Former_Member
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The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I can honestly say that I never saw this coming. When I first started my business in January, I never thought I would be making people happy and becoming a small part of their lives and special occasions.

Today, I had a bride write me and send me a picture of something I made for her wedding. She loved it and was sending her thanks and her letter was so sweet, I teared up a little, it really made my day.

Another lady used an item in her wedding to honor a relative who had passed away. So touching!

Another bride sent me photos and I can't tell you how much it means to me that my customers take the time to thank me, it absolutely makes my day and makes me want to keep on making things they will enjoy.

Another lady was in a competition with a sibling and trying to "up" the sibling on gifts for their parents. hehe She said she won! Whoohoo! haha

I never, ever thought about this side of the business, but it is making my heart happy and I can't stop smiling today.

I would love to hear your stories too. I think that is the best part of all of this. How what we make affects others. It is such a wonderful feeling. :)
Cindy
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I do a LOT of personalized anniversary and wedding gift engravings on our hand-crafted cutting boards---and sometimes i just get the SWEETEST feedback and emails <3 <3
That's the best part!! Makes me smile so big =D
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That is so sweet! It's my mother's favorite part of her business, too--she sells vintage china. People are always telling her that she helped complete the set their grandmother handed down, or this or that... Once, she sold to a set designer for the show "Heroes," and that year we all sat down to watch the Thanksgiving episode together (the designer told her that was when they would be used), and at a scene where a family was eating pumpkin pie, my mother cried out, "There they are! Those are my dishes!" They were on the wall in the background, and one was in a drying rack. Pretty cool!
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That's my favorite part of selling - knowing I made a customer happy :)

A couple months ago I had a guy request a custom order for one of my crochet cats. Their cat had just passed away and they wanted to have a memory of him! He sent me pictures and I developed the item and sent it off to him.

He responded with some of the most touching feedback ever (he called me the "greatest person alive"); it was a truly rewarding moment!
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

Awww, I love hearing these stories. Making me smile!
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I haven't had my first sale yet, but the main reason for even making a small business is to touch the lives of others by my products! Can't wait to have experiences just like yours! :)
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I can sometimes get so annoyed with an order and can't wait for it to be finished and shipped out (assembling 150 of the exact same wedding invitation is very tedious and time-consuming!).

But when I get an email from the bride telling me how much she loves them and how some of her guests are saying they are the best invitations they have ever seen, it makes everything worth it! It's a wonderful feeling to help make one of the most important days of someones life just a little better, even if it's only a small part :)
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

This is a huge part of what I love about my business. Getting feedback from complete strangers who love what I've made and make it a part of their life, that's amazing.
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That is such a sweet story! I love when we get to see the babies in our onesies. We just recently had a customer that she was the recipient of one of our baby gift baskets. She loved hers so much that she bought 4 from us for other people.
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That's a wonderful feeling isn't it, I had a woman buy 4 boxes a couple weeks ago ,telling me they were gifts for her friends for Christmas. She got the boxes and wrote back that she was going to have to get another box, Because shes not giving up one of them because she showed her father that box and he started crying ( he was a woodworker,) now in his 90s he thought he made it for her.. and she was selling it, now he wont give it back...lol... nice feeling
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I just had a bride who I had been working with on a custom monogram that we used for bags, thank you cards, notecards, place cards, programs, menus, signs... just about everything! I worked with her for just around 6 months on the project and her wedding was late last month. She just emailed me with a whole bunch of photos from her wedding showing all the items I made for her! It's great getting to see the end result on how everything comes together, I love it when my brides remember to send photos it makes me feel like a big part of their special day!
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That's great, Cindy! Getting feedback like that really makes what we do worthwhile, even though we can get caught up in the negatives about the process sometimes when we are knee deep in projects. While I haven't received anything to the extent that you did, I do love when customers post appreciation photos of their cats and my items. It makes me happy to know that I am making cats happy with the items I create!
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

When I was doing sand etched baby's first Christmas ornaments, I got an order for one from an Italian grandmother in California. I got an email from her saying how beautiful it was, and how she want many more grandchildren. She will order again when she has another grandchild.

Well, I got an order from her the very next year for another baby ornament. She had another grandchild.
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I am in love with these stories and this thread! :)

I had a custom order for a license plate birdhouse - I use maps to cover the sides of the birdhouse and the buyer asked to have a specific city featured on the front. It was a gift for an older couple - a widow and widower - who were getting married and were going to be living in the featured city. Such a sweet story and the buyer was so thrilled about the birdhouse!
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That is really great! Thanks for sharing your stories!

In March of this year, I had a really long dry spell, I was just about ready to throw in the towel, thinking nobody really cared if I was open or not... then someone from Sweden bought one of my scarves.

She sent an appreciation photo and the thought of someone else, halfway round the world, enjoying my work, just really put the spark back into my work!

Sometimes knowing people love the things that you make is EXACTLY what you need :)
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

Great stories!!!
When I feel blue, I read my feedbacks! I keep in touch with my customers, we talk about books, opera, we exchange receipes....what o life!
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I love hearing from my customers! Their excitement and happiness never fails to brighten my day. It validates why I do what I do.

Some of the best feedback I've received was sent as convos because of the heart-felt personal nature of their gratitude. I've received photos from customers who purchased a custom cut silhouette for someone else for christmas. The photos were of the recipient opening the gift in their pj's christmas morning. I absolutely love adding to their happiness for a brief moment in time.
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

That's awesome! What a good feeling to know that you can make someones day so special.
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I love this thread and these stories are great! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to read more. :)
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

O, it's true!
It is the most unexpected and best part. Especially when we are often solitary in our studios, plugging away, it's so beneficial to be reminded that we are connected.

Recently a woman ordered two custom earth lockets from me:
Each had the same design - the Western hemisphere depicted on one half and the Eastern on the other, with a heart in Virginia and a heart in Korea.
One was for their daughter whom they were about to adopt from Korea, for when she grew older to remember her birthplace, and the other was for the birth Mother to remember her daughter.

Holy moly, it turned me to mush.
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

hee hee o yes the happies are what it is all about. :)
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1AEON
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

:)
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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

Great stories.

I made a "Favorite Things" piece for a wedding gift order. It's a list of your favorite things, hand lettered, with some drawings (see my shop, I am not so good at explaining!)
At any rate, these take hours on end for me to make, and I always seem to wonder why I do them for what turns out to be not much money.

My customer called me to tell me that the bride was so thrilled with the gift that she cried- Awwwwww!
The bride is a teacher in my kid's school, and many of the other teachers had seen the artwork & complimented me on it.

It's such a GOOD feeling to know that the person holding the artwork is thrilled with it!
:)

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Former_Member
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

Let me just say, I love this thread and the positive energy. Thanks all for brightening up my morning!
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Re: The most unexpected perk of Etsy. I can't stop smiling!

I sold a vintage board game to a woman who recalled playing it with her mother. Her mother now has alzheimers, but was able to remember playing it with her all those years ago... the gal bought it for that purpose and was oh so happy that it worked out. She told me that, at least for a little while, she got her mother back.
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