BINDU DESIGNS AN ETSY SHOP TO VISIT

 Written by Marilyn Rush

BINDU'S EARLY LIFE

Born and raised in Kerala, India, Bindu's parents were both teachers.  Bindu describes herself as "bookish".  Her parents valued education and reading, they subscribed to many magazines and newspapers as there were no libraries nearby. At her school Bindu was well-liked by her teacher's and they gave her unrestricted access to the vast collection of books at the school.

At home her mother was teaching her embroidery and the basics of crochet.  The beginning of her love for the art of crochet.

She earned her degrees in Math and Education and soon she was teaching. Later on, Bindu married and she and her husband made their first home in one of the major cities of Kerala called Kochi, also know as Queen of Arabian Sea.   

While living there her daughter was born and she became a stay-at-home-mom.  She picked up the skills of cooking and home making from her mother-in-law, ironically she was a teacher as well.   

In 1998 her husband took a job in the Middle East and she and daughter tagged along.  Later in 2001, she moved to Toronto, Canada.  Here she studied for and earned a diploma in Dental Assisting.  By 2002 she started working as a Dental Assistant.  The apartment in Toronto turned out to be very near to the public library. She made good use of that and found many crochet books there.  This was all she needed to get started with crocheting again this time knowing the stitches and knowing how to read the patterns.

                                           When asked about her job as a dental assistant Bindu explains that she took a break from it for awhile in 2009.  She worked at seasonal jobs for awhile.  She is now back to dental assisting but only part-time.  Bindu considers crochet as her full-time job now.  Between her job and her Etsy shop she is able to earn enough pocket money to continue doing crochet and blogging, her husband doesn't get too bothered about it.  We all understand Bindu.

BINDU AND ETSY

Bindu Designs has been open on Etsy since 2011. Bindu once had a shop on Artfire but claims she let it go.  She is very happy selling her crocheted items and when asked if there was anything else she might like to work with, Bindu says,  maybe bead and wire jewelry.  Or , although she would be very unhappy about it she would be working full time at a dental office.

As far as other crafts that Bindu enjoys is applique work and card making.  She also likes hand embroidery and cross stitch.  She would advise any person getting started with Etsy "Never ever give up".  This was a line she read on another blog.  In the future Bindu wants to add more listings to her shop and would like to work with some luxurious yarns.

ACHIEVEMENT AND SUCCESS

Bindu Speaks openly about her bout with depression.  She admits on "somedays I just want to sleep. On a good day,  when I have free time,  you can see me reading , web surfing or crocheting." It has given her a refreshing appreciation for life.  She is grateful for the help she is getting and  that she can afford to purchase her meds.  When she makes a person smile she feels successful.

Bindu considers her Etsy shop one of her achievements, and invites everyone to read the feedback from, her customers,  She points out that someone mentioned that she was easy to deal with and she considers that success.stating that she has worked with many people who were difficult to  work with and they were proud to be like that, and adds,  "I am proud to be an easy one to work with".  We are proud of you too Bindu.

When asked who has influenced her more than anyone else she readily answers " her daughter".  Why?  She tells it best. "She is a teenager. I am amazed by her each day.  Please don't think that she is an exceptionally talented person or achiever or something like that.  She is just a typical teenager.  but one time she told me. "You just control what you can control. Your goals should be something you have control over. Let go of the things you cannot control"." Very wise advice from someone so young.

                                               

                                                Bindu took this thought that was planted in her mind from her daughter and applied it to what she could do with her Etsy shop,  Bindu Designs.  As she put it. I can control the listings and the marketing,  But , I cannot control the sales.  So, I just concentrate on the creating and marketing,  Let go of the worries about sales."

                                                While on the subject of promoting and marketing, Bindu feels that you must promote on-line and use what is available, the social medias such as Twitter,  Facebook, Blogs and the Etsy

teams.  Speaking of what is the least successful type of promoting she has to say "quitting for nothing and accepting the defeat". 

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BLOGGING

As a  blogger herself,  when asked if she could write about anyone or anything what would that be, she reminisces that she used to write stories and poems when she was younger,  but now she is not sure, but quips, "Maybe I will write a novel about the "Dilemmas of a Dental Assistant"."

When asked if she had anything she wanted the readers to know about her,  she says, she is very talkative, with her family and friends.  She is very silly and if she is quiet too long her jaws will hurt. We would love to hear more about you Bindu, don't let those jaws ache.