Blog — Christina Made It.

I'm excited to announce I've been selected by Etsy to be an 'Etsy Educator'. Following my training, I'll be holding my first workshop 'Etsy Educators: Getting your creative business online'

Join the Facebook Event Page

Saturday 7th October 2017
Thomas Reade, Abingdon, OX14 3RR
10am-4pm (lunch is included)
£45 per person [£35 if you sign up before 16th September]

The workshop is for BRAND NEW Etsy sellers, that don't already have a shop. Perhaps you have a craft/market stall but are not yet online, maybe you have hobby that you would like to turn into a business. I have a wealth of Etsy knowledge that I want to share with you so if you know anyone who has a craft/handmade business, (including craft supplies or vintage items) and is not yet on Etsy or is thinking about it and might be interested in this workshop tell them to get in touch!

The workshop will cover:
• Naming your shop (if you don't yet have one)
• Pricing your work
• Shipping
• Packaging
• Photography
• Branding & marketing
• SEO, stats & trends

We'll look at common mistakes to avoid and tips from getting the best from your shops. We'll also go through the actual process of getting the etsy shop up and running with a step by step. I'll be holding a Q&A session at the end. After the workshop you will receive a follow up to see how you are progressing. Please note there is a limited number of spaces for this workshop, so get in touch if you would like to reserve your place.

For those that already have an Etsy shop, I hope to run a workshop later in the year for beginner shops & shops looking to grow. So keep an eye out if that is something you might be interested in.

My stall was lacking a bit of colour so I first added some fake flowers in pink and purple and used milk bottles as the vases. The flowers I picked must have been a good choice as lots of people asked where I picked them! They do look really pretty and only cost about £1.50 and involve no upkeep so a great investment. I think I need to add some stones to weigh them down and also hide the very fake looking stems, perhaps some white stones.

Next I wanted to add some signs for prices and something that can be read from a distance as The jewellery Can get very lost on the stall due to its size. I thought if I had some signs customers would know straight away what I am selling and hopefully draw more attention to the stall or something to catch the eye from a distance.

I was thinking along the lines of the table names that you get at weddings. This is what I came up with...

I purchased a sample of fake grass online for £1 which worked out to be exactly the right size and amount I needed. It also looked realistic enough with some 'dead' pieces of 'grass' in amongst the green.

I found some mini metal buckets on EBay £2 for 7 which I think you can also pick up from hobbey craft in different colours. I picked the unpainted ones for more of a natural look.

I used a white pencil to draw around the bucket flower pots on the underside of the fake grass.

I cut them out with a strong pair of scissors making them a little smaller than the outline so that they would fit in the bucket.

Then all that was left to make was the signs which I did with Kraft paper which is brown coloured for a natural look. Having everything in boxes made it a lot easier to put out and pack away.

The wooden logs ties it all in for a mix of modern and rustic. I think the market stall is one area which I think I'll always be changing until I'm satisfied, I've got a big market event at the end of the year so that will be the one I'll aim to get it exactly right for. This is the improved result: