January18
Item: Vintage Melmac Melamine Lot
Seller: SpunAlpineFlowers
Meet Etsy seller Majal Perry, the seller behind the shop SpunAlpineFlowers.
“Alpine Flowers offers up beautiful hand-dyed, handspun yarns, handsewn lovely-ness & vintage finds from the hills of east Kentucky,” the seller writes in the shop announcement. “The yarns are made on this cozy little farm I call home, often dyed with wilderness I find from season to season. The Alpine Flowers shop will be updated quite frequently, so do please come back again soon!”
I met this seller via my Etsy Item of the Day shop submission page.
“I grew up in Eastern Kentucky, a beautiful land and people that have an amazing story to tell,” Majal told me. “We are pioneers, farmers, artisans, musicians, and amazing cooks! We are surrounded by gorgeous hills and mountains that geographically isolated us years ago, so that the culture was strengthened by the lack of outside influences.”
“When I went to college, I studied Art History. Since I was a little girl, I’ve loved anything creative or beautiful, and most of the time, the two go hand in hand,” she said. “I took a break from studies to live in an abandoned coal camp that was operating a non-profit to promote Appalachian folkways and artisans. I never felt more inspired than in the time I spent tied so closely to my roots.”
“My shop’s items are inspired by the Appalachian lifestyle and its traditions I carry on today. I spend a lot of time seeking out special vintage and antique items that I would hate to see lost forever. I also learned the old ways of dyeing and spinning fiber, embroidery and quilting and other such handiwork, and offer those goods in my shop, too,” she said.
When she’s not listing great things on Etsy.com, Majal loves to garden.
“I rent a farm that I operate an organic market garden from. I also love watching indie and historical films, reading, cooking French, Indian, and Appalachian foods, and writing,” she tells me.
Majal told me about another Etsy shop she loves called pinkgrapefruitstyle.
“I love that she updates her shop frequently, with a lot of fun and pretty inexpensive items. The photographs of items in her shop are beautiful, too!” she said.
Majal is new to Etsy, but shared some advice for other Etsy sellers:
“Well, I am still fairly new to it, too, but I’ve learned pretty quickly that figuring out how SEO works is crucial. Also, being your own marketer on social media leads a lot of people to your shop and gives you the power to do some back-linking for yourself,” she suggests.
So what’s next for Majal and her cute Etsy shop?
“I definitely want to expand what I offer in the handmade section- I’ll be offering handsewn baby items, pillows, quilts, and more yarn and wool top,” she said.
Love Majal’s shop? Connect with her online! Check out her Blogspot and follow her on Twitter at @AlpineFarmGirl.
- Jackie
