I’m so pleased to finally introduce Brooke, from Flourish Bath & Body. I absolutely love her stuff and I know that you all will too! As soon as I saw Brooke’s shop on Etsy, I instantly knew that I HAD to feature her on my blog!
Introduction - Tell us about yourself.
My name is Brooke and I just turned 29 (yesterday- ugh!). I live in Baltimore with my husband and Flourish is my full-time job.
Besides crafting, what else do you do? What are your other interests?
Besides crafting, I love to cook- I used to cook in restaurants, so you could I'm pretty comfortable in the kitchen! I'm also very into working on my house- we bought it last fall and it's a bit of a fixer-upper- so there are a lot of projects we've got going on. Lately I've discovered gardening (now that I finally have a yard), which I'm really enjoying. Basically I'm very domestic!
In your opinion, what sets you apart from the rest?
From the very beginning I had the goal of creating a product line that raised the bar for handmade bath & body products. I wanted to show people that just because it's "handmade", doesn't mean it has to look "homemade". I've always been a beauty product junkie and beautiful packaging and unique fragrances are what would catch my eye when shopping. So I put a lot of effort into professional-looking and attractive packaging. I think my fragrances are one of my biggest selling points- original blends that you can't get anywhere else. I'm so picky about fragrance and I don't add a new scent to my line unless it makes my eyes roll back into my head when I smell it!
My name is Brooke and I just turned 29 (yesterday- ugh!). I live in Baltimore with my husband and Flourish is my full-time job.
Besides crafting, what else do you do? What are your other interests?
Besides crafting, I love to cook- I used to cook in restaurants, so you could I'm pretty comfortable in the kitchen! I'm also very into working on my house- we bought it last fall and it's a bit of a fixer-upper- so there are a lot of projects we've got going on. Lately I've discovered gardening (now that I finally have a yard), which I'm really enjoying. Basically I'm very domestic!
In your opinion, what sets you apart from the rest?From the very beginning I had the goal of creating a product line that raised the bar for handmade bath & body products. I wanted to show people that just because it's "handmade", doesn't mean it has to look "homemade". I've always been a beauty product junkie and beautiful packaging and unique fragrances are what would catch my eye when shopping. So I put a lot of effort into professional-looking and attractive packaging. I think my fragrances are one of my biggest selling points- original blends that you can't get anywhere else. I'm so picky about fragrance and I don't add a new scent to my line unless it makes my eyes roll back into my head when I smell it!
What is your favorite item in your Etsy shop?
My sugar scrub cubes. The formula was almost a year in the making and it felt so great to finally perfect them. And, in my humble opinion, they're really awesome!
What is the most exciting thing that has happened since you've started?
Being chosen as the Featured Seller! It was just an amazing thing to have happen, and I'm so grateful to have been chosen. I found out about it six weeks in advance- on the day we finished packing our things up in boxes to move into our new house! It was a stressful 6 weeks- the room at the new house that I was planning on using as a workshop needed to be totally renovated before I could set up- so I had to get that done in about 6 days (ripping up carpet, putting down new floors, painting, putting in shelves). Whew! Then it was on to ordering supplies and stocking up on product. I worked non-stop for the weeks leading up to the feature- and then for the month following, trying to get all the orders filled and convos responded to. The whole thing was just insane, I got no sleep for weeks at a time- but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
What is the worst thing that has happened since you've started?
Being chosen as the Featured Seller! I learned a valuable lesson about getting in over your head and knowing when to say no. I thought I was prepared, but the volume of sales was just unbelievable- coming in in a steady stream. I was selling out of things and then getting a half a dozen convos immediately from people wanting to buy those things. I didn't want to let people down, so instead of telling people "sorry, I'm sold out of those for now- I'll have more in stock next month" and concentrating on getting orders filled- I was trying to fit in production as well, and placing all kinds of rush orders for supplies that I ran out of. Everybody needed everything by Christmas (I was featured at the beginning of December) which added tremendous pressure. And unfortunately some of my international orders did not make it in time, and I had some unhappy customers as a result. I greatly regret disappointing those customers- and it's a mistake I vowed never to make again.
My sugar scrub cubes. The formula was almost a year in the making and it felt so great to finally perfect them. And, in my humble opinion, they're really awesome!
What is the most exciting thing that has happened since you've started?
Being chosen as the Featured Seller! It was just an amazing thing to have happen, and I'm so grateful to have been chosen. I found out about it six weeks in advance- on the day we finished packing our things up in boxes to move into our new house! It was a stressful 6 weeks- the room at the new house that I was planning on using as a workshop needed to be totally renovated before I could set up- so I had to get that done in about 6 days (ripping up carpet, putting down new floors, painting, putting in shelves). Whew! Then it was on to ordering supplies and stocking up on product. I worked non-stop for the weeks leading up to the feature- and then for the month following, trying to get all the orders filled and convos responded to. The whole thing was just insane, I got no sleep for weeks at a time- but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
What is the worst thing that has happened since you've started?
Being chosen as the Featured Seller! I learned a valuable lesson about getting in over your head and knowing when to say no. I thought I was prepared, but the volume of sales was just unbelievable- coming in in a steady stream. I was selling out of things and then getting a half a dozen convos immediately from people wanting to buy those things. I didn't want to let people down, so instead of telling people "sorry, I'm sold out of those for now- I'll have more in stock next month" and concentrating on getting orders filled- I was trying to fit in production as well, and placing all kinds of rush orders for supplies that I ran out of. Everybody needed everything by Christmas (I was featured at the beginning of December) which added tremendous pressure. And unfortunately some of my international orders did not make it in time, and I had some unhappy customers as a result. I greatly regret disappointing those customers- and it's a mistake I vowed never to make again.
Do you sell in any shops locally?
Everyone asks me that- I'm actually not yet! I have been growing my wholesale base very organically and slowly- all of my wholesale customers are people who found me on Etsy and contacted me. I need to get out there and actually solicit some new accounts, but I'm so shy in person! I don't do craft shows either, for the same reason. I'm way more comfortable dealing with people over the internet!
What advice would you give someone new to Etsy?
First of all- ask your self seriously: "do I want to have a hobby or a business?" Business is not for everyone- some people may find that worrying about promotion and advertising and SEO and on and on and on sucks the enjoyment out of what they do- and there's nothing wrong with that. If you create things that you love, and selling them is just a nice little bonus- then just make what you love and enjoy it!
If you DO want to have a business- then know that you'll have to approach things a little differently. Take a critical look at your PRODUCT first- is it well made, is it interesting, is there a market for it, are there 100 other people already selling this product- if so- does yours stand out from the rest or blend in? What makes your product unique and special? This can be tough to do with things that you pour your heart and soul into- but it's important. No one else is going to tell you- "the reason you are not selling things is because your product looks exactly like every other one out there" or "the quality doesn't seem to be very good" - people will tell you "improve your photos!" or "do more promoting!" Those things are important, but the product itself is primary.
Assuming you have an awesome product that you just know people are going to love- then you need to focus on presenting it in the best possible way- it's all about the photos! I won't get into details, because there's been so much written on the subject already. Suffice to say- photos are incredibly important. You can get tons of ideas for how to photograph your products by looking at how similar items are photographed for catalogs or magazine features. Those people know what they are doing!
And finally- if you really believe in what you are doing, be patient and don't be discouraged if you are not an immediate success. It takes time, and things build slowly, under the surface. I started my shop in February of 2009. In May, I was considering giving up- I'd had some sales but things just didn't seem to be progressing the way I'd wanted them to. It seemed like the goal of doing this full-time and being able to support myself was not in my reach. I told myself- "if things haven't improved by the end of the summer, I will re-evaluate and consider moving on." In August I got my first wholesale order (a big one!) and got a few blog mentions that brought a bunch of traffic to my shop. Things started to pick up. Then they exploded. Sales were great through the fall. In December I was the Featured Seller.And things have been steady since. It's so funny to me that just one year ago, I was considering giving up. You just never know what's going to happen.
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