Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. I’m thrilled to be writing this week because I can finally tell you all about my first Etsy drop! It took me a very long time to get everything together, so it was really exciting to see it all pay off. To see what it looks like you can check out my shop, ClayworksByJenna. Here’s a peek at the banner!

The first thing I did to prepare my shop was document information about each piece I wanted to sell. I first boil-tested any pieces that might be used for eating and drinking. This was crucial in determining whether a piece could withstand the temperatures from heating or cooling food and drinks. Then I recorded the volume of some of the pieces and their dimensions. After that, I began drafting the Etsy listings with simple descriptions and sizing information. The most daunting task of them all was taking photos and videos of the pieces. I took many sample pictures in different locations and then asked some friends and family members to choose their favorite location. The winning location was in my backyard, where I have a small pond with fish that’s well-decorated with plants, rocks, and wood. I was able to capture lighting in both sunlight and shade, and I’m really happy with how they turned out overall. They might not be the most professional, but considering the limitations I was working with, I think it was a success. I’ll show you some of my favorites below.

Finally, the most time-consuming part was done, so I was very relieved and feeling motivated. I was able to complete all the listings with updated pictures and prices. Then, I drafted some care instructions and local shipping information to include in my listings as well. I printed out the care instructions, as well as thank-you notes and business cards to include in the packages. Everything was coming together very quickly and before I knew it, my listings were ready to be published.

The only thing left to do was design my shop. I pushed it off to the end because I really didn’t know what I liked. To combat my doubts, I created the banners and logo on Canva, as I wasn’t sure if I would stick with these designs and figured it would be easier to experiment with them. After seeing it all together, I think it works well, so I might go into Illustrator and make some more versatile files.

Then the scariest part, I uploaded all of my listings. Despite having wifi issues and being late to my drop, everything went great. I still have some pieces up but half of my drop sold on day one. I’m thrilled that people were supporting me and I was also really pleased with myself because all of my hard work had paid off. Even though the drop didn’t go as smoothly as it could’ve, I learned a great deal about the Etsy algorithm, pricing, especially with Etsy taking a percentage of earnings and the amount of work that goes into running a small business. I’m thrilled to return to the studio, where I can continue updating my shop.

Well, I hope you all learned a little bit of what goes on behind the scenes of an Etsy shop! I have a lot to learn, but I’m really excited to have made the first steps. Keep being creative everyone and don’t forget to support small businesses 🙂

-Jenna