Etsy Seller Interview with Martina of BlossomStamps

How BlossomStamps got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

I have been selling on Etsy since 2006! My background is in science, with a degree in microbiology. However, I have always enjoyed using the creative side of my brain and stumbled upon references to Etsy in a crafting forum. I had no idea what it was at that time, but when I looked into it, it was a Eureka moment for me. My first shop was BlossomArts, and I dabbled in creating and selling various things: beaded bookmarks, notebook and passport covers, and eventually a focus on sewing handbags. 

I started to make big decorative buttons for my bags from polymer clay and often used rubber stamps to create texture. That evolved from buttons to pendants, which really took off and became my focus. Then, I wondered about how to make my own rubber stamps. After much research, trial and error, I figured out the process of making rubber stamps from a special grade of photopolymer formulated for mounting on wood bases just like traditional red rubber stamps (the science geek in me?) and opened my second shop in 2008. My first year at Blossom Stamps was a big learning year to perfect the craft and learn to use graphics programs such as Photoshop.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

I have a large variety of rubber stamps for sale that are used for various purposes. However, I do adore old vintage images; the more detailed, the better. Trends come and go, and certain items will spike for a while, but my personal and customer favorites are my many bee-related stamps. My father was a hobby beekeeper for many years, and I have always been drawn to them. Luckily, they are also some of my top sellers. He is 91 and gave up beekeeping 2 years ago, so every bee I sell is with him in mind. I will be making a donation to The Bee Conservancy at the end of the year with a portion of each bee rubber stamp sold! One of my top sellers is this bee rubber stamp. There are surprisingly many beekeeper customers, and it is also often purchased by brides-to-be to decorate tags and labels for honey favors at their wedding:

I could spend the day looking at old books, and a happy surprise is finding one with an old bookplate label on the front cover. They are so beautifully illustrated! So, another favorite rubber stamp in my shop are custom Ex Libris book rubber stamps. Again, most feature old antique images that I usually alter. I have many designs in my shop and they can be purchased along with an ink pad and a stamped muslin bag, so they make a perfect gift. They are very, very popular at gift giving times of the year and I have designs that appeal to men, women, and children. My top seller in that category would be this awesome dragon stamp:

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?  

Shockingly, I had my first sale within the first week, if I recall correctly! Blossom Stamps quickly surpassed my other shop, and I put all of my focus on perfecting the craft of making rubber stamps. I have many return customers and many referrals, especially among ceramic artists and metal clay artists. I create custom texture stamps for their pottery and metal clay jewelry items. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to play a part in their beautiful work. I will feature products on Instagram, but I primarily do that in the spring, fall, and winter. I like having some free time in the summer to vacation and work in the garden. Fall is nearly here and my busy time will be coming up with gift giving opportunities and for winter crafting, so I will be upping my Instagram game soon.

Managing BlossomStamps 

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

My production, shipping, and management teams consist of me, myself, and I! I use the seller tools provided on Etsy and Pirate Ship for my international shipping. I create and alter images and custom work using Photoshop primarily. I use Excel spreadsheets for my record keeping.

The future of BlossomStamps

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

This is hard, but with well over 400 listings, I am going to work on refining my selection. Some designs are my oldies but goodies, and though I love them and they used to be top sellers, they are not anymore. It's critical to keep things interesting and relevant, and I need to refocus on that. A good reason to hold a sale! Also, I want to introduce more sets of stamps combining stamps of similar themes. I have some in my tiny accent rubber stamp section which are mounted on small glass cubes. They are very popular with a built-in price discount. I’d like to expand sets of stamps to include more wood-mounted stamps. I have a wood mounted wildflower set that is extremely popular. Lastly, I am thinking about coming up with a few craft kits with creative uses for rubber stamps. I have an ongoing list of over 100 ways to use rubber stamps beyond card making and scrapbooking to tap into!

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

1. Decide early on the level of commitment to your business you intend to make. Is this shop going to be a hobby or a business? If you don’t want to or can’t put a great deal of thought and effort into what makes a good shop, then be content with the sales you get at a "hobby" level. If you want a lot of sales, it will take a lot of time, effort, and a well-stocked shop to take off.
2. Look at many, many other Etsy shops—and not just the ones selling similar items to your own. What are your first impressions? Why? What styles of banners, colors, and aesthetics are you drawn to? Look at the photography and item descriptions—which ones show and describe their products well? Take notes and use what you’ve observed when setting up your shop so that you will have a well thought out store with a cohesive look, good photos, and intriguing descriptions.
3. Set up a good record-keeping system for tax time! I use excel spreadsheets to keep track of all my expenses and income and have them set up to correspond to different lines on the tax forms. I have another where I keep track of all my raw material purchases so that when I do my end-of-the-year inventory counts, it is easy to go down the list and figure out the value of the items. Etsy also makes available software programs such as QuickBooks for Etsy and TurboTax for Etsy.
4. Many of your questions are the same questions others have had. Visit the Etsy forums regularly to get answers and learn from others. I’ve learned a lot by reading responses made by people much smarter than me on topics I struggle with.