After 20 years in the corporate world, IBM to be exact, Sharon left her enviable regular paycheck with the benefits that go along with that, to feed her starving (her word) creative side. Sharon had heard of Etsy from customers at her local Farmers Market, so she opened her shop in January of 2011.
Sharon had learned Stamping by taking local classes as far back as 1998. She loved creating her own greeting cards from paper and ink. With a great imagination she continued taking classes, learning new techniques and taking in all that she could about different products used in card making.
Loving a challenge Sharon claims that Etsy is helping her to achieve the goals she has set for herself and for her shop. She continually scans the forums and the Etsy Blog for ideas on selling. She says Etsy has helped her to reach a larger customer base and she hopes to work her Etsy business full time in the future.
It was almost a year with Etsy before Sharon tried her hand at making a treasury. At first she was an observer, being intimidated by the process. When she created her first treasury in December 18, 2011, Serenity Sunday http:/treasury/MTI0Nzc2Njd8MTU1ODAxMDU3OQ/serenity-sunday?index=103 she learned how easy the process really is, and a new career began, Treasury Extraordinaire. (my words).
When asked if she had advice for making treasuries, this is what Sharon offered. Look over the treasuries on the Front Page and check out what the treasury tags for the day are. You can get ideas for themes from the Etsy blog on the month’s trend. Try to include a variety of items and be sure to tag them appropriately . Always let people know that you have included them in your treasury.Sharon states, I also promote not only my treasuries but the treasuries on my teams threads. I also post them to Facebook, on my blog, etc. She tells us just have fun and be creative.
Barely more than a Newbie herself Sharon has some great advice for those getting started with etsy. Take great pictures and tag them accordingly. She reminds us no one will see your wonderful items if they can’t find them. Get involved with the teams you can’t get to know about Etsy on your own. Don’t get discouraged it takes time for most shops to take off.
On the subject of teams when asked what comments she wanted to make about Golden Rose Crafters , Sharon mentioned that she had been introduced to the team by a fellow team member. She likes being a part of a group where most members are in her age group, because we tend to share the same problems and challenges. Her favorite threads are the Pep talk thread and our newest Private Chat thread. She has found GRC members to be extremely helpful and supportive.
Sharon tells me she loves Etsy and definitely sees it in her future. She plans to continue to add new items to her shop. She hopes to learn more about promoting her shop and selling and learning to use all of the useful tools that are available to insure success.
On a personal note, Sharon is engaged to Mike. She has two daughters, Jenny and Diana. They have blessed her with three grandsons, Jackson ,Gavin and Landon. We can see through the pictures she has shared with us, that those boys are the biggest joys in her life and living far away from them is so hard. But they visit several times a year and put Skype to good use.
Sharon has a blog you might like to visit
www.lilaccottagecards.blogspot.com as well as a Facebook page
www.facebook.com/lilaccottagecards . And if you’re real nice she might pin you on her Pinterest account
www.pinterest.com/lilaccottagecards.
Thanks for sharing your life with us Sharon and congratulations for having the winning Theme treasury for the month of February.
By Marilyn Rush
Captain Go
Outstanding picks from Golden Rose Crafters for the Month of March....
by Patty of Twisted Sticks
