Featured Shop for July- SheShell

Jennifer Hawkins
Grey Girl Designs
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Happy July to you all, I hope you are enjoying this busy time of year! I've been staying inside a lot lately due to some sweltering heat and I am starting to feel a little stir crazy! To get my mind off of it I had better share with you the featured shop for the month of July. Please join me in welcoming Tamra of SheShell.

Tamra - SheShell





Hi Tamra! Why don't we start by you telling us all a bit about you and your life-

I have lived a very ordinary life: married at 19, 3 children by 28, widowed at 54. I worked for 28 years as a maintenance and operations supervisor for a school district. I adore my two sons and daughter and their spouses. I have one grandson, one great granddaughter and a step grandson whom I love as my own.

Paper Flowers Garland by SheShell

How did you first discover you had a love for creating beautiful home decor items?

It all started with a 64 box of crayola crayons, my first love at age 4. By kindergarten I could name all 64 colors, I was obsessed with color and the idea of creating my own things. Coloring inside the lines was not enough for me.

Decorative Art Blocks by SheShell

You work with many different mediums in your shop- which do you enjoy the most?

Rather than buying decor for the home, I always made what I wanted. I liked the feeling I got from planning and making something and the satisfaction of decorating my home with the results. I always have felt the need to be creating and making something and have played around with just about every kind of craft.

Wood Letters, Love, home decor by SheShell

What led you to opening a shop on Etsy?

I had been selling glass windchimes and seashell boxes at craft fairs but soon the cost of these shows was becoming too much. I had heard about Etsy and decided to try it out. It didn't take long to get "in the swing of things" by joining teams, making treasuries. I was constantly experimenting with different crafts and having some sales but when I started making the paper flowers, sales increased significantly. They were selling so well they became the basis for my shop.

What do you feel is the secret to success on Etsy?

If success means lots and lots of sales then I think a seller needs to keep up with the trends and translate whatever those are to their items and promote through social networking. Etsy and all that comes with it can be time-consuming. I think each seller will weigh their sales and time spent with their enjoyment factor to decide what success means to them.

Painting- watercolor original, "Pink Dogwood Tree" by SheShell

What's your Madcap tip for getting customers to notice you and make that purchase?

I get a lot of enjoyment from participating on Etsy by being on teams, making treasuries and, of course, selling items. I promote through treasury making knowing that when I promote others most of them will reciprocate with a treasury. Pinterest is the only other site I have. The rest is way too time-consuming for me.

Paper Flowers Garland by SheShell

I just love your paper flower garlands- can you tell us a bit about what is involved in creating one of these?

I love making the paper flowers as it starts out with chosing the papers for the set. Each petal is handcut from a pattern, scored and attached together. The centers are made using the paper scaps. At one point I was making 2 to 3 sets a week to keep up with sales and custom requests.

Tell us everywhere that you and your work can be found-

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SheShell and on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/shebeaches/

Any exciting plans for the future of your SheShell shop on Etsy?

The future of my Etsy shop is uncertain. If sales don't pick up in the fall I will have to make some decisions. I love to make things but when they don't sell it all becomes futile (or you end up with a closet full of stuff). Right now me and my chaotic work table are still playing around with some new ideas and I have some Christmas items already figured out.

Wood sign, Always Kiss Me Goodnight by SheShell

Thanks so much Tamra! It's been fun getting to know more about you!

I hope you all enjoyed my interview with Tamra. If you get a chance, pop in SheShell and check out her original home decor accessories and paintings. I think it's great getting to meet our teammates and finding out what is behind the Etsy storefront! Thanks so much for visiting the It's A Madcap Life blog. Be sure to come back in August to read about our next featured shop. Until next time...

Keep singing your Madcap songs!


Jennifer