How SpoonieSisterShop 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?
I’m Michelle Griffith, owner and founder of Spoonie Sister Shop. We sell cute, modern, comfy chronic illness awareness apparel and gifts. I started Spoonie Sister Shop in 2018 because of my own personal chronic illness journey, involving many rare conditions. Now I help fellow chronic illness warriors spread awareness of their conditions, feel supported and empowered along their medical journeys, and connect with others in similar circumstances.
My chronic illness symptoms started in 2012, and my doctors couldn’t identify the cause of my symptoms. I went undiagnosed and misdiagnosed for many years, as my body steadily declined more and more. By 2016, I was homebound, essentially bedbound, and all my normal life activities had stopped. At that point, I was only 22 years old and couldn’t even shower myself or dress myself due to completely debilitating abdominal pain. My family was always above and beyond supportive every step of the way, but I didn’t know anyone else experiencing anything even remotely similar, so I still felt quite isolated and alone in my struggles.
Then, in 2018, I discovered the online chronic illness community. I saw these incredible advocates openly talking about their struggles with chronic illness, spreading awareness of their conditions and helping others with symptoms and tips to get proper medical help. It was incredible! Up until that point, I basically tried to hide my symptoms and conditions from everyone I knew. But these amazing advocates inspired me to open up and start spreading chronic illness awareness as well!
So, naturally, I hopped online and started searching for a cute awareness t-shirt to more easily spread awareness of the conditions I had been diagnosed with at that time. But to my surprise, there was basically nothing out there! There were no options at all for most rare diseases, and the awareness products that did exist for common conditions were either too cheesy, too outdated, or too in-your-face. I wanted options that were cute, modern, and comfy. And I knew there had to be so many others about my same age who wanted the same thing too!
I had graphic design and business experience, so I jumped right in and opened Spoonie Sister Shop! It was mostly intended as a side hobby to distract myself from my own symptoms, and hopefully spread a little awareness and cheer along the way. But relatively quickly, it caught on with the chronic illness community and evolved into something I couldn’t have even begun to dream of at first!
I design all of our products myself, and I team up with printing partners to help with the physical labor side of things (which my body isn’t capable of doing due to my chronic illnesses). I love interacting with my customers on Etsy and social media, and forming long-term relationships with my repeat customers.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
Spoonie Sister Shop has a wide range of fully customizable awareness products so that everyone can always raise awareness of their conditions—no matter how rare! These are definitely some of my favorite products in the shop. I receive so many messages from customers with very rare conditions who have never had their condition represented on a t-shirt or sticker before, and they often describe how that opportunity moved them to tears. Which then, of course, moves me to tears! It’s a really special feeling to know that someone cares about your conditions and experiences. Everyone deserves to have that.
My other favorite shop section is our new floral anatomy series. I hand-drew these anatomy designs based on vintage anatomical diagrams paired with modern florals. These designs truly speak to the beauty of our bodies despite our battles with chronic illnesses. My customers love how they are open-ended. A floral brain design might represent epilepsy, but it can also represent all mental health conditions like chronic migraine, Multiple Sclerosis, Chiari Malformation, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. It’s a more subtle way for people to represent their conditions and also just looks like art.
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?
My family and friends kindly helped me achieve my first few sales the day I opened my shop. But that was strictly to help me get the ball rolling at the very beginning.
We mainly attract customers through a combination of social media, Etsy SEO, and Etsy Ads. Instagram has always been our primary social platform, and it is truly what has allowed Spoonie Sister Shop to thrive. We are also on TikTok and Facebook. Etsy SEO and ads attract the rest of our customers and help people who may not be on Instagram find us.
Managing SpoonieSisterShop
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 handle the graphic design, photography, marketing, strategizing, customer service, shop upkeep, and administrative tasks. My printing partners handle the printing, packaging, and shipping.
I create most of my product graphics in Adobe Illustrator, which is a comprehensive vector graphics and editing program. It allows me to fully customize every aspect of a graphic design and make designs from scratch. Some other apps I also utilize for my business are Procreate, Procreate Pocket, GoDaddy Studio, and InShot Video Editor.
The future of SpoonieSisterShop
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
Spoonie Sister Shop very recently was accepted to sell internationally on Amazon, which had been a huge goal of mine for a very long time. Now I hope to grow and expand the Amazon shop, to bring Spoonie Sister Shop products to a wider audience. It’s been quite a learning curve for me to sell on Amazon, but my goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to shop Spoonie Sister Shop products.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
It’s going to start off slow, and that’s okay. No one is an overnight success. Be patient, strategize, and plan ahead, and you'll be surprised at how much your shop has grown!
It’s okay to ask your friends and family for help getting your first few sales, but after that you should always focus your marketing efforts on a specific target market. And most likely, all of your friends and family will not fall into that target market. Find ways to connect with your true audience, and focus your efforts on them.
SpoonieSisterShop
Chronic Illness Awareness Apparel and Gifts
