Etsy Seller Interview with Maria of PaperHutDesigns

How PaperHutDesigns 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?

Hi, I'm Maria, owner of PaperHutDesigns. After having had a career in garment/graphic design, I wanted a job which was more flexible to fit in with being a mum. I was selling prints to a local shop, and the owner suggested I sell some prints on Etsy. Having looked into it, I decided to sell digital prints because I love that you can instantly access the prints you have bought! I started selling digital clipart and papers. I then added editable invitations and also watercolor prints. I tend to look at ongoing trends and source ideas from places like Pinterest, but most of all, I just think about what could be popular and get ideas from customer suggestions.

Favorite items

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

I really enjoy trying out new brush techniques and especially enjoy creating watercolor prints. This is one of my favorites! It is a newly listed watercolor downloadable nursery print, and so I am yet to find out if it will be one of my shop's bestsellers, but I do hope customers will love it!

I also love creating new clipart sets and editable invitations. These are a couple of my best sellers. My dog clipart is very popular. I think this is because there are a lot of animal lovers out there, especially dog lovers!

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 can’t really remember, but I think it was a few weeks before my first sale. I didn’t have that much in my shop to start with, and so I had to build it up in order to get a lot of interest. I have a lot of repeat customers, which is great, but I also advertise a lot of my products on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram to reach new customers.

Managing PaperHutDesigns

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 manage my shop by myself. I use Affinity Design for all of my creative work and have been very happy using that design program. I always try to answer any customer queries straight away, even when on holiday. I do not have to worry about shipping as everything I sell is digital.

The future of PaperHutDesigns

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

I would like to create more watercolor illustrations to list in my shop. I’d also like to add more designs but by trying different brush stroke techniques. My goal is to grow and expand my shop by adding more clipart sets and invitations. I just love creating new designs!

Advice for new sellers

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

My advice would be to be patient. You may hit on the latest trend and get loads of sales straight away, but quite often it takes time to get going. I think through time, you get to know what your customers want and you also get a feel for the market. It is not always your favorite that is the best seller!

Make sure your preview page photos are clear and you have taken your time with keywords and descriptions. If you have a watermark, do not let it overshadow your listing. Always give as much information as you can in the description so that the customer is very clear about what they are receiving and add as many preview pages as you can to give the customer a clear idea of what they are buying.

Most of all, you have to love what you are doing, so make sure you sell something that you really believe in and love yourself!