Item: Bridal Hair Clip
Seller:  LilyLynnDesigns1

Hello September!

This month, I am going to be featuring shops that have come my way via my Etsy shops submission page!  I started this page back in May because I was meeting great sellers, but had no good way to organize featuring them on the site.  So… I started the submission form as a way to get introduced to great shops and learn more about sellers at the same time.  It has worked out really well!

Hopefully you guys come back each day in September to hear about other Etsy sellers and see their great work!

Etsy seller Stacey Hrvatin says she has a hard time describing herself in just a few words.

“I’m the type of person that usually takes some time to warm up to and really “know.” I have been through a lot in the last two years. I found out about this blog through a friend and fellow Etsian [NoStarDesigns] who is in a similar situation,” Stacey told me. “We met originaly through a group of military widows. My fiancee, CPT Michael J. Medders, was killed September 24, 2008 in Iraq. About a year and a half after his death I was beging to feel like I was re-joining the world of the living, and started making hair flowers for myself to wear to parties. I made some for a bachelorette party of a friend and had some of the other girls ask to wear them too. One suggested I start an Etsy shop, so I investigated and began listing things. So far it’s grown to a solid hobby that is helping to motivate me. I have fun creating clips, thinking of new ideas, and telling people about what I make.”

If you missed the feature of NoStarDesigns, you can read it here.

Stacey says when she is not working on new ideas for her Etsy shop, she loves spending time with her beagle, Lily.

“The shop is named after her and she is my little angel. She’s always by my side, she is spoiled rotten and still (mostly) well behaved, and she’s a great cuddle buddy!” Stacey said.  “I also love to read, although I tend to go through stages. Sometimes I read a bunch and then I get busy and begin to forget about my books for a bit. I also really love spending time with my other friends, weather drinks and laughs with my local girls, or traveling and skydiving with my widow friends. I’ve found people to spend my time with that helped me regain the joy in my life.”

When Stacey is shopping on Etsy.com, she says she always makes a stop at two great shops.

“NoStarDesigns is one of them. I have one of her wallets- gold with some orange and teal flowers. I really love it!” Stacey said.

“I also love Three60Five. Three60Five is a simple jewelry shop and I needed a piece made for a family friend that I wanted a specific way. She was able to make the piece and ship it the same day that I sent her a convo and it arrived 2 days later. It was such great customer service and I like the simplicity of the items. I also really appreciate that the items seem well priced. I know how difficult it is to find the right price for items and this shop seems accurately price the items off the value. It’s great, and I always check for new things there.”

Both of these shops are great!  I am loving the wide range of necklaces from Three60Five.

When I was creating my shop submission form, I thought it would be great for sellers to share their advice to others selling on Etsy.com.  Stacey says sharing advice is hard for her because she feels like she is still learning so much.

“I have found that Twitter has increased the views my items get, but I’m not sure that it actually increased the sales,” she told me.  “I have had good luck using my personal Facebook page and finding people I have some connection to who need/want something from me.”

So what’s coming up for LilyLynnDesigns1?  “I’m really into the feathers this fall and I’ve been busting it to get some great new feathered clips and headbands made so that I can post them,” Stacey shared.  “I also am looking into expanding beyond Etsy and talking with some local shops about carrying some of my items.”

Stacey says it was hard to for her to figure out the local craft show protocol this summer, but she also hopes to be part of a few shows this fall and winter, if possible, to get a taste of what she could do there.  “This way I can get prepared for next summer when there are the most shows,” she said.

How exciting!

Stay connected with Stacey and her work!  Check out her blog and follow her on Twitter @LilyLynnDesigns!

- Jackie