Sunday, March 2, 2014

Classy Sustainability turns toward the late 19th and early 20th century with Renee and a peek into her shop - AcrossTheGap.etsy.com.  Beginning with this stunning victorian signed antique server.  


19th Century English Jackfield
Server - $82 plus shipping
Q.  What prompted you to become an Etsy seller?
A.  Ebay. I stumbled across a beautiful piece of vintage glass in a thrift store and after some research I found that it was worth quite a bit of money. I sold it on Ebay and in doing so, caught the “buy and sell bug”. I had one important part of the Etsy equation: my love for vintage and antiques! I spent some time researching other sites and found Etsy was easy to use and had a great community of sellers ~ I was especially drawn to the handmade products ~ so I opened my shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/175334652/19th-century-english-jackfield-server?ref=shop_home_active_10

Q.  You have been on Etsy for just over one year. How would you describe your success so far? 
A.  I would describe my success as that to comparing an infant to a toddler. I started out crawling and then once I got my feet under me I took off running and haven’t stopped yet! And this is not just speaking in terms of sales; the knowledge and the friendships I have developed here on Etsy are an essential piece to that success.
Blogger's Note- As of March 2, AcrosstheGap.etsy.com has accumulated 168 sales, has 531 admirers and over 40 stellar reviews.  


1940's English- Imari style Colclough china
$18.00 plus shipping
https://www.etsy.com/listing/181218765/vintage-english-tea-cup-and-saucer-imari?ref=shop_home_active_1
Q.  You have a great eclectic mix of items from the 20th century. How do you decide what to sell? 
A.  Everything I put in my shop falls within my core mission: to provide vintage items that tie the past to the present. This keeps my potential product mix wide open! When at estate sales, antique stores and resale shops, when something catches my eye I ask myself: which section of the shop will this look good in? Then I ask myself who would buy this item and why? If I have an answer to both questions then I buy it.

Q.  You mention on your abut page, expanding through the generations? How will that look? 
A.  One focus for my business in 2014 is to increase the inventory levels of early 20th century and late 19th century items. Already in 2014 I have added product that has crossed the line of vintage to antique. I will continue to expand the generations in my product mix as the year continues. Customers will see more glass and books from the 1800’s in addition to early 20th century jewelry.

Mid Century Hand Forged Everlast Metal Covered Dish
1950's - $21.00 plus shipping
https://www.etsy.com/listing/179269638/mid-century-hand-forged-aluminum-covered?ref=shop_home_active_1
Q.  How do you connect selling vintage with sustainability or going green?
A.  First, sustainability should be a part of any business model. Whether a brick and mortar store or opening up an online storefront. With that being said, vintage and antique sellers are ‘green’ by default. The items we sell are being saved from going into a landfill. The items are being sold for reuse or repurpose. I like to think of vintage and antiques as not only supporting the sustainability of the environment but the history of items for generations to come. So what do I do to go beyond the built-in ‘going green’ aspect of vintage? 

              I use recycled packing materials to ship to customers. 
              I save burning fuel by having my postal carrier pick up packages from my door. 
              I use all natural lighting to shoot my photos 


Vintage set of 1920's Dr. Miles Almanacs
$24.00 plus shipping



Q.  What advice would you give someone who wants to start an Etsy shop? 
A.  Be prepared to have fun….and work hard. You get out of it what you put into it. Take time to get into the Etsy community and browse. Favorite items from all type of shops! Study shops that have a similar product to you. Get involved in teams! One team that I discovered about half way through my Etsy journey is the Etsy Pickers and Sellers Team (epsteam). I currently spend over 60% of my time online in that team’s forum sharing information and hearts, creating treasuries and some laughs. DO NOT GIVE UP! Be prepared to have a slow start to sales followed by a few months of okay sales, followed by better sales…. You will second-guess your shop’s look and product mix. You will make changes to how your pages look. You may cry over your first broken item arriving to a disappointed customer. With all of that be prepared to grow and learn and in the end, succeed.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/174640153/vintage-set-of-almanacs-1920s-dr-miles?ref=shop_home_active_7



Blogger's Note - Among other things Renee and AcrosstheGap.etsy.com has some incredible glass bottles, featured in a blog last month - link to that article follows.    http://stellaerwins.blogspot.com/2014/02/glass-its-more-than-just-bird-feeders_16.html

6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Renee, I love your shop.

    Julie, I really enjoy your blog.

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  3. Julie, thank you for featuring my shop! And thank you so much for building this blog and a focus on sustainability!

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  4. Cheryl and Renee, thanks so much for commenting. It's a lot of fun.

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  5. What a great job Julie has done with this blog I love it.

    Renee I love your story. Sounds like you have a solid business plan too.

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  6. Mrs. Doc, thanks so much for continue to read and comment

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