Interview with Sew Darn Simple

Something that I'd like to be better at (in the crafting world) is sewing. I know how to work the machine and make a nice straight line when I have to, but actually making things - usable things - does not come easy. That is why I'm in love with this next shop. Susan knows how to make things that are fun, functional, and eco-friendly (hello cute baggies). She makes it all seem "Sew Darn Simple". Say hello to Susan!
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF: My name is Susan Sanford and I live with my husband Jamie and our cat Mimi. I have been sewing since I was a little girl - I grew up in farm country in Southern Ohio and all the women in my family sewed and crocheted and cooked. So I do all of these things, along with cross-stitch when I can find time. When I'm not sewing, I am a computer programmer - I find that sewing helps me solve some of the problems that I need to "think" about a solution for.

WHAT KIND OF ITEMS DO YOU SELL IN YOUR ETSY SHOP: I make purses, accessories, and home decor. I have all sizes of purses and even backpacks. Accessories include cell phone cases, wallets, zippered cases, glasses cases, etc. I recently started making some of the reusable baggies and those are going pretty well. I have a couple of fabric baskets and pillow covers on Etsy also.

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO ETSY: I was actually doing a craft show and someone asked me if I sold on Etsy - so I looked into it. I had tried to sell from my own website for a while, but it's hard to sell stuff when no one can find you.

HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR SHOP: I do craft shows and hand out business cards - I link to my Etsy shop from both my .com and from my blog. I love twitter and I use facebook. I have a fan page on facebook but I can't seem to get to that 100 I need to get rid of the number. My husband puts an item on Stumbleupon most days too and that seems to get me views - not sure about sales from it yet.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ITEM IN YOUR SHOP RIGHT NOW: Purple is my favorite color - but I really love this blue fabric and how this boxy pouch turned out.

I think my second favorite is this new striped purse. I have three more in process from that fabric.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SHOP GOAL IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS: I am currently averaging 9-10 items sold each month and I would love to be able to get that to 9-10 each week. I don't have a specific plan to get to that, but I can say that the sales are more frequent since I've passed the 100 sales mark, so hopefully I can find a way to keep that moving.

I'm also planning to revamp some of my product lines - for instance, my cell phone cases are now a little small for some of the newer phones (iphone and blackberry) so I need to figure out what I'm going to do about that.

FAVORITES: I don't think I'm too picky when it comes to food - although I'm not too into ethnic foods. As bad as it may be in many ways, one of my favorite foods is cheese - all kinds - my husband actually got me a "cheese of the month" club once.

I'm a mainstream pop music person - I'm not into country at all (although I listened to some in my younger years.

I love to read but don't think I do enough of it. I like mystery, espionage, romance, historical fiction, some fantasy, time travel. Right now I'm reading the Harry Potter books that I missed (I think just the last 2). I get all sorts of sewing magazines, Country Living, and Better Homes and Gardens. I don't like to read anything that is "true story" - I don't like biographies for the most part (I read some in college).

I love to work the crossword and sudoku puzzles every day in the paper (yes we still get the paper daily)

I love my cat Mimi - she's the second one I've owned, and I love to purchase cat fabrics - although you may not know it from my shop right now. I actually have PILES of cat fabrics!

Susan, thank you for a wonderful interview! Best of luck with your shop!