-The DIY club-

[LockandKey]

after a month of being in hiding, I finally worked up a good inventory of hand made chainmaille jewelry. I have made a ton of earrings, pendants, bracelets, and a few necklaces and key chains.

Here's my Etsy shop
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GoldenHarvestJewelry?ref=si_shop

 

[Kaites]

A bit late to reply, but just wanted to say that your jewelry is beautiful Lockandkey! (added you to my circle on etsy too ) Good luck with your business

 

[LockandKey]

A bit late to reply, but just wanted to say that your jewelry is beautiful Lockandkey! (added you to my circle on etsy too ) Good luck with your business

thanks so much added you! other than friends and family, I really haven't gotten much business though. I'm hoping the recession is to blame, I'm not exactly sure how to market myself though

 

[LockandKey]

by the way, if any of you ladies have an Etsy shop, I would gladly add you to my circle, and favorite some of your items

 

[Kaites]

I read that part of the key to etsy is that if you are in a really busy category, listing often so that some of your items are always in the "most recent" can help with traffic and keep your shop from getting lost amongst the masses. Personally, I found that tweaking the way that etsy sorts the categories (you know those little drop down menus when you are listing an item) has helped with my traffic- I don't know if you have much wiggle room for that with your jewelry though (for me it was the difference between choosing "knitting" vs "baby" for my top level category). I've also joined a few teams on etsy and I've seen some traffic from that (no sales from teams though, lol!).

I can't say I'm really marketing myself either, lol I'm mainly just using the shop as an outlet for knitting since Emma has more than enough knitwear! I haven't finished reading it yet, but the book Handmade Marketplace talks a bit about marketing and was recommended by some of the wahms on DS.

(and in case anyone else wants to add me to their circle on etsy, my shop is GooseberryKnits )

 

[Thumper]

I love all the rainbow stuff Lockandkey It's lovely.

 

[LockandKey]

Thank you I really want to make more, but ran out of the proper rings

 

[flubdub]

Does anyone know where I can buy some cheap felting wool? Is it called 'felting' wool, or does it go by another name? Is it just wool that cant be washed?
Im hoping to make some of these;
https://goodmama.typepad.com/goodmama/2008/05/make-your-own-wool-dryer-balls.html

 

[cheese lover]

You can use any wool that's not machine washable. I can't recommend brands since you're in the UK but I would suspect that any cheaper wool yarn would work. Just make sure its 100% wool (I think).

So glad you brought this thread back up! I was looking for it a while back and couldn't find it.

I've started making some trainers/pull-up diapers for LO. She hates having her diapers put on and cries hard every time I put one on but doesn't seem to mind the Blueberry trainers I tried on her the other day. I'm thinking about making some wool and fleece outers with snaps so I can snap in different inserts. I may retrofit some of the thirsties hemp inserts that I have around. I'll post more when I have a firm idea.

Oh and I bought a serger/overlock machine! Hopefully that'll help ease the pressure on my old (1970's) sewing machine!

 

[princessellie]

i made some of those and i used 100% non superwash wool

tons more stuff gone onto my blog if anyone fancies a look - https://mammymade.blogspot.com

 

[pink23]

I've just bought a hungry caterpillar duvet set and plan on updating the old baby quilt and make some other nursery/ baby items xx

 

[Thumper]

Bumping this thread back up
I just opened my Etsy shop. Is anyone else on there?

 

[Kaites]

Yep, my shop is Gooseberry Knits (gooseberryknits.etsy.com) Not exactly well stocked atm- I've been busy with other stuff lately and when I do knit, it's usually customs.

Good luck with your business! What's your shop name? I'll add you to my circle

 

[cheese lover]

I'm thinking of starting one but I seem to mostly be making enough things for my own LO not any extras. We'll see once I get my pattern down a little better. I crochet and have been on a longies/shorties kick lately. I'm finishing some "monster" shorties for LO.

 

[Thumper]

Haha Cheeselover, my LO hasn't had anything of mine except rejects!

Kaites, the shop is BillyBums. I've only had time to add one thing so far but I'm going to list more tomorrow I hope What does a circle do? I've used Etsy before but not to sell so I'm a little confused!

 

[Kaites]

Thumper- Sometimes being in different circles and teams helps with traffic to your shop- in your shop stats, you can see how people have found your listings/shop and sometimes it'll be through another person's profile so that's where circles can come into play. You can also see what people in your circle have "favorited" in your activity feed and it's sometimes a good way to find items that you might not have found otherwise... if you are in the mood to shop

Just a little etsy tip, with cloth diapers you'll want to list often so that you don't get lost in the listings since they automatically sort by most recent Good luck- your bunny diaper is cute!

 

[Thumper]

Thanks for that tip Kaites. I listed a few more today but maybe I should stagger them next time.

 

[JellyBeann]

Does this ;look good for putting poppers on some nappies by minki?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251038769864?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619#ht_4353wt_983

 

[Thumper]

JB- I replied to you on FB

 

[NuKe]

just had to share this. made this for Poppy today. need to make the straps longer but she loves it!

https://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd365/therealnuke/120420123163.jpg
https://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd365/therealnuke/120420123162.jpg