How NuvaArt 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 Aleksandra, and I am a tailor by trade. I am a Nuva brand co-owner and I manage the NuvaArt Etsy shop.

In 2015, I became an aunt, and I started my adventure by sewing products for my nephew and other children. When I started sewing my products, I was a good tailor who was completely unable to sell her own products.Not because they were bad, but because I didn’t have the required skills and knowledge of how to advertise and find clients for them. 

I opened my shop on Etsy in Spring 2016-but had no idea how to actually run it. It seemed to me that it would run itself well because I had fantastic products. Well, I was very wrong. Making the first 50 sales was the hardest thing I did.

On the one hand, I was constantly working on new products; on the other, I was learning sales, marketing, SEO, how the search engine works, how to settle international sales, and what customer service should look like.

I made every possible error; I listened to the wrong people, I got involved in some mythical games, and I was in various groups of salesmen where I cared about every "etsy legend" and "hocus-pocus how to sell."

Some time passed, and I found myself in a place where my company generated almost no income, and I had to pay taxes and contributions required by the government (in Poland, unfortunately, they are not dependent on profit, only partially fixed, and no one is interested in whether you have earned enough to pay).

So I was faced with the specter of bankruptcy.

And that's how most artists end up. Thankfully, they are great at what they do, but unfortunately, they also think it will be enough.I was luckier; my sister Teresa gave me a room in her house, a warm dinner, time and support. She said: "Learn and work, and we'll see if we can get the company back on its feet." 

It was two years of enormous effort, working 14 hours a day, and continuous learning of virtually every aspect of sales, marketing, market research, product testing, and strategies. 

I didn’t give up, and now my shop is much more successful.

Nuva has two mothers and partners-me and my sister. In addition, we employ five more people on a permanent basis and a few more to help in the season. My nephew and niece are testers of our products and the sweetest models, which you can see in some photos.

Favorite items

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

This is a very difficult question to answer. Actually, I don't sell things that I don't believe in and that I wouldn't buy for our children myself. When designing my products, I put great emphasis on the quality of the fabrics used, as well as on the quality and safety of workmanship.

The environment is important to me. I do not agree with the world of fast fashion; these products are of such poor quality that they will not last more than one season. And then it ends up in the landfill, adding to the mountain of garbage just because the customer has to buy a new item. 

Everyone who has children knows the despair of saying goodbye to their favorite blanket or mascot. We sew our products so that they still look good after multiple washings, and when the time for baby blankets runs out, the baby blanket will become a dog blanket and gain a new life.

One of the best selling product lines is our own pattern of cute koalas in beautiful natural colors.

Cute Koala Collection

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?

I don't remember how long I waited for the first sale, but the beginnings were certainly difficult. For the first year, there were barely a few sales a month.

Apart from the fact that I had no idea how to sell on Etsy, there was also the problem of international shipping, time and cost of delivery, and gaining the trust of customers (not everyone wants to buy a product from a distant country on the other side of the world).

I had to answer the question of who my client is and what his needs are. What can I offer him that he will not find closer and cheaper? 

Currently, I admit it, and there is nothing to brag about. Most of my customers are from Etsy. That's 75% of the traffic, thanks to well-chosen keywords, descriptions, titles and SEO.

In fact, apart from Pinterest, I do not rely on other traffic. My Instagram is something we are just starting to work on, and Facebook is basically dead (but maybe I will find time for it eventually).

Managing NuvaArt

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 responsible for the store's management in terms of product, sales, and SEO management.

I am responsible for advertising and creating new products. I also do client support. I answer messages and solve problems (yes, there are always some, and you need to have strategies for that too). 

My sister deals with sales, order management, and work coordination in the sewing room. She is responsible for product personalization and also takes photos, as she is a photographer by profession.

My brother-in-law deals with bills and storage, is responsible for orders for fabrics and accessories, and contacts suppliers.

Apart from that, we have 3 people working permanently in the sewing room, plus we periodically hire 1-2 people to help when the season starts. One person takes care of packing and shipping. As all our products are made to order, everything needs to be checked, packed, and shipped separately. We sell our products all over the world, sometimes to very exotic places. 

I use several different tools to analyze statistics, keywords, and trends.

These are very useful tools, but you cannot rely only on pure statistical data. All this information must be analyzed through the prism of our target customer, knowledge about how the search engine on Etsy works, how big the shop is, and how powerful it is

The future of NuvaArt

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

This is a very difficult question. We had ambitious plans, but there was a recession and a war with our neighbors. So we put some of our plans and investments on hold.

At this point, we are definitely working on 100% cotton. We are also considering introducing larger bedding sizes.

Advice for new sellers

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

First, it's worth learning about how Etsy works.

Second, you have to keep working on the store (in February, when the war in Ukraine broke out, our conversion rate was 1.8; after half a year, when I had much less time to work on the store, because we were all busy elsewhere, our conversion rate dropped to 1.2).

Third, analyze, read, stay updated. Etsy keeps changing. Whoever stands still stays behind.

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

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: 15 000 - 20 000 USD it depends on the time of the year

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 1.8 - 1.2 it depends on how much work I put into my shop :)