Shop Feature - Katy Marie Creations

Katy Marie Creations sells polymer clay for stretched (and unstretched!) ears. I came across her shop on a night of random Etsy perusing, and I've had my eye on the CMYK swirls (pictured below) ever since. Hopefully I'll have the spare cash to buy them soon. :) Check out what Katy has to say about her shop! Introduce yourself!
I'm Katy! I'm a 20 year old former art student living on the beach in Florida! I run a shop on Etsy selling earrings for stretched ears and other goodies. (:




When did you start making things, and how long have you been on Etsy?
I started making earrings about 5 years ago. My friend bought me a pair for my birthday from a seller on Etsy after I introduced her to the site, and I figured if that person can do it, I can too!
After leaving art school earlier this year (it was soooo expensive), I figured why not open my own shop? A lot of my friends had been telling me they wanted a pair of my earrings, so I assumed other people would too. So far it's been pretty successful!




What inspires you?
Lots of things inspire me! Colors, shapes, friends, animals, time of year... I've made earrings that were inspired by my work uniform! Sometimes when I'm having a bit of a creative block, I ask my friends on Facebook for colour combinations. Once I have the colors I want to work with everything else seems to come naturally.




What has been the most challenging part of starting up your own venture?
The most challenging part for me would be time management. I spend a lot of time working on making orders, new designs, my packaging, and advertising. Most of my items are made-to-order, so if I get a lot of sales in a short amount of time I get pretty backed up! When I get busy it's hard to find the time to make new designs so I can keep expanding my shop. I also spend a lot of time on packaging since I make my own envelopes. And of course there's advertising! How are people going to find my items if I don't try to show them?
But at the end of the day everything works out. It can seem a little overwhelming at times, especially since I have a day job and I'm trying to take glassblowing classes, but I manage to find the time to get everything done. (:





Any advice for newbies wanting to join the Etsy world?
Do your homework! Join Teams! Etsy has tonnes of resources to help you have the most successful shop possible! The selling FAQ, seller handbook, and the Etsy DOs and DONTs.
And be sure to put effort into your shop, it really shows! Don't expect to list a few items and have sales rolling in, you need to work for it.

How awesome is her stuff?!