Danelle´s Interview

• Tell me a bit about yourself

My name is Danelle and I reside still living with my parents in California, and i´m 22! haha. I was not the person, and still am not the person, in a rush to leave my house.

• What is the name of your Shop?

Tagsandbuttons and DAMdesigns

• Please describe your creative process

I think it starts when I lay down. Everytime I’m in bed I can’t sleep very good because i´m just thinking about all the things I could do, should do, or have ideas for. I end up getting up after only having slept long enough to be considered a nap, and start working. I work on all computer related things first, do some promoting, and then move on to any orders I may of hand. I do a lot of custom stuff, so I spend more time working on things as they come. I also have a ton of things I need to make and list that isn;t custom, I do those on the days when I have no other big tasks to complete. I never go a day without doing something.

• Where do your ideas come from?

I kind of inspire myself. If i´m in a slump, or feeling lazy I just think in mind “imagine the people who think you can’t do this, or laugh because they dont understand and think it is pointless.” Every time I think about these types of things I usually get a boost of energy, turn on some music, maybe a show, and start working (multi tasker haha).

• How did you get into your craft?

Well I started with my art shop DAMdesigns. I found Etsy randomly a while back when I was in a random craft mood after finding old hemp jewelry supplies. So I was searching for “how tos” and found Etsy. I came in and for like 2 weeks floated around, finally made an account just to check things out more in depth, and then decided I wanted to sale my art. After a huge amount of time doing that, I was to the point where I almost wanted to give up. But, I didn’t want to quit at something I was working so hard at. So I decided to expand and make a second shop, instead of leaving.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

Excuse me, do you mean everyone else has a life? lol! Honestly right now, not much else. I literally spend some 12-15 hour days working on things related to business. Everything I do from the second I get up to thinking while I sleep is about something shop, Etsy, promotiong, or blog realted (I run a big blog that takes a lot of time loveetsyfeedback and co run another big blog that also takes just as much time etsygiveaways). For instance, today is a Thursday. It is the only pre planned day of the week that I for sure go out. I leave at 8am and hang out with my close friend until 3 pm. During this time I will make a few trips to a couple stores to get some supplies, and I have a container of promo items i’m working on for thelittleblackboxes that I will bring over his house, because I know at some point we will be hanging out watching TV and I want to be able to kill 2 birds with one stone and do some work. See? Even when i´m having a life, I’m still doing tons of Etsy related stuff.

• How do you promote your work?

I think the best form of promotion is word of mouth. I have a lot of awesome repeat customers already and they are all so great. Many of them I chat with and keep in contact with. Through the people that love my work, I have had others come to me from being told about me. Besides this? The blogs I mentioned earlier (but those take just as much effort as my shops), being on an awesome Etsy team (EtsyFriends), going in the forums at least once a day and putting my writing into several discussions, using a Myspace (.com/damdesigns), and flickr. Outside of internet promoting, I started with the promotion boxes (thelittleblackboxes and mylittlepurpleboxes), and I have an idea I might do locally but it will cost a lot so i´m not sure yet

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