Chapter 10

Top Etsy Seller Interviews

I had the extreme privilege of asking eight top sellers on Etsy a series of questions. These sellers come from a diverse range of categories, such as soap making, photography, candle making, silk screening, vintage tags, knitting and crocheting, glass beads, and vintage clothing. You will find out how these sellers got their start in their craft and how they came to be a seller on Etsy. Each seller's interview also takes a look at their daily life as a top seller, and answers some of the questions we all want to know; for example, “What are a few things you have learned about shipping you could share with new Etsy sellers?” and “How do you not get lost in the crowd?” The answers to these questions and many more will help you as you start your journey as an Etsy seller.

Eight Top Etsy Sellers

Paula, Venbead

1,900 Sales in the Handmade Glass Bead Category

When and how did you become interested in making jewelry?

I've had a love affair with jewelry making since 1994 when, on my first wedding anniversary, I walked into a little bead store in Boston's Haymarket Square and picked up a handmade bead. It started with polymer clay and moved into semiprecious gems and silver. The glass bug hit in early 2005 while I was reading a Bead and Button magazine article about a borosilicate bead artist, Emily Lake. I had never seen borosilicate glass before, but I felt drawn to it. After that, I started buying boro beads from self-representing artists to ...

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