done in the past.
5.How did you come up with your shop name?
It initially came from a quote by Francis Schaeffer. “An art work can be a doxology in itself.” We wanted our everyday lives, the mundane pieces as well as the exciting ones, to be doxologies.
6.How would you describe your shop?
Since over 75% of our orders are for crates with custom orders, I would have to say our shop is a “make it what you want to be” shop. We are really very accommodating (being Minnesotans, who are--after all---known for friendliness, fondness for cheese, and a horrible football team) and love to try new stains, distressing techniques and making all manner of sizes of crates.
7.What inspires / motivates you?
We are self-taught in nearly everything we do (outside of Michael’s day job.) We have an insatiable desire to learn new things.
8.How has Etsy changed your life?
It’s given us a very good way to keep learning new things and taught us to stay flexible. Being a husband/wife team, it’s also reminded us to communicate clearly with each other and our customers.
9.Where else can we find you? (Do you have a website or blog outside of Etsy?)
You can find our blog at: everydaydoxologies.blogspot.com
Or you can friend us on facebook at:facebook.com/everydaydoxologies
pinterest.com/heatherjurrens
10.Is there anything else you would like to share?
If you're of a crafty nature or just happen to have an idea that you think might sell, we would heartily encourage you to try it. Being small business owners on a few fronts (we also sell other items on Amazon and eBay) has opened up a whole world of learning to us. It seems every day brings its own learning curve. Embrace the challenge, and live in the adventure.
Tips you might give other thinking of opening an online shop:
(These questions are optional. I included them so that others interested in joining the crafting community of etsy might have some insight into what it takes to be a shop owner)
11.When you get a new idea, how long does it take you to execute and list it?
Since many of our items are custom listings, it usually takes 4-7 days to make them, with all of the communication to the buyer and the actual labor. But for items that we choose to add ourselves, it really varies on how many other orders we have going on at the time. In slower spells, we can get "new idea" listings done in a couple days.
12. How much time do you spend on your shop each week?
Michael probably spends about 12 hours building crates each week, and Heather spends about 14 hours doing the "business" end of the shop (shipping, managing e-mails, photography, promoting, etc.) Although, Heather is managing a toddler at the same time, so I'm sure someone else who ISN'T listening to "Baby Beluga" and monitoring color crayon usage could do it in much less time. ;)
13. How do you promote your shop?
We've used Etsy search ads in the past. We also have registered our site with many of the major domain names and have a google location, even though we don't have a physical storefront.
14. How important is social media for your shop?
We're working on introducing different forms of social media, but as of yet, it hasn't played an extraordinarily large part. I think it's partially due to the items we sell. People who are looking for custom handmade wooden crates are pretty specific in their searching.
We are self-taught in nearly everything we do (outside of Michael’s day job.) We have an insatiable desire to learn new things.
8.How has Etsy changed your life?
It’s given us a very good way to keep learning new things and taught us to stay flexible. Being a husband/wife team, it’s also reminded us to communicate clearly with each other and our customers.
9.Where else can we find you? (Do you have a website or blog outside of Etsy?)
You can find our blog at: everydaydoxologies.blogspot.com
Or you can friend us on facebook at:facebook.com/everydaydoxologies
pinterest.com/heatherjurrens
10.Is there anything else you would like to share?
If you're of a crafty nature or just happen to have an idea that you think might sell, we would heartily encourage you to try it. Being small business owners on a few fronts (we also sell other items on Amazon and eBay) has opened up a whole world of learning to us. It seems every day brings its own learning curve. Embrace the challenge, and live in the adventure.
Tips you might give other thinking of opening an online shop:
(These questions are optional. I included them so that others interested in joining the crafting community of etsy might have some insight into what it takes to be a shop owner)
11.When you get a new idea, how long does it take you to execute and list it?
Since many of our items are custom listings, it usually takes 4-7 days to make them, with all of the communication to the buyer and the actual labor. But for items that we choose to add ourselves, it really varies on how many other orders we have going on at the time. In slower spells, we can get "new idea" listings done in a couple days.
12. How much time do you spend on your shop each week?
Michael probably spends about 12 hours building crates each week, and Heather spends about 14 hours doing the "business" end of the shop (shipping, managing e-mails, photography, promoting, etc.) Although, Heather is managing a toddler at the same time, so I'm sure someone else who ISN'T listening to "Baby Beluga" and monitoring color crayon usage could do it in much less time. ;)
13. How do you promote your shop?
We've used Etsy search ads in the past. We also have registered our site with many of the major domain names and have a google location, even though we don't have a physical storefront.
14. How important is social media for your shop?
We're working on introducing different forms of social media, but as of yet, it hasn't played an extraordinarily large part. I think it's partially due to the items we sell. People who are looking for custom handmade wooden crates are pretty specific in their searching.
For any readers of Mis 2 Manos: Made by My Hands, we are
offering a coupon code of 10% off all items in our shop. The coupon code is
MIS2MANOS and will expire October 15th.
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