With the prospect of going into hospital to have a major operation looming, I went to a leaving do for my colleague at Romany Theatre Company, Daniela. As we all sat talking about the end of the project we were working on we all discussed what we would do next. When it came to my turn, I said I would like to make my hobby of making retro clothes from vintage patterns into a business. This is something that I had never really thought about seriously before, but often thought of in an 'Oh wouldn't it be nice if' sense.
I have no formal sewing or design training and felt this idea would always remain a pipe dream.
Daniela mentioned Etsy as a means of starting up a business and it got me thinking. I decided that whilst recuperating I could start to set up a little business on Etsy and see where this takes me.
The Operation took place at the end of June and at the beginning of July I started to make my plans a reality and opened my Etsy Shop with just 4 items. Over the next couple of weeks I researched shop policies and wrote my own.
Week 3 and I am now allowed to do more walking, so Hubby took me to a Carboot Sale where I purchased some vintage clothes for my shop. I also found a great charity shop locally that had some nice vintage items including a tennis dress which I bought. I cleaned the best bits that I bought and listed them. As I listed, I discovered a tiny label in the tennis dress in the shoulder which said Teddy Tinling. This became my first Etsy sale and it sold with 24 hours of being listed. Carboot Sales have proved a good place to find stock and I have been to a few more since then and got more stock
The idea for my shop was that I would make vintage clothes and sell these, but this has proved troublesome. The problem is that everyone wants to use the dining room table. So sewing time is limited. Therefore my shop which is supposed to sell things I have made and a few genuine vintage items has become a shop selling vintage items with a few things I have made. Therefore my next job is to re-write my profile for my shop to reflect this.
To see my shop you can go to www.etsy.com/shop/pettycoatjane
Yes I know it is spelt wrong. Spelling was never my strong point. I have found that I cannot change the name though and I have started using this name on my Etsy shop. I am worried that I will have to start all over again if I change it. I can't decide what to do for the best. My shop has now been open for 2 months. The clothes I make are under the label of Petticoat Jane. I would appreciate people's comments on what they think would be the best thing for me to do. To continue as I am with a shop called Pettycoatjane and a label called Petticoat Jane or to open a new shop called Petticoat Jane so it ties up with my Brand?
