How PillowOasis 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?
We are a mother (Jolanta) and daughter (Bernadeta) duo from Lithuania. We created our Etsy shop, PillowOasis, in 2019, and we make hand-made-to-order pillow covers in Lithuania. We are very happy to be selling them to people all over the world! My mother, Jolanta, had been a seamstress and interior designer for nearly 25 years when we decided to open our own Etsy shop. We had been creating pillow covers for private clients for a while when we decided it would be interesting to open a shop. We have been sewing curtains, bedspreads, and pillow covers for clients in Lithuania, but selling some of these products online requires a lot of precise measurements, which can make it difficult to sell curtains, for example. Pillow covers are easy to measure, even when they require custom sizes; they are easy to ship, even in large quantities; and they allow us a lot of freedom and creativity in making them.
We believe very strongly in making good-quality products that will be used for years to come. We source the materials and fabrics from suppliers in Lithuania and the rest of Europe and create all covers in a studio at home; therefore, each and every cover is made by ourselves and not by a second or third party, as is the case with a lot of online shops. When creating new products, we try to look for fabrics that would fit a certain time of year, certain trends, and the tastes of our customers. We also try to create pieces that we find more interesting or creative to ensure that there is something for everyone's liking. As sewing takes up a lot of time, I (Bernadeta) try to take care of managing our shop, helping out our clients, and making sure that everyone is kept happy!
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
There are a lot of products that we would consider favorites. Some of them we like because of the fabric that they are made of (we generally use furniture fabric, which is thick and durable!) and others because of the colors that look gorgeous. We (and our customers) really enjoy our linen pillow covers. The linen is natural and made locally in Lithuania, so it is of great quality. We like to pair it with various colored velvet piping to make it look more interesting, and that seems to be a big hit and a great idea! Some of our all-time favorite products are below:
One of our most popular listings Excellent fabric, very soft and thick. beautiful color options and are very easy to care for.
These linen covers are more of a recent creation, and we love how beautifully linen goes with velvet piping. Because it's a natural linen with different color piping, it can be paired with more natural interiors with different color accents.
Chenille fabric of excellent quality, with vivid and deep colors that complement a wide range of interiors.
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 did not take very long for us to make our first sale; however, at the start, sales were quite slow. The initial work that you put into the shop started to pay off a little later; it takes patience for clients to see your listings more and more. We believe that it is critical to have high-quality images and clear descriptions so that ordering is not difficult. It is beneficial and critical to research how to use the title and tags together to increase the visibility of your listing and to research what tips are available to have a more popular listing.
Etsy offers very useful ad services that do make listings more visible, but it’s important to work out how much you can spend on ads per day compared to your income. A lot of it is trial and error. Some tips that you get do not work, and some work brilliantly. Try different things to see what works best for your shop.
Managing PillowOasis
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?
We both manage our shop together. Jolanta looks after easier, day-to-day tasks, and I try to reply to more complicated queries and requests. We manage our shop ourselves, as we find that it is then easiest to follow what is happening and what needs more attention. We use the Etsy app on our computer and on mobile as it offers pretty good tools for monitoring our work.
For shipping, we use a few separate providers, one of them being our national post office and the other being a provider for express shipping options as our national post is not as efficient. We recommend sourcing an express shipping provider, as some clients really appreciate being able to receive their parcels quickly.
The future of PillowOasis
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
Our goal right now would be to sort out all of our listings and only keep the ones that we absolutely love and the ones that are durable. We try out our own products; we use them, wash them, and see how well they wear. If we see that any product lacks quality, we take it out and don’t sell it any more, as we don't want our customers to be disappointed in us long-term.
Our long-term goal is to only have great products that look great, are of great quality, and that we enjoy making. We want to be a successful independent small shop, not a large corporation, because that would shift our focus from creating to managing the shop on a larger scale, which is not what we want. So far, our goals seem possible to reach, so we are very happy.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Do something that you love! Put all of your heart and effort into it, and it will pay off!
Make a plan of things to do and read tips online!
Do not give up, be patient, and make sure your shop and listings look like something you would like to buy yourself!
PillowOasis
Decorative pillows made with love.
