Team Successes~HugsandHolidays

With over 620 sales in her Etsy shop HugsandHolidays, Sandy is one of our team's top ten sellers. What did she have to say about her success?

1. What is your full name?
I have 7 legal names (7 names, not 7 husbands) but my public name is Sandy.

2. What is the name of your Etsy shop?
Hugs and Holidays

3. Tell us a little about you.
I'm 60 years young and I still enjoy things that children liked before video games. I was born and raised in the South and I've made friends all over the world during the years that I traveled. I am one of the few old southern ladies that can't cook.

4. How long have you been crafting/making bags?
I've only been making bags 5 years. I've been crafting as long as I can remember.

5. What is your artistic background? How did you get started?
I have no formal training...except my mother was a professional tailor and I was taught by her. She made suits for heavy weight wrestlers. I just have a love for "pretty" and my mother taught me a great respect for "perfection". I started sewing with my mother when I was 8 because I had no one to play with. My mother said I was doing pretty good when I lined a Barbie doll wool coat in silk. (I still have the coat and the doll.)

6. What has been your biggest success on Etsy, or your other websites?
A few years ago I made a Victorian corset just to see if I could make one. My daughter said I should put it on ebay, and I told her that if she wanted it on ebay she needed to do it because I didn't deal with computers. Well, it sold in 3 minutes and she said I had to make another one. I made another one because I "always" do what my daughter tells me because she's smarter than me. They kept selling and I kept making them...I couldn't make them fast enough. They take a little time to make and they had to be perfect. I couldn't believe people would buy them for $350 and then ask for more. After one was worn in a "Miss Something or Other Beauty Contest" I realized that this type of sewing was too much for my back...so I quit...just like I quit making wool suits for my high school teachers. It was just too much because I still had to get my homework done.

As far as my Etsy success, I think I was flattered when other professionals made bulk orders from me for their businesses. They would tell me what they wanted to do and I would just start making bags.

7. Besides having a great product, what do you feel is the reason for your success on Etsy?
Pure and simple - God's abundant favor. I take no credit...He just blesses me with the ability and all that I need to do this. If it makes somebody happy, then I have glorified Him and had some fun in the process.

8. Do you have any Etsy selling tips?
Not really. Just sew things that you would buy and show them to others in a neighborly way.

9. What inspires you?
Everything and nothing.

Congratulations on your success Sandy. Thanks for sharing.