Interview: Recycle, Reuse, ReLove

Interview: Recycle, Reuse, ReLove

Rebecca is taking the greener road to success by transforming one person's trash into another person's treasure. I had an opportunity to interview the founder of ReLoved Designs and you'll find her story to be quite interesting.
 
Q. What is the main site address for your business?
http://reloveddesigns.etsy.com

Q. Tell us about the products you make and the materials you use.
I make jewelry and accessories for the home; however I tend to work in recycling or ucpcycling items into something new. That's where the name comes from: ReLoved. I take what is seemingly junk and transform it into something to love!

Q. How long have you been developing your craft?
I've always loved creating, even as a small child I would paint and draw with such abandon. I wrote my first comic when I was 6 it was about a jelly bean named Jenny Bean. As for jewelry I started dabbling in beads when I was 10, I saved up my meager pocket money and bought a big bag of multi-colored glass seed beads. I spent hours sorting the colors, and I still have and use those very beads. Since then I've been growing and exploring and pushing myself farther and farther. I've officially exhausted our local library of every craft book they have, and have had to start placing requests from other libraries within the state. Looking back I rather surprise myself with how far I've come.

Q. How did your craft evolve into a global store front?
I suppose the easiest way to answer that is to say simply: Etsy.
I decided July 7th (my half birthday) to open a store online and within the first 24 hours I made a Sale! I was sending one of my creations all the way to California! This sent me reeling! It's been 3 exciting months and I've made 14 sales, and even more friends! I've learned how to network, and I love helping other Etsians out with critiques or sharing helpful information I've found. I owe my "global" status to Etsy and its unique approach.

Q. What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
As I said before I do a lot of lurking about the forums, and have joined two teams. This gets my name out and is also a great way to network and get support. Outside of Etsy I love posting on craftster.org and networking with other crafters on those forums. While you cannot directly promote your store or blog (the monitors will delete your post) your profile and signature can contain your store information and as a result craftster has generated a lot of traffic for me, and even gotten me sales.

Q. What mistakes have you made while building your Etsy shop that you wish someone had advised you NOT to do?
I don't know if I've made any big mistakes yet. However I do wish I had known about the immense and vibrant community on etsy earlier. It's such a valuable resource and it would have really help set me out better. But luckily I haven’t really made any big mistakes, I did underpriced my shipping in the beginning, and didn't know to track my packages. But I learned quickly how to improve that.

Q. Is your Etsy business a full time job or is it something you do in your spare time?
My full time job is being a nanny, but crafting is a close second, and selling online brings up the rear.

Q. What goals do you wish to accomplish within the next year for your Etsy shop?
I would love to see my sales increase, and would love to generate an actual income from what I create. Right now the money isn't much at all, but I would love to have it supplement my income. The growth I've seen in my store is promising, and I'm really interested to see how the holiday season plays out!

Q. Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Rebecca and I'm 22. I was born in Windhoek, Namibia (Africa) and lived there for about 9 years before moving to the U.S. where I've been ever since. I visit Africa in some capacity at least every 3-4 years. The last time I was there was as a volunteer for a Non-Profit Organization where I worked at an orphanage for 6 months. My African roots come out in much of my work, and it's the ingenuity and creativity of the African street artists that inspired much of my recycled pieces. I remember seeing pieces of art made from telephone wires, tin cans, and just plain rubbish. I loved it!
I graduated College here in Lansing, MI in 2007 with an Environmental Technology degree because aside from crafting my passions include nature in her various forms and preserving them. I'm also passionate about music, science, travel, world issues, and Jesus. And when I'm not gluing things together I'm probably playing guitar, piano, ukulele or upright bass, reading Terry Pratchett, or watching British murder mysteries.

Q. Outside of Etsy, in what venues do/have you sold?
I've done a few craft shows around the area and they've been fun. I find however that where I live there isn't the right demographic for my work. But the shows I've done have been successful although required a ton of work!

Q. What sets you apart from other sellers in your niche?
I suppose my background does distinguish me, it certainly gives me an altered flair. I also grew up in a large family where money was often very tight and so when I price my items I don't go crazy. I charge what I would pay, that's my mantra.

Q. List one or more Etsy sellers which you admire? And why?
A seller I stumbled upon when I did a search for “Zambia” was: http://jjbackman.etsy.com... Here’s why:
“All profit from my charms and art will be benefiting the Zambia Satellite, a division of Good Samaritan Ministries, which empowers Zambian nationals to improve the lives of children and adults through education, nutrition, health care and faith.
{Matthew 25:40}” *taken from the shop announcement
This is understandably a cause very close to my heart, and it blessed me to see people making use of Etsy in such a positive way!