Crafty Local Residents See Success On Etsy

Karen Hayne had been making jewelry for 17 years and selling it on the beaches of Ft. Lauderdale.

But after she moved to Temple Terrace a year and a half ago, the Bristol, U.K. native tried a new approach.

“When I moved to the Tampa area, I did not know anyone here,” she said. “Because of that, I started to have more time to spend on the computer, so I began to get involved with the Etsy community.”

Etsy.com is an online community where people from all over the world come together to sell their homemade or vintage arts and crafts.

Hayne makes and sells a variety of her homemade items on the Web site, including bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Her jewelry is made primarily out of glass or prism beads, along with Swarovkski crystals. She also sells hand-knitted hats and scarves, along with tie-dye T-shirts.

Her jewelry is also on display at the Milk n' Honey Tea Room on Busch Boulevard.

Hayne, a waitress at the Roadhouse Grill in Temple Terrace, said the hours she works at her restaurant job still allow for her to be active on Etsy. Right now, she has two shops on the site, including her shop “madewithlovefromkaren,” which is sometimes featured on the Etsy homepage.

According to Dawn Yearwood, another Etsy artist, Etsy.com is constantly improving its Web site to help its artists promote their listings.

“I feel like they really care about my success,” said Yearwood, a Temple Terrace stay-at-home mom. “I find the newsletters and blog to be very helpful; it is always full of great advice on every aspect of running a business.”

Yearwood makes hand-knitted dolls and sells them in her “sweetdolls” Etsy shop. She started her shop with eight dolls and tries to add a few to her shop each week.

“I started making dolls as a gift for my niece,” Yearwood said. “Over the years, I would make dolls for my husband’s coworkers and also my family and friends. The kids really seemed to like them, so I decided to open my own shop on Etsy.”

According to Yearwood, listing her dolls on Etsy has been a success for her so far and allows her to continue being a stay-at-home mom for her three kids.

“I really enjoy working from home,” she said. “I started selling on Etsy with the hope that it would become a source of income for me.”

According to Hayne, it is important for artists to advertise for themselves if they want success on the site.

“I constantly use social networking Web sites to promote my Etsy shop,” she said. “If you don’t, it is more difficult to sell things. Every time I make something new, I tweet it.”

Hayne said she has had a lot of success on the site, which has allowed her to open another shop, “Everythingflorida,” just a few months ago. It features Florida-themed jewelry, such as flamingo, dolphin, and turtle earrings that are made out of Swarovski crystals.

“When someone buys something of mine, it is just the biggest compliment,” she said.