A Year On Etsy

I've been beading for years and selling off and on through those years, mostly to friends and family. I did do some sales on EBay and a few craft shows. I had my work in a gallery at one point. I've done home parties and still do once in awhile.

I found Etsy in late '06 as I researched Paper Clay. I was fascinated by the jewelry there, especially some of the unique metalwork. When I needed a special card for my sister's wedding I came back to Etsy to shop.

After a bit, I thought of selling there as well. In June of '07 I opened thebeadedlily on Etsy. It took a month to sell my first pair of earrings on July 13th to Tina at RuthiesGirlDesigns.

Today, July 13th a year later, marks sale #150 to Anaya at YanaDesigns.

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751 hearts say a few more sales are coming. A feedback rating of 220 says I shop too much. 100% positive says I care about my product and my people. 102 items for sale says I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

I learned how to use a digital camera, developed a couple of product lines as I sought to make something that I could make and remake to save valuable listing/photoshoot time, vastly improved my beadweaving skills thanks to the ladies of EBW Team, became a moderator, joined Flickr and deviantART, started blogging, made some friends, quit my job.

I've learned so much. I have so much to learn. I'm thankful to each and every customer, to each and every viewer who reached out with a kind word or a suggestion, to the sellers on the forums who offer what they're learned, to my teammates who are always encouraging, and to Etsy itself and all of its Admin team who've made this year possible.

May next year be even better.