From jewelry to knitwear, an Etsy success who still finds time to help others

I had the delightful opportunity to chat face to face with Sandie of ZaftigDelights and KnitzyBlonde on Etsy to discuss her work, teams and her top tips for Etsy shops this holiday season.  

After working in the fast paced fashion world as fashion editor of a magazine, Sandy started her online selling journey when she started her own clothing company and sold her designs on Ebay.   She moved to Etsy when she discovered it as she felt it was a better fit with less stress and lower fees.  She also moved away from her own clothing line.

On Etsy she moved away from designing clothing and started to list her handmade jewelry and knitwear which eventually developed into two distinct shops:

ZaftigDelights is the home of her romantic jewelry line where she sells a variety of jewelry ranging from vintage styled to glam Swarovski rhinestone earrings for bridal parties and so much more.   Here are a couple items you can find in her shop.  On the left is a pair of beautiful vintage Swarovski crystal, emerald cut rhinestone earrings and on the right is a Parisian earring and necklace set featuring altered art of the Eiffel Tower.

Sandie's other shop, KnitzyBlonde, features a variety of knit items including baby hats, scarves, fingerless gloves, hats, pouches, bags and more.  Here are a few knit items you can find in her shop.  On the left is a set of fingerless gloves and matching headband ear warmer and on the right a delightful baby hat with bow.

Sandie also started a new shop for vintage and destash and hopes to fully stock it soon. 

When not working on her own shops, she tirelessly works to help other shop owners through leading a variety of Etsy Teams.  She runs the Sellers Assisting Sellers team and the Sassy Critiques team which are both for assisting new shops or those who need help and providing shop critiques and she is a leader on the Etsy Treasury Team which is a group of supportive shops that help promote each other through treasuries.

As leader in these groups she has found that artistic people often have difficulty with promoting themselves.  She promotes her work online mostly through a variety of social networking sites such as facebook, Google+, Twitter, her blog, the teams and more (see complete list of where to find Sandie below).  The spends a tremendous amount of time interacting with people, building relationships  and chatting with people.  She said it's not a hard sell but about gaining interest.

Sandie also said that even with the economy the way it is, there are still people shopping online and it's important not to give up.  "There are still people with money, people who want to spend money in the United States on quality items" Sandie said.  She emphasized the importance of being persistence, continuing to better oneself and working hard.

The two pieces of advice she would offer a new shop owner are:

1. Have good photos.  She recommends all shop owners look at the front page of Etsy and to look at the quality of the photos.  "If your photos are not that good, then you need to improve." she said.
2. Understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Etsy Relevancy.  Without understanding and using this, your work will not be found.

Sandie is online at the following places:

Etsy shops:

http://ZaftigDelights.etsy.com

http://KnitzyBlonde.etsy.com

http://KnitzyBlonde2.etsy.com

Social Networks:

Blog: http://ZaftigDelights.blogspot.com

Twitter:  http://Twitter.com/zaftigdelights

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ZaftigDelights.KnitzyBlonde

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/109768120418464250671/about

Ravelry:  http://www.ravelry.com/people/KnitzyBlonde

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/sandie_russo/

Etsy Teams:

Etteam:  http://www.etsy.com/teams/6249/etsy-treasury-team-etteam

SAS Team:  http://www.etsy.com/teams/6159/sellers-assisting-sellers-team-sassy

Sassy Critique Forum:  http://www.etsy.com/teams/7702/sassy-critiques