Etsy Seller Interview with Hannie of WoolFeltWonders

How WoolFeltWonders 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 am Hannie Croonen, and I live in the beautiful city of Zwolle in the Netherlands. I am a former art therapist, but for a long time now, I have been an entrepreneur. I have two Etsy shops, one with DIY kits and Wool FeltTintangel-Etsy Nederland and one with digital patterns of my design WoolfeltWonders-Etsy Nederland

The story starts in November 2019. I was a stay-at-home mom for my little son and was always busy crafting in my spare hours. Mostly with wool felt. I have made all kinds of dolls. At first I designed designs from other designers, but soon I started to make my own design. I wanted items that were a joy to boys also, not only dolls and flowers but cool stuff like cars, boats, motorcycles, and animals. I wanted to sell these small, ready-made items but there wasn’t much interest in it. One shop owner, who also was selling DIY kits of wool felt design, asked me to make DIY kits of them. A great success right away, a bit overwhelming to be honest, but I have enjoyed it so much all these years.

For many years I sold my DIY kits to shops in the Netherlands, where I live. But as time went by, sales were increasing and I decided to start my own webshop, to sell to customers without the step of first selling it to the retailers. Nobody else will be a more excellent seller of your items than you are. You know every detail, you have put your love into it.  Then I discovered Etsy and I thought that it would work great for me. In 2011 my DIY kit shop www.tintangel.etsy.com was launched and the first order came right away and this never stopped.

Because so many customers from outside the Netherlands liked my design too, but shipping costs were high, I started my PDF pattern shop in 2016, www.woolfeltwonders.etsy.com. This shop is my success story, almost 20k sales now and the shop is growing each year.

I only sell patterns of my own design of course.

Favorite items

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

My favorite items are all items with mice and especially the Travel Mice Girl and Boy.

Almost everyone loves them, and they are really the best-selling items in my shop, and, after these, all other mice designs. I think they are funny, decorative, and suitable for play. That is, I think, why they are so successful. I also try to make funny, adorable designs. You won't find serious items in my shop. They are always a bit playful but decorative and a joy to make.

I like to make animals a lot and dress them in all kinds of clothes and let them do all kinds of activities. You can make almost anything from wool felt. That is why my PDF pattern shop is called WoolFeltWonders.

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 am so lucky because I have already been designing wool felt animals and dolls for many years, and a lot of customers know me. So on day one of opening the shops, the sales were coming and still are.

I have an advertising budget for daily advertising. The amount goes up and down during the year. The crafting season mostly goes from late August to early spring, so at this time I advertise more. I think it works really well.

Managing WoolFeltWonders

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 still do it all myself: designing ( what I love most of all), drawing the patterns, writing descriptions, making pictures, translating descriptions into English ( Dutch is my mother tongue), and listing them in my SOP. And of course, shipping the DIY kits and materials from my DIY kit shop, wrapping them lovely with a personal note, and doing the customer service. I don’t spend so much time on social media. Maybe I should do it more, but my days are already full now and I feel I am a designer and seller, not so much of a content maker. But you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and I have a blog. And don’t forget: keeping an eye on the materials in stock and ordering them when needed is also part of my daily job.

I use the Etsy app on my phone a few times each day to see if there are new orders and questions to be answered. I close my DIY kit shop when I am on holiday, but the PDF pattern shop is open all year round, so to stay a top seller, I need to check the app on a daily basis. At home, I prefer working on my PC. And of course, a camera and lots of sewing tools are part of my job. And a great tool, if your mother tongue isn't English, is using Grammarly. And join an Etsy seller group on Facebook in your country and go to Etsy markets when you can to meet your customers in person. This is very fun to do and most inspiring.

The future of WoolFeltWonders

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

My goal for the near future is to make the PDF pattern shop bigger, with more sales and more income only from this shop. I hope to stop the DIY kit shop in about 7 or 8 years and have a full income from the PDF pattern shop by then. This will give me more time to design as well as more flexibility in how I spend my time. And also, my goal, since the very beginning, is to bring joy with my design, bringing moments of relaxation for my customers, the joy of crafting, and bringing a smile to their faces when they see my design. I have the best job in the world, bringing happiness!

Advice for new sellers

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

I did have the luck to have a well-known business when I started on Etsy. If you are brand new, it will take some time and you really have to persevere and believe in yourself and in your product. It must be your goal, your dream, your almost everything to start. It is not something you do besides another full-time job if you want your shop to be successful.

Make sure your items are spot on and invest in customer service. Never ever let a question go unanswered, and never neglect your customers. Just take the extra step!

It is easier when you have items in your shop that no one else has. I see a lot of jewelry shops. There is so much competition in that area, I think, so make sure your items are really unique and well-made. This is important for all shops. But on the other hand, see what other shops in your niche do, what their prices are, and what their best-selling items are. You can learn a lot without copying.

Make sure you have new items in your shop as often as possible, so people will come back to your shop. I have heard you need at least 100 items in your shop to be visible and give it at least a year to see how it goes.

Do advertise; it really helps your shop grow. Always keep in mind that costs outweigh the benefits. Some people complain it is expensive, but I can't find any other platform with so many possibilities and such a wide reach. I could never have imagined delivering worldwide and having a full-time job and income without the reach of Etsy.

And enjoy it. Be proud of every step; your first sale and the latest sale; every review; every sweet word you hear from customers; and say thanks whenever you can.

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

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: In both my shops together, the revenue per month is between 4 and 8 thousand euros depending on the time of the year.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: Digital items are so much fun to sell. The only costs I have are for Etsy, about 20% I think, and of course the material costs for the design. In my DIY kit shop, the profit goes from 50 to 60 % because I need to buy materials. I have always worked at retail prices to earn enough. This is roughly equal to all material costs multiplied by 4,2. Of course, there are additional expenses such as heating, furniture, PC, internet, and so on. 

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: The conversion rate is 2.4% for my PDF pattern shop and 1.3% for my DIY kit shop.