Katrina of felted kitten on Etsy began with a desire to make handmade gifts and her creative adventure has now spread from cupcakes to crowns, and banners to boutique hair accessories which she sells in felted kitten on Etsy. Katrina's passion for the environment is clearly displayed in her selection of materials. She uses upcycled materials when possible, and her crowns are handmade using eco-friendly felt which has been made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.
Congratulations to felted kitten who just celebrated her first Etsy-versary on February 2nd! Katrina is extending her 20% off Etsy-versary Sale through March 31st just for you EtsyKids fans and friends! Fly over to felted kitten on Etsy and enter the coupon code, EKTHANKYOU20, to get in on the action! The woman behind felted kitten on Etsy is as colorful as her handmade creations, sit back and enjoy the interview Katrina granted us.
felted kitten: I enjoy the design process the most and love doing custom work because I like the challenge of trying to figure out how to make something that someone else has in mind. My least favorite parts are trying to stay motivated, prioritizing what to make as I always have too many projects I want to work on and trying to figure out the ever elusive working/parenting balance.
felted kitten: I began by making a batch of four upcycled sweater cupcakes for a birthday present and doing a couple local craft shows a couple years ago and started my Etsy shop as a way to stay motivated and have a much needed creative outlet. I celebrated my one year Etsy anniversary in February and would love to branch out with more products for both children and adults.
EKTT: What is your best advice for sellers of children's items on Etsy?
felted kitten: I’ve learned a lot during my first year on Etsy. My top three suggestions are to relist and/or post new products frequently to stay in the loop, include links to other products in your listings to try to keep potential shoppers on your site as long as possible and preview how your listing appears in a Google search when creating a new listing so the most important information about your product shows up. I‘ve also done some cross promotion with other Etsy shop holders whose products work well with mine (mostly tutus thus far). I'm always open to this if anyone else is interested.
felted kitten: I definitely feel like I have a certain treasury style when curating and am trying to branch out and vary that look a bit. I tend to pick out EtsyKids team items first and then use those to build the treasury. I think it can be overwhelming and also discouraging trying to make an elusive ‘front page’ treasury (I, for one, haven't figured this out yet) so I just keep mixing up my themes and plugging away. I like the creativity of making treasuries and think the teamwork of the EKTT is a great way to get EtsyKids team shops and goods out there.
Although I think it can occasionally be a challenge when working within the parameters of a partner’s shop (mine included, I’m sure) I think it also helps me think out of the box to create a treasury I might not have thought of otherwise. Sometimes a song or an image in a magazine will spark an idea for me so I’ll try to figure out how to translate that into a treasury.
felted kitten: I love reading, travel, architecture, photography, movies, magazines, swimming and hanging out with my family (my daughters are 6 & 3). This year I’ve also been very involved with the parent led art program at my daughters’ school and have taught a few of the first grade lessons (color theory, houses & Picasso inspired portraits). I also volunteer in the classroom and enjoy getting to know my daughters’ classmates and school friends.
felted kitten: I have many: I’ve never had a cell phone, I most always stream something on the computer when I’m working for the visual stimulation (usually sci fi or period based movies), I have a horrible magazine addiction and always have stacks of them around the house (which drives my husband crazy) and drink way too much caffeine (mostly diet coke).
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Thank you, Katrina, for sharing such helpful business and curating tips and for your outstanding support of the EtsyKids Treasury Team! Of course, we can't reach you in a hurry for additional answers to our pressing questions since you don't own a cell phone, but never fear...we'll track you down!
Stalk Katrina of felted kitten in these online haunts:
Etsy Shop: felted kitten
Facebook: felted kitten
Twitter: felted kitten
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