“Creative types in Abilene find success online with Etsy shops” |
| Creative types in Abilene find success online with Etsy shops Posted: 15 Jan 2011 08:30 PM PST The surging popularity of website Etsy.com has done more than boost revenue for the New York-based company offering unique, handmade crafts for sale online. It's also been a key development for budding Abilene entrepreneurs like Kimberly Claspill, a jewelry designer who also creates artistic knitted accessories. "It means more sales. More people finding my shop. More income," said Claspill, 41, one of at least two dozen or so Abilene-based sellers on the website. Sites like artfire.com also offer opportunities for sellers, but so far Etsy has been the leader in traffic and sales for e-commerce retailers specializing in unique goods. "Everybody who has crafts and wants to sell, that's a very good platform for them," said Sanjukta Pookulangara, an assistant professor of merchandising and hospitality management at the University of North Texas. About two years ago, more visitors began having questions about Etsy at the Texas Tech University Small Business Development Center, said Russ Altman, the center's assistant director. "I think there's quite a few local people who create items and they sell them on Etsy, and the word has spread about Etsy from the success people have enjoyed," Altman said. Before 2006, Claspill did jewelry design "basically, as a hobby." "Then in 2006, I started on Etsy and it became more of a business-type thing," Claspill said. "I'm medically retired from the post office. It's something I can do at my own pace," she added. Claspill set up her own Etsy site under the name dragonladydesigns. Each seller creates their own user name, or "shop," and must learn how to upload photos and write descriptions of their products. Etsy charges 20 cents for each item listed by a seller, a fee that keeps the listing active for four months. If a sale is made, Etsy collects a 3.5 percent fee of the total sales price. In exchange, sellers get a worldwide market to sell their unique creations. The site also allows the sale of vintage items and supplies, but absent are the electronics and bulk goods found on other e-commerce sites like eBay. The site has zoomed in popularity and sales growth since its founding in 2005, with sales increasing from $3.8 million in 2006 to $180.6 million in 2009 and more than $300 million in 2010, according to company figures. "I've noticed this last year I have a lot of new buyers," said Claspill, who said she has sold more than 2,500 items since joining Etsy. With 410 items for sale as of Thursday, Claspill has one of the largest Abilene-based shops on the site. "I've always loved to design things. I love flowers and bright colors. Things around me is where I get my inspiration," Claspill said. Polly Jones, a painter, said she moved to Abilene in 2007 when her husband, Kenny, began teaching art at Abilene Christian University. An ACU alum, Jones said she knew the area but missed art contacts she had developed in Tennessee, where the couple lived previously. "In Abilene, it's a little bit hard to sell original art. But this opens up my audience, so I'm able to reach people from all over," Jones said, adding that although she's having a show at the River Oaks Art Gallery, "there's not a lot of showing opportunities for exhibits really in Abilene, as far as galleries." The company is big on creating a sense of community. "The focus is on connecting people to other people, more so than just the products that are for sale," said company spokesman Adam Brown. Jones said she's as likely to have sellers in Australia as in Abilene. But she did meet one Abilene buyer online first. "She's become a friend, and she's bought several paintings," said Jones, whose shop name is PollyPainting. Carie McCowen works full-time as a restitution clerk for the Taylor County Probation Office. Online, her shop, jewelrybycarie, offers her a chance to follow her business dream. "It's just helping me to one day be able to do that as a full-time job," McCowen said. To start, Altman said he recommends sellers get an assumed name certificate from county officials and also a sales tax permit. It's also worthwhile to inquire with the state comptroller's office about any necessary tax requirements, Altman said. Jones said, "I was never very computer savvy at all, and it's been — it was a real learning curve, at first, figuring out how to do the photography uploading and all that." But she said she "just gradually learned how to do it." McCowen said she relied on experts on the site willing to offer help for a small fee. "I'm not real computer literate, but they actually have people there that you can pay for their services who are also Etsy vendors," McCowen said. Gary Penn uses a lathe to make bowls, rolling pins and stoppers for wine bottles. He said he's only had his shop, named grpenn, open about a month. Already, however, he's sold about a dozen items. Penn said he's also found business by people sending him a message through the site. "They contact me and want me to make something similar to what's on the site," Penn said. Penn, 60, worked as a regional manager for a company in the building material industry until about six months ago, when the company downsized and his position was lost. "You get thrown into some things and try to make the best of it," Penn said. While he's looking for some steady work, Penn said he also would like to continue growing his woodworking business online. "This has really been enjoyable, and it's pretty good therapy. So the more I got into it the more I liked it," Penn said. "I always try to do something different and, lo and behold, somebody likes it." 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