Etsy Seller Interview with Saf of FromNewLeaf

How FromNewLeaf 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?

Twin sisters created FromNewLead in 2015. Our journey started when we decided to make a miniature book charm as a gift for a friend, and she loved it! We both were inspired by this friend to start selling online! Since our items are handmade, we searched for the perfect marketplace to sell our items, and we found Etsy! We create our items by hand after researching different ways to make our miniature books durable and high quality! Since then, we started expanding our skills to include illustration, which allowed us to sell different items such as magnetic bookmarks.

Favorite items

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

My favorite item has to be our custom miniature book necklace! We try to make our items as realistic as possible. We carefully carved the sides of the charms to create a real-page look. The cover is printed at the highest quality to keep it clean and crisp. We even make the thickness of our charms exactly proportional to the physical book to create a more realistic effect. I love when our miniature books are next to the actual book! That is when you can truly see the detail in our product!

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?

It took quite a while! I spent weeks trying to promote our store on Instagram in order to gain a sale! It took around a month before we received our first sale. I still remember the customer's name and the book we created for her! I will never forget how happy I felt that day! Currently, I do not promote on social media as much. This is due to the commitment to social media marketing. I am lucky that the Etsy search engine and word of mouth are where I receive most of my sales!

Managing FromNewLeaf

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?

Currently, it is still the two of us managing the store! We try to split the roles well in order to manage the store efficiently. I primarily use the Etsy seller app and ship with Etsy labels. This is far more convenient than having labels printed at the post office.

The future of FromNewLeaf

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

I would like to hit 10,000 in sales soon! We are currently on 9.6K sales! I would also like to expand my business by working with publishing companies and more authors! This would be the dream!

Advice for new sellers

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

I recommend that you conduct research! There is so much information available out there on how to run a successful Etsy store. Keep reading and learning ways to improve your store!

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: 80

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 2.8