hello folks! i wanted to start my sponsor spotlight with a good friend of mine, felicia at lovella bowtique. read about her here and then go visit her super cute shop!

tell us a little bit about yourself: I am a stay at home mom, turned work at home mom, to a beautiful little baby girl named Ella! I was told I would never have children and Santa surprised us with a positive pregnancy test on Christmas Eve last year! I have been smiling until my cheeks hurt since then!
what’s the story behind lovella bowtique? I’ve always had an Etsy shop because I love crafts and making things myself!  When I found out I was having a little girl, I went nuts on Etsy buying her bows and clips. I realized quickly that I wanted to start to make things myself and I loved it. I opened up a new shop dedicated to just Lovella Bowtique.

what inspires you? Sweet Baby Ella of course. Not only is it fun to make things for her but the money we make allows us to not worry about finances. She can go to the zoo whenever she wants. :) I say “we make” because my husband, Jeremy mails everything for us and Ella is my little patient model.
what’s your favorite part about your shop? I love the rosette headbands! They are fun to make and I love designing them. I love shipping to other countries also! So far I have shipped to Ireland, Australia, Belgium and of course Canada! I like thinking something I made is in another country!

what’s the most challenging part? Having a 5 month old baby keeps me busy. I only get to truly work from 10:00PM to 1:00AM. That can be a challenge. She comes first so there are some days that I don’t get to create at all. I always keep turn around times in my shop announcements exaggerated just in case. I usually ship out no later than 48 hours though to keep customers happy.
any advice for others who want to start an etsy shop?
-Research what is selling! You can have great things for sale but if it’s not what people want at the time, it won’t sell! I don’t really like zebra print, it’s just not my style. I am more of a polka dot girl. I went ahead and started some zebra pettiskirts because they are selling well and I sell at least 2 a day!
-Find a model to wear your items if you can! Statistically it is more likely to sell because customers can see how big it is or how their child might look! Professional pictures SELL your product! A lot of photographers will message you about trades. I declined these offers because I would lose money. I offered a discount and we were both happy! I also went ghetto-fabulous and set up my own photo-shoot area for Ella. I threw a blanket over a chair as the background and laid her on her Boppy pillow. Natural light is best and I always edit my pictures to match the actual color as much as possible.
– Create a Facebook business page for customers to “Like”! You can show new listings, promote coupon codes and offer giveaways. About once or twice a month I have offered a free pettiskirt or headband for whoever gets the most friends to Like Lovella Bowtique. I usually sell double the orders those days and I get at least 150+ new likes. Great advertising!
-Only make things you enjoy! I was selling onesies for awhile and I started to loathe making them. I finally decided to not sell them anymore. They will come back in the future but I am coming up with better designs that have a higher quality.
-Don’t wait until you are done making everything to open your shop. Add to it as you make things. I still have tons of college, Minnie and holiday bows to add! The day I started to upload things, I sold a bow without trying!
-Renew your top selling things everyday. It puts them at the top of the list. Be careful on renewing though because it can get your Etsy fees high! I usually only renew 2 or 3 things a day. (20 cents per item)
-Tagging is very important. Don’t just tag a headband as baby and headband. Think outside of the box. Photo prop, birthday outfit, etc.
-Vistaprint.com offers free business cards and postcards. I created my own postcard and I use it for a product backing card.
-Also, having lots of color options for personalization is a great idea. Plus if you like something…you can get one in each color. ;)
any special goals you have set? My goal is to sell over 1,500 items this year. I would squeal if that happened! So exciting!

just for fun: what’s something that most people don’t know about you? I am one of “those moms” that is afraid my daughter will get a headache so I rarely put a headband or bow on her. :) The girl has enough to last her 10 years. I need to get over that.

thanks so much for sharing all that fabulous information! i’m happy to have you on my blog, and hope everyone goes and checks our your precious baby and adorable goodies! hope everyone has a great friday!!!

peace and love
xox