Welcome to our second
edition of Artist Spotlight - The newest feature to our blog! Here we will highlight fellow Etsy artists
and give them an opportunity to share how they got their start, their
successes, and the challenges that they face.
If you would like to be considered for this column or if you would like
to recommend someone, please let either myself or Zoica know via Etsy
convo.
This week’s
artist spotlight is on Jonna Vaugn. Her
shop is called tnglassstains. Here is one of Jonna’s beautiful glass
pendants:
Tell us a little about yourself and your
creative business and how did you get your start?
My name is Jonna Vaughn, and I am a Cincinnati native
transplanted to the small town of Fairview Tennessee, just outside of
Nashville. I am a glass artist specializing currently in fused glass, although
I got started in stained glass windows when I first moved to Tennessee in 2000.
Although I do love my little town (we just got our second
traffic light wootwoot!), it is about a 40 mile drive to "town"
(Nashville). There are no real source for supplies locally, so I do all of my
ordering online from reputable glass companies but I wouldn't trade the country
living, the quiet outside, wildlife, and friendly front porch waves for
anything.
My full time corporate job left me with weekends only to market my glass doing festivals and art shows. After several years I knew I had to find another way and the ETSY shop was born!
Being an ETSY rookie, I underestimated the amount of time that I now know should have been dedicated to my ETSY shop. Not long after the shop opened, I was discouraged by the lack of sales (although my first sale was to Johnny Cash's daughter!). I guess I must have just thought that if I listed it, they would come. Well....they didn't... and somewhere in there I was learning the world of fusing and the commitment to my shop crumbled.
My full time corporate job left me with weekends only to market my glass doing festivals and art shows. After several years I knew I had to find another way and the ETSY shop was born!
Being an ETSY rookie, I underestimated the amount of time that I now know should have been dedicated to my ETSY shop. Not long after the shop opened, I was discouraged by the lack of sales (although my first sale was to Johnny Cash's daughter!). I guess I must have just thought that if I listed it, they would come. Well....they didn't... and somewhere in there I was learning the world of fusing and the commitment to my shop crumbled.
What
has been your biggest successful moment so far?
Fast forward a few years...I had learned a new level of
glass artistry to share, gained some confidence and stopped poking my lip out
so I was back to the ETSY drawing board. I blew the dust off of my shop, set
out my pretty new things and opened the doors once again.
With the holidays coming, I am feverishly stockpiling finished pendants like a little squirrel. I typically take a break from festivals and shows during the hot summer months and spend that time preparing inventory for the fall festival season. Once I make it through the holidays, it's time to take the winter hours and start preparing for the springtime shows. It took me a few seasons to get out of the "oh my gosh I don't have enough stuff to take to this weekend" mode, where I stayed up like a vampire and ran the kiln so much I got a holiday card from the power company.
My current goal is to get to and keep my shop inventory level at about 300 pieces. One step at a time, right?
With the holidays coming, I am feverishly stockpiling finished pendants like a little squirrel. I typically take a break from festivals and shows during the hot summer months and spend that time preparing inventory for the fall festival season. Once I make it through the holidays, it's time to take the winter hours and start preparing for the springtime shows. It took me a few seasons to get out of the "oh my gosh I don't have enough stuff to take to this weekend" mode, where I stayed up like a vampire and ran the kiln so much I got a holiday card from the power company.
My current goal is to get to and keep my shop inventory level at about 300 pieces. One step at a time, right?
What challenges do you face selling online?
Successful selling online is tough! It can be a challenge
to find the time to keep inventory levels up, photos taken and descriptions
posted....oh yeah, and go to the "other" job 5 days a week as well. I
have learned that getting into a rhythm and balancing the tasks helps so much.
I try to keep people engaged in the shop and Facebook page www.facebook.com/Tnglassstainsdichroicglass.
Fans of the FB page get a discount code for 10% (hey, it cover's shipping!) as
do repeat customers. You will also find a monthly dichroic pendant giveaway on
the FB page. Following the entry rules is like falling out of bed, and the
winner is selected on the page the 1st of every month. Best of all, the winner
gets to select their own prize from anything in the shop!
What
advice would you give someone just starting out on Etsy?
If I had to give any advice to an ETSY newcomer, it would
be to learn from my mistakes.....engage with ETSY- participate in the forums
and teams. You will get lots of support, make some great friends, gather best
practices from others and get the sales going. Treat your shop as you would a
physical business and commit the right amount of time to grow it. It won't all
come in a day, a week, or a month. But mostly...don't get discouraged and keep
finding ways to improve. I am still doing all of these myself!
Thank you Jonna for sharing your shop and your background
with us!
Well that about does it for this edition of our Artist Spotlight. Don't forget you can recommend yourself or a friend for our next issue. Just convo me or Zoica. We'll let you know if you were chosen.
Thanks for stopping by.Well that about does it for this edition of our Artist Spotlight. Don't forget you can recommend yourself or a friend for our next issue. Just convo me or Zoica. We'll let you know if you were chosen.
Until next time...
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