As an illustrator myself, I swooned when I saw Elizabeth Mayville’s shop.  Then I saw her sales stats and swooned again.  I knew she’d be an amazing Etsy seller to interview for Create Hype and she graciously agreed to tell her story and share some Etsy advice today.  Happy reading!

Would you mind sharing a little bit about yourself and your business?
My name is Elizabeth Mayville and I live and work about an hour away from Lake Michigan in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I’m lucky enough to work for myself from my home making paintings and prints, which I sell online and in galleries. I also happen to have a two-month-old son at home with me, so I’m currently figuring out how to grow a business and a little person at the same time.

interview 1

“Family Photo”

How did you go from earning your BFA to running an extremely successful Etsy shop that utilizes painting?

Oh boy, it took a while. When I graduated from college in 2006 I didn’t really think that making paintings for a living was a possibility, especially in a smallish city. So I landed a job in a library, which was great but it wasn’t in my field and I never quite felt at home. To make myself feel like I hadn’t wasted my time with college, I made sure to get up crazy early most days and work on paintings before I went to work. One winter I took those pre-dawn paintings to a holiday art market in town and, much to my surprise, sold a bunch of them. It was really encouraging so I put the few paintings that I had left up on Etsy and they sold quickly. I decided to keep it up.

I continued to get up early and make paintings to sell online in my free time. My business slowly grew due to repeat customers, word of mouth and increased visibility online. Meanwhile, I got a full-time job at my favorite art gallery in Grand Rapids. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have a worthwhile art job in the city, so I was really confused a year later when I realized that I was really unhappy professionally. I had what I thought was my dream job and was selling my own work on the side (online and eventually at the gallery as well). After a lot of thought, I figured out that I just wanted to work for myself and make beautiful things all day.

My husband and I had a number of talks about what was possible for us financially and where we could make cuts in order for me to pursue my goals. I struck out on my own on January 1st, 2012 and since then I’ve been focusing on making better paintings and fine-tuning the business end of things. I also bought a really nice printer and started selling giclee prints alongside original paintings and that made an enormous difference in sales. I think it may have been the smartest thing I’ve ever done. Really. Ever.

interview 2

“Bun 1”

You are drawn to depictions of ‘home’ and objects that convey stability and comfort. Do you have advice for other artists like you who want to find a niche?

Find something that you’re truly interested in and explore all of the corners of that idea. If all goes well and other people respond to what you’re doing, you’re going to be spending a lot of time focusing on that one niche. Make sure it’s something you actually like. It will show through in the work.

What do you enjoy most about running your Etsy shop?

I love the flexibility, especially now that I’m taking care of a baby at the same time. I also really enjoy maintaining the business end of things. Entering data into a spreadsheet counterbalances painting in a pretty great way.

interview 3

“Measuring Spoons”

What are your top three tips for Etsy sellers?

  1. Answer messages quickly. I try to get back to people within 24 hours during the workweek (though since my son was born I’ve goofed on this a few times). Customers may be looking for something right now and if you wait too long they may buy something from someone else. Furthermore, if a customer wants something that you don’t currently have in stock, offer to get in touch with them when it’s available again. I have a spreadsheet of people to message when I have a certain kind of print or painting ready to go. A lot of the time things will sell right away just from the people that I’ve contacted.
  2. Don’t be afraid to e-mail your favorite blogs to let them know about your shop. Bloggers are constantly looking for new content so if they’re interested in what you do, they’ll be happy to feature your work. Some bloggers won’t be into your business and you’ll be rejected. That’s also totally fine. If you’re not being rejected often it means that you’re not sending out enough e-mails. Eventually people will start approaching you to ask if its okay if they feature you on their site. That feels amazing.
  3. Spend time figuring out the best way to handle shipping. Look for inexpensive but reliable materials and, when figuring out your shipping prices, calculate your material costs and add that to the actual postage. I charged too little for shipping for a while and missed out on increased profit due to my unwillingness to take a closer look at my expenses.

Want to see more of Elizabeth’s work?  Check out her collection at Elizabeth Mayville on Etsy.