Etsy Seller Interview with Renée of LoitsuCrafts

How LoitsuCrafts 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?

My name is Renée (aka Loitsutar), and I am the craftswoman behind Loitsu Crafts on Etsy. I create and sell one-of-a-kind, pagan-inspired jewelry and accessories from reclaimed or easily recyclable materials such as aluminum, wood, animal bones, and antlers. Sustainability is at the very core of my business, so I mostly source my metals either from local businesses, thrift stores, or responsible or certified international sellers. And since I live in the countryside of Finland, all the natural materials I use are those I can find readily available in nature: branches from fallen trees, river stones and pebbles, bones from animals who lived and died naturally in the forest. Some might say I am an Etsy veteran! I opened my shop in the autumn of 2014, after a couchsurfer I was hosting at the time told me about it. I had just shown her some leather journals and boxes I had just made, and she told me that someone in the world would buy them given the chance. And she was totally right!

I had no crafting experience prior to that, but felt constantly motivated to simply start creating whatever my heart desired. I was then always experimenting with reclaimed or recycled materials and listing the results on Etsy. Some of the items found new homes; others didn’t. But that was definitely an important part of the learning curve. A year later, one of my leather box decorations got stuck in my hair, and it was then that I accidentally came up with a series of products that changed everything.

Favorite items

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

The hair snakes and spirals, because they are the "accident" I just mentioned. They made me a business owner, while at the same time being quite fun and meditative to make! Also, they are my customers' all-time favorites to this day, despite the unfair competition that they currently face. I unfortunately had my photos and designs taken by big manufacturers in the East a few months after I listed them on Etsy, and that has been a little source of frustration for me every now and then. But on a brighter note, that only proves they are indeed a successful product. I think one of the main reasons is that they are unusual and unique, especially when it comes to the materials. As a long-haired person, I can vouch that the lighter a hair accessory is, the better!

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?

Surprisingly, my first sale came overnight. I had just listed that leather box I had previously shown to my dear traveler. Then I mentioned it on Tumblr, went to sleep, and forgot about it. The next day, I woke up to that joyful email from Etsy. There was no "cha ching" sound since the mobile app for sellers didn’t exist at the time (or at least not that I knew), but the excitement was there regardless! Nowadays, most of my customers come to my shop directly from Etsy searches themselves, as well as from Instagram and Pinterest.

Managing LoitsuCrafts 

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?

Since all my products are still quite artisanal and slow to make, I have been the only one managing Loitsu Crafts. at least for the most part. But I decided to hire an accountant a year ago, since tax bureaucracy is my least favorite part of the business. I also take apprentices for a few weeks occasionally, mostly silversmith students from our local jewelry school who need an internship place during their studies.

For running the shop and for designing, there are a few apps I use on a daily basis:
Notion is a powerful tool for planning basically anything. This is where I plan my social media schedules, brainstorm ideas, save posts, photos, videos, and other content I can use for learning and inspiration.
Rhinoceros 7 is essentially 3D modeling software but can also be used for quickly sketching jewelry designs, especially when I want to show an idea to a customer. I also use it for drawing jewelry templates for pieces that require symmetry and precision.
PhotoScape is a free photo editing program that I love because it allows me to edit photos in bulk. When taking my product pictures, I aim for shots that require minimal or no post-processing or retouching. I mostly use this software for cropping photos with different aspect ratios as well as tweaking the color levels slightly when absolutely necessary. There’s just so much one can do with a few camera settings and props!
ProcountorSOLO is a Finnish invoicing and bookkeeping software that my accountant uses. It’s where I save all my purchase receipts, and it also allows me to send invoices directly to a customer when needed. The main downside is that it is not linked to Etsy at all, so my sales from there have to be input separately. But, fortunately, it is possible to obtain precise sales data from Etsy for each month, all conveniently and neatly packaged into a.csv file, which I simply send to my accountant via SOLO.
When it comes to shipping and order fulfillment, I ship my packages once a week using the Finnish national postal service. It is a quite slow option, but currently, it is what I have within reach. Since we’re located on the very edge of Europe, logistics are generally quite expensive, especially when shipping internationally.

The future of LoitsuCrafts 

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

I would like to focus more on my own website outside of Etsy and also offer wholesale items to brick-and-mortar jewelry stores from all over the world. While Etsy is still a great platform with awesome customers, it is quite unwise for any business to keep mortar jewelry stores from all over the world. While Etsy is still a great platform with awesome customers, it is quite unwise for any business to keep all its eggs in one basket, as they say.

Advice for new sellers

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

Be unique. Find your own passion and stand out from the rest! These days there are so many people selling the perfect recipe for Etsy success, but so far I've only noticed a flavor or two in those models. Try experimenting with new things always, and definitely pay attention to your "craft accidents" and mistakes—they might just be your next big thing!