Introduce yourself & say Hello!

[#1]

The Made in Devon team is a little over a year old and is still evolving...

So whether you are brand new or have been a team member a while, do pop in, say hello and tell us what it is that you do. What is it about being creative in Devon that is important to you? What would you like from this team?

This team can evolve into whatever matters to you! If you don’t see a discussion you would like to engage in – why not start one yourself! Ask questions, offer advice, get something off your chest – get involved and see what happens....

To get the ball rolling – I am Lynn, a printmaker in Exeter and part of Double Elephant Print Workshop. Mt Etsy shop is coming up to 3 years old in July. I’m pretty pleased with how it’s going – but I had v modest aims of selling one print a month, & v happy to have exceeded that. It was partly the colour of Devon soil that encouraged me to move into the area – but that’s a longer story.....

I’ve noticed this comment in the origin “welcome” thread from Ren from Fairysteps and think it would be a good idea to reiterate it here -

“For all members...

If you click on the 'Subscribe to digest' link on the left hand side menu of this page, you will receive all updates that happen within the Made in Devon team!

A great way to make sure you don't miss anything!”

BIG FAT DEVON WELCOME TO ALL.

[Former_Member]

Hi team!

I moved down to sunny Sidmouth this summer. I hand cut vintage maps and sheet music to make cards and art pieces. Craft fairs are proving more successful than etsy for me so far. I am interested in getting larger pieces into galleries and would really appreciate any advice on how to approach them.

Thanks

Ellie

[Lasercutz]

Hi Ellie,
Will keep an eye out for you at any local craft fairs we visit then ;)

Best
Dave

[LynnBaileyPrintmaker]

Greetings Ellie,

Your question about how to approach galleries is a really good one. And one that others could be interesting in discussing too.
I could give you my 2p's worth here (not that I'm that good at approaching galleries myself, but I have I few ideas about what I should be doing) but - perhaps this would be good to start in its own thread.

Would you like to start that off??
When you click on the Made in Devon Team, you will see a small blue “start new thread” button.
Maybe more people would be able to contribute too.

Cheers
Lynn

[AbercrombieCumbes]

Hello!

I'm Coco, I've just moved to Paignton so very much a newbie. I hand stamp metals and leather and I make a few few fabric items. My shop is www.abercrombiecumbes.etsy.com and I have a page on the book of face too www.facebook.com/abercrombiecumbes

Really looking forward to a good ol' mingle with your lovely lot!

xx

[Former_Member]

Hi Coco!

What a lovely shop you have! I've got my eye on some key rings...you may get an order from me soon! Anyway, it's great to have you as part of our team. Please do get involved with starting threads, suggesting meet-ups and anything else you can think of!

Charlotte xx

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone!

I started playing around with lino-cutting a few years ago and love it. I'm only able to do it in my spare time but I've been to a handful of craft fairs over the last couple of years and have had a few sales on etsy. I'll be having a look at some of the discussions now and some of your pages :)

Cheers
Lucy

[LynnBaileyPrintmaker]

Greetings Lucy - and all new people...

Look forward to seeing your contributions to discussions. If there's anything that you want to think through, or sound off about, do feel free to ask the team.

Thanks for poping in to say hello and introducing yourselves.

:-)

[Former_Member]

Hello everyone,
I have just re opened my etsy shop after a while away. I handmade items, mostly jewellery.

I'm really pleased to join the Made In Devon Team and to celebrate I have made a treasury of items from the team:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/treasury/MTQyNDcwMDF8MjcyNDM1MDY5MQ/colour-injection?ref=pr_treasury

Enjoy

[Former_Member]

Welcome Cassie, and thank you for your lovely treasury! Feel free to start new threads as and when you like, and to post your ideas for making this team grow and grow and grow!

xx

[Former_Member]

I'm Ama Menec and I've been sculpting at Coombe Park near Totnes, Devon, for around 13 years. I've just opened an Etsy shop, and am still fine tuning it. I see there are very few bronze sculptures on Etsy, but I thought I'd give it a shot. If I get no where with the bronzes I'll put up my ceramics instead. Suggestions and advice much sought after!

[LynnBaileyPrintmaker]

Greetings Ama, fab work :-)

Don’t see why you can’t have both your bronzes and ceramic work. It’s good to be able to reach a range on price brackets. And quite often people will purchase a smaller, more affordable item before they get the courage up to purchase an investment piece. It also take quite a while to build up a reputation on Etsy, so having some items that are easier to sell and post could help get the ball rolling.

I’m glad to see that you have filled in your about page. This gives potential customers confidence in who you are. But I think it equally important to get your policies filled in. Until you’ve had some feedback, potential customers won’t know what your customer care is going to be like. Will you handle a situation where an item is lost in the post sympathetically or not – for example.

To be honest, I think it’s quite difficult to sell high end (eg expensive) artwork here unless you are pulling in a following already. But Etsy also serves as a very useful way of showcasing your work, finding out what people like and learning how to promote and market yourself.

Welcome to the team!

[Former_Member]

Hello everyone, for now I am living in Totnes.

I have one question for all you more experienced Etsyers.

This message comes up on my dashboard:

'Hi raphaela! Your bill is overdue. Make a payment now for your total statement balance.'

I paid this smae balance when I first posted all my items.

I am a bit confused about these payments. Are you expected to pay weekly for posted items?

I really dont understand this system.

Any advice would be great!

XXX

[Former_Member]

Hi Rapheala

I don't know why you would get a message like that to be honest, especially if you have already paid the fee.

Perhaps the payment didn't go though for some reason? Or perhaps you relisted some items by mistake? You can always check your payments by clicking on 'Your Shop' at the top of the page and having a look at 'Your Bill'.

I'm not much help at all, but as far as payments for listings go, you pay for them when your originally list them, and again whenever you decide to relist them, not weekly.

Sarah x

[damsontreepottery]

Hello everyone!
We've recently moved to a small farm near Axminster East Devon and love it here!
I've been selling on Etsy for a few years and make ceramic tiles, bowls and jewellery.
It's great to see a couple of shops I recognise on etsy Melissa ceramics and Fairysteps - even more tempting now we are nearby!
Looking forward to getting to know people in the area - are there any good Christmas fayres etc - I want to visit this year then maybe have a stall next year?

[damsontreepottery]

Raphaela - be careful they don't close your shop!
Bills are charged monthly - this is all our listing, renewal and sales fees! We don't 'pay as we go' rather every month!

[OneDottyDuck]

Hello all. I am new to the group and joined after hearing a talk from the lovely Charlotte at the Creative Project meeting last night. My business has been running for a year now and I started by making plaques, key hooks and coat hooks but have evolved into Jewellery and Jewellery Displays. My current best seller is the Domino Pendants which are selling like hot cakes! I have many Christmas Fairs lined up over the next two months and so won't be having lots of spare time to be putting into Etsy, but I fully intend to knuckle down to getting my shop properly up and running in the New Year. Any advice and tips on my page as it stands is greatly appreciated though (I know I need more products on there lol). Looking forward to speaking with you all and getting involved in this group. I love the thought of local crafters and small businesses all working together. Karen x

[Former_Member]

Hi. I'm daisy and I'm just squuezing into Devon right on the east coast about a mile from the dorset border. I make and sell hand dyed yarn and run yarn retreats. I sell mostly through facebook by hoping to build up my etsy store over the next 6 months

[Lasercutz]

Hi Marieanne, Karen and Daisy ;)

[maggieemery1]

Hi,

I am Maggie and I run a Vintage Shop - I know I am not a maker but Charlotte said it wouldn't be a problem me joining - would love to find out if there are any other vintage members or whether the team could expand to cover them as well. I have been on Etsy since February 2014 and have still loads to learn - if anyone has time please check out my shop Crabtulip and my facebook and pinterest too - looking forward to getting to know everyone!

Thanks,

Maggie

[maggieemery1]

p.s. and I am based in Devon - in Exeter

[Lasercutz]

Hi Maggie :-)

[FloraBubble]

Hi everyone!

I live in North Tawton and have done pretty much all my life - I moved away for Uni but couldn't keep away!!
I have always loved crafting and after years of people telling me I should be selling my jewellery I decided it was the right time to take the plunge. I had my first baby in January and in April my husband and I decided not to renew the lease on our pub so I don't have a job to 'go back to'.
The sheer volume of information on here is overwhelming, I have been working my way through the sellers handbook and would really appreciate some feedback on my shop :)
I just had my first sale this week, I hadn't done anything to promote the shop yet so I wasn't quite expecting it and figured I'd better get a wriggle on getting everything pulled together!
I look forward to learning more about everyone and all the fab crafts that are available here in Devon.
Sarah

[Former_Member]

Morning, I'm the designer and maker behind Culm Valley Crafts. I live in Cullompton and am a quilters at heart. Over the past 18 months I've been making and selling bits and bobs to friends and family and have done a couple of craft markets were my textile and felt based makes which went well. This year after a bit of a hiccup I've expended my crafting to jewellery, more felt, knitting and embroidery just because life is too short for one hobby! I get bored easily so I'll only make a few of one thing before moving on to something different. I set up my shop a couple of weeks ago. I love Devon despite being Cornish at heart I think it really is the place to be for handmade homemade crafting and fantastic local food too.

[AnimalGlassDesigns]

Hi Maggie and good to meet you the at the Creative Project.

Welcome to Tracey and Sarah too :)

[Former_Member]

Amazing to see a couple of people on here who were at the talk last week! Yay! And a big welcome to EVERYONE new to the team! Please remember that if there's a topic you're interested in, you can feel free to start your own thread in the team forum about it. You don't need to be a leader or captain to start a thread! xxx