Meet Candice of The Candy Shop!

Name: Candice Ware
Birthdate: May 14 1987
Location: Toronto Ont. Canada
Shop Name: The Candy Shop

When and why did you first join Etsy? I joined etsy in aug. 2008, I joined becuase I had just started making miniature food jewelry and a friend had told me that it would be a good place for me to sell my work.

Did you open your shop right away? Yes I did.

Why are you a member of EtsyTeaParty?
I have a love of lolita, I really feel at home in the chats with everyone, I feel that my work really fits with team well. I'm just happy to be here.

Easy one, what is your favorite color(s)? Blue :D

How did you choose your shop's name? My brother helps me hehe I'm soo bad with names and he thought it works well for me because of my name.

What is your favorite item that you have listed in your shop and why?
My Tea and Sugar Bowl Ring, I am in love with tea and anything sweet hehe

Do you have any other hobbies besides crafting/creating gorgeous handmade things for Etsy? Yes I do I love to draw and paint I went to school for animation so I think it all fits together.

Do you have any pets? Yes I do! I have a cat named Snowflake, a bearded dragon Leonides, and 2 guppies I have always loved pets.

What is your most cherished possession and why? My kitty. 

What is/are your favorite item(s) that you bought from Etsy? 
This popsicle top from my friends :)  and this swing style dress I love all her dresses.

Tell us about your family members. 
I have a mom and a dad that are both into art my dad used to draw and my mom used to do pottery art and now helps out with caribana every year. I also have a twin brother that is in to music and can play the guitar bass and keyboard.

If you were stranded on an island and could only bring three things, what would they be? My boyfriend, a good book and my stitched book.


What things inspire you to craft/create? 
My love of sweets and desserts, also cookbooks.

What advice do you have for fledgling Etsy sellers? To never give up and that things take time and that if you love it to just keep with it :)

Meet Felicia of SilverLeica!

Name: Felicia
Birthdate: 22 November
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia

Shop Name: SilverLeica


When and why did you first join Etsy?
I joined on April 2010. It's in my dream plan for joining Etsy since I've found out about Etsy in some magazine while they interviewed some "fashion-queen" blogger.. she used to shop in Etsy, so I browsed it & I found it very interesting. But at that time, I've not yet have any plan to do handmade business. Then after SilverLeica was born, I joined right away.

Did you open your shop right away?
Not yet..I planned on opening the Etsy store after my official web-store has completely launched. That's why my store open on August but not yet have any listings until last December, because my site got a bit delayed in the progress.

Why are you a member of EtsyTeaParty?
I'm very excited when I first discovered this team. I want to share my creations to Etsians all over the world & to a community which also have the same style & taste in some sweet things for life. I also know that EtsyTeaParty also can accommodate & promoted us to other Etsians that are not yet familiar with this cute, lovely style. So, it will be a great start to me as a newbie!


Easy one, what is your favorite color(s)?
Red, gold & brown


How did you choose your shop's name?
It's one of my all-time-favorite composer's song. It's a children lullaby song in Japanese language, sounds cute & suitable to my concept & creations.

What is your favorite item that you have listed in your shop and why?
I loooveee all macaroons stuffs! Their shapes are too cute to be missed & always inspired me to do many things! And how lucky I was to accidentally found the Princess ribbon! They’re cute & suit to each other well! I love how this jewelry turns out as I expected from my sketch.

Do you have any other hobbies besides crafting/creating gorgeous handmade things for Etsy?
Drawing, photography, graphic & fashion design have always been my other passions :) I’m not good at sewing, but I love to design clothes.

Do you have any pets?
Goldfishes in our living room! hee-hee

What is your most cherished possession and why?
All my body parts & of course, health. I love to hear good music, seeing beautiful & pretty things that catch my eyes, creating things from my hands, & I love to travel to new places. And all of them will not be good if not supported by a good health, too!

What is/are your favorite item(s) that you bought from Etsy?
Honestly, I've not yet shopped much in Etsy. Up until now, most of my purchased goods were combination of supplies for my hobby & my crafts that are hardly found in my country, so I can't tell much about it LOL sorry..


Tell us about your family members.
Mom, Dad, 2 lil' bros & Grandma

If you were stranded on an island and could only bring three things, what would they be?
My BF, my Blackberry & a luxurious medium boat! So if we're already bored, we can get out of the island :P It's like an escape getaway, hee hee!

What things inspire you to craft/create?
Pretty, shabby things (Zakka-things) & other Japanese sweet-artists & their creations do inspired me a lot as well.

What advice do you have for fledgling Etsy sellers?

I'm still a newbie myself hee-hee! But here's some tips from my past experience before joining Etsy. A good photography will always do the magic. Also, be a responsive & nice seller even if the buyer don't act nice while answering the conversation. Personalized your items with business cards, or your logo stamp in each packaging, so buyers can remember you easily & not impossible if the buyers promote your stuffs to people they know. Hope it helps & nice to meet you all !

Meet Joyce of Zebracakes!

Vanilla Cherry Cupcake Necklace

Name: Joyce

Birthdate: March 15th

Location: Washington, DC

Shop Name: zebracakes.etsy.com

When and why did you first join Etsy?

I joined in November of 2007. I was looking for a site to buy handmade goods and boy did I ever find a goldmine! 

Did you open your shop right away?

No, not right away. I didn't think I could make it work, to be honest.

Why are you a member of EtsyTeaParty?

I started the team with Amber of Laceybabydoll.etsy.com because I wanted to be a part of a group where we could share our love for all things girly, sweet, kawaii, hime, lolita, dolly, and fun. It was my hope that we could come together to support each other, especially since Etsy is very popular and can be overwhelming at times.

Medium Vanilla Frosting Barrette

Easy one, what is your favorite color(s)?

I love black, gray, pink, and sometimes brown. 

How did you choose your shop's name?

My shop is named after my cat.

What is your favorite item that you have listed in your shop and why?

I love my frosting barrettes (in sizes small, medium, and large) because you can dress them up or dress them down. Since they are not too over the top, I think they can be worn by females of all ages. I wear my medium frosting barrette pretty much every other day.

Do you have any other hobbies besides crafting/creating gorgeous handmade things for Etsy?

I don't really have any other hobbies, per se, but am currently working on my Ph.D. That's a little bit more than a hobby though. It's a whole other life. I like to keep it fresh by moving back and forth between my two lifestyles.

Do you have any pets?

Yep. One cat and one husband.

Marie Antoinette Palace Party Kitten Heels

What is your most cherished possession and why?

Health. If you don't have your health, all the beauty, youth, or money in the world is absolutely worthless. 

What is/are your favorite item(s) that you bought from Etsy?

I have purchased so many things on Etsy that it would be impossible for me to name just one, but I'm going to anyway: it's this awesome shabby chic kitty bed. The seller, lovenostalgicwhimsy.etsy.com, was kind enough to swap out the pillow case for a girly floral pink one.

Tell us about your family members.

I live with my husband, my cat Zebracakes, and our Roomba, Geno (named after Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins--the Roomba looks like a hockey puck).

If you were stranded on an island and could only bring three things, what would they be?

My husband, my cat, and a case of Islay Scotch. Hopefully my husband would choose to bring useful tools so we could feed ourselves. The cat would probably bring cat nip, cat nip, and cat nip.

Lolita Purse-Sold

What things inspire you to craft/create? 
Fancy clothes, furnishings, jewelry, and people.

What advice do you have for fledgling Etsy sellers?

I struggle with photography and I think that others have difficulty with it as well. Always aim to take good quality pictures with ample lighting. Make sure your listings are easy to read and double-checked for spelling and grammar errors. Be on top of your customer service and don't leave your customers hanging for convo or email responses. How well you treat your customers will greatly impact your business.