Etsy Seller Interview with Predrag of WeUseWood

How WeUseWood 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?

My name is Predrag, and I am the owner and founder of WeUseWood on Etsy. I make custom wooden plugs and jewelry for modified people. I mainly make custom ear plugs, tunnels, teardrops, and other jewelry for stretched lobes, but I also make and have made jewelry for other body parts, like rings and septum jewelry. I started We Use Wood in August of 2016. Two or three years before that, I had begun stretching my lobes. Options for ear plugs in my country were few, and, as I had always loved creating things with my hands, I decided to try and make some wooden plugs for myself. I actually made my first two pairs using a broom handle with sand paper wrapped around it, just to see how they would turn out. And they turned out pretty well.

At that time, I had been stuck in a boring job for some years, so that fact gave me the will to try to focus on something new that would be more fulfilling for me. Although my first attempt at making plugs with a broom went well, I assumed that the broom and sandpaper method was not the actual method of making plugs. I googled it and found out that if I wanted to make wooden ear plugs the right way, I would need a lathe for woodturning. Other than that, I also needed some chisels, saws, sandpaper, and the correct material, as not all wood species are meant to be used for making wooden ear plugs.

While googling wooden ear plugs and plug makers and looking for wooden plugs that looked high-end to me to see if I could realistically imagine myself making them, I stumbled upon Etsy. And that was the coincidence that helped me make a decision about doing this for a living in the future, because I found a platform that had a focus on handcrafted items. I researched Etsy itself a bit because I hadn't heard about it before and saw that it was a global platform, that it was really rated highly amongst websites globally, and that it had thousands and thousands of creative people on it. I gathered some money to buy a chuck and two blanks so that I could start woodturning. The actual lathe was completely put together by my father because I didn't have money to buy a used one. After six months, I bought a used lathe that I still work on. And two years after starting with woodturning, I decided I was able to do it full-time, so I quit my old job.

I started WeUseWood with two ideas in mind. I would make jewelry that I would want to wear myself, and I would offer customizations. Every manufacturer has its own style of plugs, tunnel thickness, shape of teardrops, amount of sanding they do, bulkiness of flares, etc. I like thin tunnels, so I make them thin for everyone, unless a client specifically states otherwise. The main customization that I offer that makes the most important distinction between custom plugs and mass-produced ones, besides the actual material and finish quality, is custom wearable thickness. Everyone has different ear lobe thickness, and sex and weight literally make no difference there. I like when plugs fit like a glove, and I like the tunnels to look sleek. I like when they look almost as if they are a part of the lobe, and I try to offer everyone the possibility of wearing plugs that look and feel like that.

Favorite items

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

Every wooden plug is a piece of nature captured in time, and plugs, big or small, have a beauty of detail that only natural material can offer. I myself like ebony and Bethlehem olive wood the most. Ebony is definitely a bestseller in my case, and I suppose it is that way because of a few things. First of all, ebony is black, and wood being black is visually pretty effective. Also, black goes well with everything. The other thing about ebony, and especially ebony tunnels in my case, is that I make ebony tunnels really thin so they look classy and sleek. I make them like that because I like tunnels to be thin.

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mayan flare plugs and concave ebony teardrops are two other popular ebony styles.The Mayan flare style looks especially dramatic as the front flare in that style is way bigger than the actual plug size, so it also covers a part of the ear around the lobe and attracts a lot of attention.

The second wood species I really like is Bethlehem olive wood, and it is probably the most striking wood species out of the species used for ear plugs. It's stunning with the contrast of black and yellowish, and the thick black lines creating distinct, unpredictable shades and shapes. 

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 first sale came 12 days after I opened my WeUseWood shop on Etsy. I think I started with 20 listings at first, and my first sale was for a pair of regular olive wood plugs that were purchased from Sweden. And my second sale, funny enough, came from the girlfriend of the first client, 10 days later. Currently, after more than 3000 pairs of plugs made and a lot of satisfied clients, my shop mostly runs itself, as I have a lot of regular and returning clients. Other than my WeUseWood Etsy shop, I have only my Instagram account, @weusewoodplugs, with a link to my Etsy shop in the About section.

Managing WeUseWood

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 have done everything by myself since I started WeUseWood, but I plan to change that in 2023. The reason is that for some time now I have had almost no free time as I work practically 24/7. I think that besides the actual manufacturing of the plugs, I spend most of my time communicating with the clients. The third most time-consuming aspect is probably the packaging of all the orders. So, in the near future, my plan is to find someone to communicate with clients on my behalf.I have been thinking about that move for some time, because I do like direct communication with clients, and clients also like to directly communicate with the person who is making their jewelry. But it is the only option that would give me more time for myself and some other projects that I have in mind.

As for shipping and fulfillment, I usually print clients' details, do invoices, print them, safely wrap the jewelry (just in case), put stickers in the box, fill out another invoice that goes directly on the envelope, and then I go personally to the post office and hope that the only guy that can type fast with both hands is working that shift so that I don't have to spend eternity waiting for other post office clerks to type all the details in the computer.

The future of WeUseWood 

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

I have a few goals for the future of WeUseWood that I plan to realize in 2023. My two main goals are building a website and relocating to Croatia, and in that way, working from inside the European Union. Serbia, the country from which I come and where I live and work, is not a part of the EU, so there are some limitations for my Etsy shop. The main limitation is that I only have PayPal as an available payment option for my clients.

My other goal is to actually start a second brand under which I would make all kinds of jewelry from all kinds of materials, which would give me absolute creative freedom. I will sell my second brand of jewelry from the same WeUseWood shop for now because another disadvantage of my living in a non-EU country is that I can't open a new Etsy shop.

Advice for new sellers

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

The advice I would give to a new seller, especially one who is a manufacturer of a product, is:
Think long-term.
Always maintain quality. Substituting quantity for quality will inevitably hurt your brand.
If you make a mistake, own it. Give the client a replacement item, a discount on the next order, or a complimentary gift. They will appreciate it, and it will establish trust. That client will either return to your shop in the future or put in a good word for you if they ever have to tell anybody about you.
If you have a quality product and think and act like that, with a bit of luck, things will fall into place.