Shop Makeover

There is an excellent article over on Etsy's blog about making over your shop. The seller who wrote the article, has a really dramatic difference when you look at her first sold items, like mine below

and her current shop - mine below.

She managed to go from all kinds of color to all neutral, which is really pleasing to the eye, if you can do it. It really makes her shop makeover look dramatic. I am left with a riot of color. I think it will always be that way, since I am not about to start specializing in white and tan bags. Someone could do that with great success though... She mentions having a great product - that is really the starting point. If you are there, you are ready for a shop makeover.  I think the key to my success on Etsy has been not so much the visual makeover of my pattern shots (brighter fabrics, fewer graphics, context in some cases) but the consistent addition of new products. I am always doing both though - improving the photography and adding new choices.  It's a full time job. I just wanted to encourage you to read the article on Etsy and do what you can for your own shop.

Weddings made beautiful with help from friends

One of the things I love about the Etsy wedding stories is how many times friends help to craft a truly special day. I wanted to share this message from Devin who recently made 120 luggage tags for her friend's wedding.

Hi Cherie,
I purchased your luggage tags pattern in August with the intention of making about 120 of them the hold the escort cards for a friend's "french/vintage-travel" themed wedding. Well, it was a success! The bride found some absolutely PERFECT fabric and we had a couple days of assembly-line style cutting an ironing before I got to the sewing. A ton of fun! Wedding guests loved them.

Another thing that Devin did which I thought was noteworthy - she punched the holes 3 at a time using a 3 hole punch! Very clever. Here is a link to the hole punch she used. Thanks for the note and the photos Devin. Your tags turned out gorgeous.

Sneek Peek Kindle Fire Cozy Stand

This will be the next sewing pattern out. I am working on it now. I will also have the Kindle Fire covers for sale in my Etsy shop. I am considering this for a Kickstarter project too. Making enough of them to sell on Amazon. I have some leg work to do to organize that though.

Meet the Team

Inland NW Etsy Team Holiday Show from Brian Chace on Vimeo.
This video is my quick (30 seconds each) take on 20 of my teammates on the Inland Northwest Etsy team. It's about discovering new talent, which I think is one of Etsy's strong suits in the online marketplace. Developing talent. Belonging to a team. If you have an Etsy shop, but you are not on a team, I hope this video moves you toward finding one. If you would like to check out their shops, here they are in the order of appearance on the video:

Customer Success Story

From Michele
Originally uploaded by studiocherie

I get some really nice messages from the women I have helped to sew something they wanted. Rarely these messages come with photos. I want to start sharing those here. I am just tickled for Michele, who was able to achieve a $1400 dining room makeover for $250. Here is her message to me:
Hi Cherie,
I just wanted to say thank you so much for putting together this tutorial! The directions on how to sew the pieces together was a bit confusing to me, as this was my first real sewing project since Home Ec in middle school (more than 20 years ago). But, the pattern technique was spot on! I purchased 6 upholstered parsons chairs from a church yard sale for $50 and used about $200 (big risk!) in fabric. I would have had to have paid at least $200 a piece for similar chairs with custom fabric. I attached pics so you could see the before and after. Thank you for encouraging sewing newbies to give it a try!

Michele, I love your new dining chairs. Notice the trim she added to her curtains to coordinate - beautiful touch. Congratulations. I hope this is the first sewing success of many for you. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your results.

Book Winner

Comment number 4 was randomly chosen as the winner of the Fabric by Fabric book.  Looks like Marci Girl will have a reason to stop hoarding those Anna Maria Horner fabrics and start using them! Congratulations, Marci. I will get in touch with you to get your address.