| If you read
our interview as the Featured Seller on Etsy and are
looking for a little more of our story, here is an article
Mandy wrote for Small
Town Living. Though it was written a couple of years
ago, it all still rings true for Bossy. (And here's a just-learned
tip for you Etsy sellers: taking promo photos ahead of time
(i.e. before you need them) means that you most likely won't
be out trying to take head shots in 50 mph wind gusts!)
On
Being “Bossy”
Lessons
in Running a Home-Based Crafting Business
By
Mandy Troxel
On
a small island in the Pacific Northwest, just a couple miles
from the ferry landing, is a homestead containing a small
flock of sheep. If you were to
wander among the fir trees to the fence, the first sheep
to greet you would be Bossy. A pronounced roman nose would
stretch out to investigate, and you’ll get a few choice
“baaaa’s”. Depending on your offerings,
she’ll either stay close by or cast you a haughty
glance and amble off. The fleece shorn from Bossy and her
flock is part of a larger tale of island life, finding its
purpose in a cooperative business of three women, aptly
named Bossy’s Feltworks.
Amy
Lum, Kari Van Gelder, and myself, Mandy Troxel, are the
crafters behind Bossy’s Feltworks of Orcas Island.
Orcas is one of four ferry-accessible islands in the San
Juans of Washington State. The island is about 57 square
miles, and has a population of roughly 4,500, though it
is more than double that in the summertime. There are no
fast food restaurants, no box stores, no billboards. Orcas
does boast one single-screen movie theatre that plays two
shows nightly, two and a half gas stations, and a couple
of four-way intersections with stop signs, though no stop
lights. Moran State Park, offering over 5,000 acres of trails,
as well as the surrounding waters and islands, beckon to
thousands of vacationers and adventurers each year.
In the
Spring of 2006, Amy, Kari and I were all good friends, spending
time together as our kids (5 girls collectively, now aged
2 through 7) played. Amy mentioned the growing piles of
sheep fleece in her basement. Kari and I both mused of our
dream of earning a home-based income through crafting. We
also homeschool our kids, and so whatever happened entailed
the girls playing part, or at least being underfoot.
Kari
came up with the idea of making and selling felted balls.
Wool was washed in bathtubs, dyed on stovetops, and the
process of wet and needle felting was explored. The felted
balls turned out great, and our sights broadened. What about
making sheep? More books were consulted, methods rehashed,
and the Bossy’s Feltworks signature sheep was born.
Then came the fateful day when Amy’s daughter Rachel
requested a pink sheep with a blue head. The resulting critter
opened the door to the realization that with a little ingenuity,
a whole felted world of real and imaginary animals was possible.
After
countless projects involving piles of wool, pipe cleaners
and embroidery floss, a viable business had begun. The three
of us formed the perfect business trio: Amy cared for the
sheep, Kari had the organizational skills and loved to work
up marketing schemes and spreadsheets, and I had a background
in desktop publishing and web design. Through encouragement,
late nights and watching each other’s kids, we managed
to debut a website, print business cards, and purchase a
season’s slot at the local farmer’s market.
The
island’s main industry is tourism. Visitors come in
droves from May to October, and shop alongside locals at
the Orcas Island Farmer’s Market. The market features
artisans alongside farmers, and every Saturday during these
months the Bossy Booth is in attendance. After three seasons,
we enjoy the familiar faces of return customers from near
and far who consider Bossy part of their summer. During
the off-season, Bossy focuses on the holidays, creating
for a local holiday faire and stocking our online shop.
Taking
our goods online proved to be one of Bossy’s biggest
growth spurts. We had done some research and discovered
Etsy.com, an
online venue for buying and selling all things handmade.
The Bossy’s Feltworks Etsy Shop opened in December
2007 with overflow items from our holiday faire. A mailing
list compiled over the summer was notified of our online
debut, and the response was so enthusiastic that the shop
has become a main focus. The two venues compliment each
other, as we enjoy person-to-person sales over the summer,
and then turn to our online shop for the holiday rush.
We are
constantly heartened by the camaraderie of the online crafting
community. Via the Bossy’s Feltworks website and Etsy
shop, promotional opportunities have virtually fallen into
Bossy’s lap. Bloggers list items in treasuries and
online magazines, which is basically free advertising. Occasionally
an item has been be featured on Etsy’s homepage, resulting
in a surge of “hits” to the shop. If one had
endless computer time and know-how, the opportunities are
limitless.
But
who has endless time and know-how? When Bossy’s Feltworks
first began, we received a bit of advice from another local
business owner. The advice was to prepare for the “best
case scenario”, meaning the possibility that everything
could go even better than expected! Running a small craft
business means that you are selling and marketing what you
make. It seems obvious enough, but if suddenly you have
opportunities coming from all sides, you have to remember
this, because a person (or even three people) can only make
so much. We’ve had wholesale offers, as well as opportunities
that would provide enormous exposure and sales. Our eyes
widen, our heads spin, and, again thanks to being a threesome,
at least one of us gets a grip on reality and talks the
other two down from the clouds.
This
is when we again focus on what is central to Bossy’s
Feltworks. We are mothers, wives, homesteaders, gardeners,
homeschoolers, involved members of a wider community. Every
business decision we make is based on how it affects our
families, our friendship, and then finally, our business.
After all, these things are all inter-connected. Our business
enables us to earn income, as well as provides a creative
outlet. Our friendship keeps us together, bonding us through
mutual concern for each other’s well being. Our families
keep us grounded, providing both encouragement and limits.
Surprisingly,
Bossy's is usually a very peaceable, if noisy, kingdom.
On a good day, the kids are deeply immersed in some sort
of imaginative play involving prairie bonnets and the orchard.
Amy, Kari and I sit with our felting at the kitchen table,
amidst heaps of wool and pipe cleaners, minding the tea
and chocolate. The dogs snore underfoot, a rooster crows,
Bossy baaa’s from the pasture. Yes, we occasionally
talk big, dreaming of book ideas or television appearances.
But more often than not, we talk about what our kids are
doing, what’s happening in the garden, in town, or
even in the White House. Bossy’s Feltworks is a significant
part of our lives, but is not the only part. And that is
just how we like it.
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