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| Kitchen Art Collection |
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| Keep Calm Collection |
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| Modern Stationary |
1. What led to your decision to start your own small business?
I was creating a lot of custom work for bloggers through a blog I shared with my best friend. It was more of a home and garden blog with room re-dos and decorating, but I wasn’t really great at that so I wanted to move my art, card and pattern designs into a more creative arena. So, I decided to open an Etsy shop. After I investigated other Etsy shops I loved, most shop owners had a blog, a facebook and twitter accounts. So, I moved away from the shared blog and opened shop to see what I could do.
2. From where do you draw inspiration for your products?
I love creating. I think I enjoy creating images that speak to people, whether it’s custom work, like when I designed your business cards, or working with someone to design a blog brand that takes their ideas, words, and colors represent them completely. Plus, my bonus creating time is designing for myself. Taking inspiration and making some sort of art print/poster that embellishes someone’s space. And when someone buys that, well that’s just the icing on the cake. I recently sold one of my new kitchen prints to a gal in Germany. This was a very sweet sale for me, because that is where I was born. So, I felt like a little piece of me was going home.
3. What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment as a small business owner?
My biggest accomplishment is that people like what I do. The heart of every artist is the ability to create. We must be able to do that or a little piece of us dies. The bonus is having someone like what you do. I don’t love everything I create… But, I do love everything I put in my etsy shop and my only hope is that someone else likes it too.
4. What is one of the challenges you face as a small business owner?
For me, since I am working full time now, the time to creative is so minimal. I miss being able to do it daily.
5. What advice would you give to someone interested in starting their own business?
My biggest advice is just START! As you move forward, you will evolve, your shop will evolve. I try not to worry about making the money. I’m not the best business person. I’d love to improve that, but there’s only so many hours in the day, and it’s not a priority for me yet.
THANK YOU SO MUCH VICKI for sharing this invaluable advise and insight into owning your own shop!
We are honored to have you as a sponsor and a friend!
We hope you’ll take a moment to pay Vicki a visit at her blog and her shop! We know you’ll find something that catches your eye!
So glad you ladies featured Vicki! You may recall that she’s the sweetheart who — unsolicited — created the Bloggers for Hope button I keep on my sidebar … and some printable Valentines, too. She’s such a giving person, and it’s nice to see her creativity well-received.
Vicki’s got some great pieces! I won one of her Keep Calm prints and picked the “create” one. I’m actually showing it off in my most recent post about my craft/sewing room! It’s a great piece to have right outside the door.
Vicki does beautiful work! I especially love that last piece “bloom. . .fill up daily for optimal growth”
I love to hear about the small business entrepreneur making their dreams come true! yay Vicki!
I think you will like my new Giveaway from Royal Design Stencils..
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
thank you for taking the time to share
cheers carol
Since the benefit of the single-serve Keurig K-Cup coffee machine, coffee lovers have been appreciating just-brewed coffee one cup at a time.
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cooking, air treatment, cooling and cleaning products.