Etsy Seller Interview with Leia of Signed & Numbered

How Signed & Numbered 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?

Signed & Numbered started in 2008 as a gallery and poster shop in downtown Salt Lake City. I had spent years before that as a full-time artist, printing limited edition posters for rock’n’roll shows. My husband, Phil, worked as a carpenter, plus he owned and operated an all-ages music venue called Kilby Court (which is where we met). 

After the birth of our third child and as our oldest was starting school, we decided we really needed jobs that were during daytime hours! We sold the venue, and opened a gallery of limited edition “signed and numbered” rock’n’roll prints by artists from all over the world.

Not long after this, folks were asking where they could get their poster purchases framed, and Phil (the carpenter) said, “Well, I could maybe build a frame or two...”

We started building frames in our garage, and did a lot of trial and error to get it right. We built everything from raw and reclaimed wood, and perfected steps for finishing frames in many different colors.

It was so long ago, I can’t remember how we first heard about Etsy, but in 2009 we set up our Etsy shop and started selling a few of our handmade frames. A year later, it took off, and the framing aspect of our business was catching on so much that we had to rent a large shop space to fit everything.

All of our frames are made from scratch from wood that we source locally, either new wood or reclaimed. We get our reclaimed wood from local fence companies who want to do their part to keep it out of landfills, as well as discarded pallets.

Favorite items

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

I really like our products that are able to be personalized: the Laser Engraved Frames and Keepsake Boxes. They make awesome gifts that are fun and thoughtful. I do most of the engravings myself, and I love how clever folks are with their personalized messages.

These are some of our best selling products, I think because of the ability to “make it your own”, and that there are so many options.

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 was a long time ago, but I do remember it was slow-going at first. People are hesitant to buy from a shop that doesn’t have sales yet, so it’s a real Catch-22!

I do remember that adding more products and updating our photos made a big difference. We started with outdoor photos, then switched to studio lighted shots, and that’s when we began getting more regular sales.

Currently, we try to have a lot of listings to be seen more often, and we promote certain listings via ads.

Managing Signed & Numbered

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?

Our Etsy shop is managed by Maurren, who is amazing and has been with us for over 5 years. She handles the customer service and oversees the Etsy side of our operation. 

Since we also have a local brick & mortar shop, in total we have around 20 employees (including our store staff, high school interns and my father-in-law who does the bookkeeping). We started out with just 4 folks: Phil, myself and 2 assistants. 

We do our own packaging and shipping, and we use the ITD Global shipping portal which integrates with Etsy seamlessly.

The future of Signed & Numbered

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

We would love to expand our operation and possibly, open satellite shops in our region. Eventually, once our kids are out of school and we are empty-nesters, we would love to move to a more rural area and keep our Etsy shop going. We love that having an online shop means that you can work from pretty much anywhere!

Advice for new sellers

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

Be patient and don’t expect sales to roll in immediately! Take really good photos of your products from different angles and be sure to answer customer inquiries as soon as possible. Let your personality show through your work, and include your back story on your About page. Folks come to Etsy for the handmade experience, and to not feel like they are buying from a big box store.

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

‍Question:

How much is your monthly revenue?

Answer:

Around $50k

Question:

What is your average profit margin?

Answer:

Around 20%

Question:

What is your shop’s conversion rate?

Answer:

Around 4%