How ThreeLittlePirates 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?
ThreeLittlePirates is a family-run business based in Troon, on the west coast of Scotland. We sell sea glass art and jewelry as well as our own range of Scottish tartan jewelry and accessories. Everything is lovingly handmade in our seaside home.
Our shop grew out of my three little pirate children and their love of the sea. As toddlers, they would play daily on our local beach, exploring, climbing, and creating their own adventures. The rocky shore was their climbing frame, their lookout point, and their very own imaginary pirate ship. We walked together, collecting tiny sea glass gems—their pirate treasure. Much of this treasure was carried home in tiny pockets and later used for craft projects. At first, we made gifts for family, friends, and teachers, and as the little ones started nursery and school, I opened my first shop on Etsy to sell some of our treasures.
The pirates are older now, but we still love to walk together on the beach, collecting our treasure. The children are a constant source of ideas and like to be involved with our shop in any way they can. Our tartan jewelry arrived later, the brainchild of an 8-year-old aspiring jeweler, and has quickly become one of our best-selling items!
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
Creating sea glass art is where I started and will always be my favorite part of our shop. It reminds me of all our adventures on the beach, and I hope that my customers are reminded of their own seaside memories too. I love the uniqueness of sea glass. Every single piece is a slightly different shape or color, and no two pictures are ever exactly the same.
These tartan bracelets are one of our bestselling products. They are a great addition to our shop as they are easy to reproduce over and over. Customers love being able to personalize these with their own family tartans and often buy them for special occasions such as weddings and family gatherings.
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 was very lucky to start getting sales within the first few weeks of opening my shop. I only had five pictures for sale and no idea what I was doing. I don’t think I even made a profit on my first few pictures, but with each sale, I was inspired to create new pictures and try out new ideas. The lovely shop owners on the Etsy forums really helped me out with improving my pictures and titles and working on my pricing.
A large portion of my shop traffic comes from Etsy searches. Good titles, tags, and photos really help with visibility. Etsy off-site ads seem expensive, but they really work, and I’m seeing a lot more traffic from search engines outside of Etsy. I also use free resources such as Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. These don’t take much time to promote new products and really build traffic over time. I have lots of repeat customers too. Coupons offering a small discount for returning customers are well used and appreciated.
Managing ThreeLittlePirates
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?
Although the kids help out, I'm the only one who runs the shop on a daily basis. From finding the sea glass to sourcing materials, creating, making, listing, packaging, posting, and marketing, running an Etsy store can be a busy and complex business. It’s so much more than just crafting and creating! It’s really important to set aside time for all the boring stuff, like checking stock levels and preparing packaging materials. I’ve also had to teach myself about online marketing, social media, and even accounting! I always have a "to do" list to help prioritize what needs done each day.
The future of ThreeLittlePirates
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
What started out as a fun hobby has slowly turned into a part-time job. It’s really important to always stay ahead and regularly introduce new products and ideas. As well as new product lines, I’m expanding into wholesale, selling in bulk to small shops around the world.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Be patient, listen to feedback, and be willing to learn from your mistakes!
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Average monthly revenue is around £1500
Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Profit margin is around 60%
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 2-3%
ThreeLittlePirates
Scottish Sea Glass Art, Jewellery and tartan.
