After being contacted, via Instagram, by someone interested in buying one of my lampshades, I thought I should get organised and arrange to sell some of my products that I have made.
I am now selling my lampshades, fairies and a collection of smaller felted ornaments in the Alchemist Gallery, on the High Street, Dingwall, in the Highlands of Scotland. Dingwall is close to the North Coast 500 route and does get some tourists, as well as being one of the largest towns that is accessible for those who live on the West Coast.
As the Alchemist Gallery already has quite a number of scarf producers, including some friends of mine who produce felted and woven scarves, I have decided to open an Etsy shop. At the moment, the Etsy shop is only open to UK residents, and the items include free postage.
With the tax implications following Brexit and the US postal system situation at the moment, it seemed the wisest decision to just offer items for sale in the UK. If you are abroad, and would like to discuss buying anything from me then obviously I can do some research and find the best way to ship abroad that won’t incur hefty import taxes on top of your purchase.
I will see how things go and may look to expand the items on there, but at the moment there are scarves / neckwarmers made from combinations of merino wool, silks, bamboo, flax, trilobal nylon and angelina fibre. They come in various sizes and each one details the size and fibre content.
HighlandHeffalump 
That is fantastic. And when you get your weaving going will you be selling those items too?
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Possibly on Etsy, but my friend from the Guild has scarves, bags etc for sale there so I don’t want to stray into her territory. The shop has already sold 2 fairies today and I only dropped them off at 10am! It’s a nice feeling.
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Well done! A brave step, and how thoughtful of you for looking after your friends who are also making (no doubt) lovely items.
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Starting an etsy shop is exciting, as is selling your goods at a store again. I look forward to reading about your updates.
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Congrats! I hope things go swimmingly for you!
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How exciting. It sounds like you’re off to a great start in sales with your Etsy shop. Congrats, Liz!
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Good luck with the Etsy shop. I will sell worldwide, but my postage rates reflect that. Free shipping in UK only and is incorporated in the price. I don’t find Etsy a great platform to sell items. Facebook Marketplace has been a bit better where I sold a few of my felties and it reaches locals. I also sell on my FB page. I think it is great that you got a sale from Instagram. I have an old phone that doesn’t support it. So, if it ain’t broke… 🙂
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I’ll give it a go and see. I notice your Facebook page has a shop, I assume you have to pay for that? I’ve not really looked into Facebook selling, but will do.
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The beauty of Facebook is that you don’t have to pay. Marketplace is different to my page and is also free. You only have to pay if you want to boost your listings. Etsy is cheaper than ebay for fees, but it can be difficult to market. I also promote on Pinterest! So many things to get yourself out there!
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The person who contacted me via Facebook knew someone else who had bought one and that’s why they looked for me on there. So I don’t think it’s a marketplace really although I have provided a link to my Etsy shop.
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Yay! Marketing your handmade on social media can be complex, but also worth it.
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That is great! Congratulations on your new Etsy shop, and on finding a new brick-and-mortar to sell your work!
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Break a leg.
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Yay congratulations! I hope that you make many many sales! 😀
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Thanks. She’s sold 2 lampshades today so has asked for some more so that’s exciting. My knitting will be on hold for a bit. But its exciting.
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That’s excellent news!
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[…] moment my sales are limited to the UK but I may extend to postage abroad if there is interest. My previous blog post has some more details and I have updated my blog pages with links to my Etsy shop and details of […]
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