Saturday Artisan: BeautifullySpun

Meet Brianna of BeautifullySpun, our Saturday Artisan!

She is a young girl with so much talent in knitting, crocheting and sewing. Let's get to know here a little bit more, shall we?

Tell us a bit about yourself and what arts/ crafts that you make?
I am 19 years old. I am the oldest of 6 children. I have two cats and one dog. I live in Harrison Arkansas. I am a Christian and I love the Lord. I love to knit, crochet, tat and sew. I make hats, scarfs, baby blankets, cocoons, and other things like that.
What is the story behind your shop name?The story behind my shop name is that God created me with a Beautiful purpose and then I chose "Spun" because of the fact that I love yarn.

Who is your target market?
My target market is mostly women, teen girls and children.

Which part of creation process that you like to do the most?
My favorite part of the creation process is when I see my project taking form. And I love it when it is finished and I am able to try it on or see others admire it.



For us who love to travel, could you share a bit about your beautiful town/ city? 
Harrison is a beautiful town. Its very big but yet it has a small town feeling to it. At least that's what I think. If you go to the Historic side, you will see beautiful Victorian styled houses. The neighborhoods are filled with trees. Dog wood and Magnolia trees are sprinkled everywhere. The other side of Harrison is all practicality. Stores, restaurants, and parks are everywhere. But Since I am not allowed to take pictures of other peoples property to post on the internet. I did not take any pictures of the town.:(


Could you share on how your organize your products, we all can use a little tips here and there in this department?If you are talking about how I organize my products at home, I keep it all in a box in my closet. ( So that it does not get lost or damaged. ) If you are asking how I organize it in my shop then here it is. Everything I make has a select person that I would like to see buy it. If it is for a baby, then I put it in a section called "For Baby." If it is for women, then I put it in a shop for Women. That's how I do it. I don't really have any tips for organization. But I do think that when you organize you should make categories that most people would look for. The same thing with tags. Try to stay away from specifics. Like when you make a category for teens. Don't say, 13 year olds. say teens. Just try to keep it simple.


What is your best seller?
My best seller is the Newsboy Hat.

How does your day go in general?
Well, i wake up and get dressed. Then I do some chores and when everything is done, I sit down and work on a project until it's done. Sometimes it takes me more then one day to complete something. But i usually do it in one afternoon. Making things for my shop is not really a "job". And that's ok because if it seems like a job, then I will lose that enjoyment and I don't want it to get that way. I get to "work" whenever I want to.

How do you balance your personal and work life?
It's all in the same lump. I do it from home, so I get to mix them. If I have to stop and deal with lunch or helping one of my brothers or sisters with something, then I do. I am able to do whatever I want with my work day.

What inspires you?
My family are the ones who inspire me. They will see something that they like and they will come to me and ask if I could every recreate it. They challenge me and sharpen me. 

What is your goal for 2012? And are you on the right track?

My plans for 2012 are to do my best. I don't really have a big goal. But I would love to see my shop take off.

What is your favourite tool that you cannot live without?
My favorite tool is my size k crochet hook. I use it for almost all of my projects. It's the one I keep around.

How do you promote your shop?
I try to post my listings on an Etsy team or I tell others about it. I favorite a lot of people and add them to my circle. Once I started posting my listings on Teams, I started getting a lot of views.

Any advice for others running their on-line shop?
My advise would be...
#1 - don't be greedy. When I pay for material to make something. I usually charge double what I payed for it. So if I pay $3 for yarn and I make a baby hat, then I charge $6. or $6.50. Of course it depends on the yarn you buy. But that is how I do it and everyone seems to like it.
#2 - Try to let your customers know that you are their for them. Encourage them to ask questions about your product. This will let them know that you are trustworthy.
#3 - Don't list a product on Etsy unless you actually have the product finished. I have seen others list things made to order, but that has never worked for me. Also, what if you were to list something like that and you were not able to make it. 

Saving money is important; tell us one thing that you do to save money?
on't spend your money when you know you will need it for your shop. When I make something I charge double what I payed for the materials. Once that item sells, it take the first half and buy more materials so that I can make that item again and then get more money. The I take the rest of the money and I either put it away or invest it again. That way, I am not going over budget. I always stay on top.