My first Etsy shop (Adorkable Doodles) started because I was working full-time after graduating from art school and my job was not fulfilling all of my creative needs. Etsy became my extra creative outlet as well as an extra source of income in a tough economy. I wasn't very active in my shop until I was laid off and suddenly had all the time in the world to create and list new items. Now I'm working part-time as a graphic designer, freelancing, keeping up Heidi's Handmade House and Adorkable Doodles and living as a starving artist, but back then I was just starting to become a Pinterest addict.
It sounds silly saying that, but the truth is, the frustration of not being able to find a job pushed me to search much harder for creative inspiration. Pinterest and other sites like it always have something new to inspire you. I kept seeing these awesome projects that people were doing, and interesting decor and products that I hadn't seen before and I was inspired! So I began making some of the ideas that sparked from the things I saw, starting with monster plushes. I ended up loving them! I gave lots of them as gifts, and started to list them in my shop (and even kept my favorite one for my very own bedroom).
I love the idea of handmade items, in the way that they are rare and can be just as unique as the people who own them, so I kept that in mind as I branched out from monster plushes. After awhile I decided that I wanted to keep my illustrated art separate from the decor items I was making, and so Heidi's Handmade House was created.
Thanks for reading!
<3 Heidi