Seller of the Month: purposedesign

Julie - Montreal - Canada



WHO (Your name, general description, any random bit of info about yourself, a vague sentence):

My name is Julie Pedersen, I am the brains (and brawn) behind purpose design. I run things out of my design lab in Montreal, Quebec. I have been designing homewares for about 4 years now.

WHAT (Tell us about your shop, the items you make):

The products I sell are mostly kitchen-related, magnetic spice racks, spice kits and the like. I am kind of a foodie, so designing food-related things is very satisfying for my inner chef.

WHERE (Why do you sell on Etsy?):

Well, I really wanted to start selling my work online. I painstakingly designed a web site in the summer of 2006 that no one ever visited (but me) and I thought, there's got to be a better way to get my stuff out there! Then I saw an article about Etsy in one of my fave magazines, Dwell. The rest is history, baby.

WHEN (When did you start making handmade items? When did you start selling on Etsy? Any tips for current/future sellers?):

I started making handmade items when I was becoming very tired of being an art director in advertising. It was an outlet for me to create what I thought was cool.

As for the type of products I make, that goes back to a downtown apartment I lived in with a VERY small kitchen (read closet). I had to be creative with storage, so I made a magnetized spice rack for myself because I was tired of spices raining down on me when I opened my overflowing kitchen cabinets. Friends suggested that I try to sell them to other space-challenged individuals, so I gave it a try.

I've had a great experience on Etsy and a good reaction to my products I think because they are very different from a lot of what is being sold there. I think that having an interesting product that sets you apart is a common theme to many other seller's success on Etsy. So I guess my advice is to create something fresh and interesting and people will find you and love you for it. And always try to be a nice person.

WHY (Go on, free self-promotion time! Why should people buy from your shop?):

I am currently designing a line of blackboard homewares, an area that I have experimented with before. I have magnetic blackboard coasters up in my Etsy shop now that are getting a great response. (you should go take a look, wink, wink)
I am REALLY excited to get the rest of my new line up for sale on Etsy soon.

I am also dreaming of designing a kids line sometime later this year, or maybe next year, I'm a busy girl.

FUN (Whatever you feel like talking about. A favorite shop or item on Etsy, a website you think others should look at, why butterflies and toe socks should rule the world):

I love indie design and support it with all my heart because design is SO important in my life. All big, fantastic, life-altering design starts with one person with an idea. It's humbling when you think about it.

I still find it amazing that I can create things and put them out there in the world and other people want to hold them and look at them and own them. That's one of the best parts of my creative process. I find that totally cool and gratifying.

Aaaand…RANDOM QUESTION! If you could have a wild animal for a pet, what kind would you have?

Um, something that would scare away the squirrels and pigeons that are living in my roof. A cougar? An elephant? Of course, then I would have a cougar or elephant to deal with...

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