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How HappyKawaiiSupplies 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 am a ceramic artist/sculptor and used to make ceramic jewelry. I would buy jewelry findings that I used to make my jewelry in bulk and sold the excess stock on Etsy. My first store was Bunnysundries and later I opened Happykawaiisupplies. It's funny I never set out to have a supply store, it just kind of happened. And now I have 2 stores!
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
I enjoy designing new products for the store, but this can be challenging and short lived as I have many competitors that have modeled their shops and products after mine.
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?
One of the biggest hurdles was figuring out how to make my shop visible amongst all the other stores. I really had to work to make sure that the shop was really coherent and my branding was really great. The most common misconception about selling on Etsy is that it is easy. There are so many stores on Etsy that it is hard to stand out. You have to brand yourself, take great pictures, advertise and ultimately sell things that people want.
Managing HappyKawaiiSupplies
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?
I am constantly scouring the internet to figure out what trends are happening and then I try to figure out what I can offer my customers that is unique. I also have personal buyers that send me pictures of new designs in the market and they also work with me and help me have custom products designed.
The future of HappyKawaiiSupplies
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
Right now, I am in the process of setting up my own website because the fees and advertising on Etsy have really started to eat into my profit too much. I will still be keeping my Etsy store but my ultimate goal is to eventually move off the Etsy platform. While I love Etsy, it's just becoming not feasible especially with the higher fees they take out for sales that come from their off site advertising.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
If you want to start a business my advice is start slow and build your way up. I started Happykawaiisupplies with a small investment, one that I was comfortable losing if the shop did not take off. I bought a small amount of product and then reinvested the profits. Again: Have great photos, sell things that people actually want, and in general look professional.
