Featured Chick: Viridian

Nicki of Viridian joined the Awesome Chicks in January when I had the pleasure of being a customer of hers. She makes these great necklaces (right) and I just had to have one and I still just love it! Anyway, on with the show!

Do you have a blog or Twitter? My blog was abandoned in its early days, but I hope to revive it eventually. I'm just getting involved with Twitter- it's a ton of fun!

Where are you located? Northern Illinois, a coupla hours west of Chicago

Do you belong to any Etsy teams? One very inactive team...it's not doing much for me

Do you have a day job, if so what do you do? I'm a design consultant for a small custom-order furniture store. I *heart* discontinued swatches!

Where is your studio space? Our apartment, for some odd reason, has a bathtub in a small dormer room off the kitchen, totally separate from the bathroom. I've commandeered the rest of the space for my work.

How did you discover Etsy? A thread on Craftster, way back in the day.

What do you sell? Leather flower pins, wallets, fabric bags

How did you begin creating? I've been crafting since I was a wee little one- I can't imagine NOT being creative. It's actually been too long for me to remember how I got started!

Why do you enjoy creating? I just love making beautiful things! I have an entrepreneurial spirit, so selling my pretties when they started piling up was a natural progression.

How long does it take you to create a piece? Usually less than an hour- I have what I refer to as "crafting ADD." I get bored easily with long-term projects!

When do you do most of your creating? In the evenings, and all day long on my days off from my day job!

What is your most popular item in your shop? So far everything seems to get an equal amount of attention. Lately, my leather wallets have been getting snatched up as soon as I list them.

Any tips or advice you can give others who are new to Etsy? Research and learn as much as you can! Look around at your competitors, and adapt your style for a personal twist. And great photos are KEY to selling online- there are tons of resources out there for learning how to take good pics of your work.

What do you do to promote your shop? I hand out business cards, chat when I can, use SocialMarker occasionally (thanks, TimothyAdamsDesign!) and try to list frequently.

What is your favorite part of being a member of Etsy? Honestly? The extra money- the fact that there are people out there that like my work so much that they're willing to pay me for them! That feeling never gets old- I think it's that entrepreneurship I spoke of earlier. It's a great place to have a business.

How do you balance your business work with creating and home life? Um...I fit it in when I can. It's not very well balanced at this time...

Any organization tips? Keep your listed items clean and orderly- if something sells, you don't want to be scrambling around trying to find it!

What inspires you? My materials! I get ideas by pulling out the drawers on my bead caddy and rummaging around until a combination comes to mind, or pawing through a pile of fabric until my hands touch something that says "it's my turn to be a purse."

Do you have any favorite Etsy shops other than your own? Lots! Too many to list here...

What are some future goals that you have pertaining to your Etsy business? Just to grow my business as much as I can- I'm looking forward to that 300th sale, 500th sale, etc... Coming up with new ideas for items in my shop is the hardest thing for me right now- I like my mix the way it is! But evolving and changing is important if I want to succeed.
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Check out all the great things at Viridian on Etsy!