Shop Talk

When I first starting selling {Acute}, it was on Etsy.  I figured Etsy would be all I would ever need.  Why go anywhere else when it is the handmade selling site?

As I grew, I realized it would be cool to have my own website.  I wanted this for various reasons.  The two main reasons were less fees {Etsy can get pricy} and branding as a stand alone business, not an Etsy shop.


Don't get me wrong, I love Etsy.  Selling and shopping there continues to be a wonderful experience, but I wanted my own website.  I have always hated when people say "Ohhh, you have an Etsy shop!" And their tone conveys "Ohh, that's a cute little hobby."


Maybe it's just me, but I wanted something that was unique to my business.


So, I opened a Big Cartel shop {flat fees - no matter how much you sell}, bought my own domain, and filled up the shop.

I knew in order to make the transition, I would have to drive traffic to the Big Cartel shop but I was scared. Etsy had been my life line since the beginning and buyers trust Etsy because it's a reputable site.  Would buyers trust www.acutedesignsshop.com?


Every time I clicked on my Big Cartel shop I hated that it looked like a Big Cartel shop.  I am not a web designer so I emailed and chatted with talented people about making the shop custom but I never seemed to get where I wanted to go.


For a year and a half I thought about doing something custom with the Big Cartel shop but it never felt right.  What if I paid someone $500 and the look was not what I wanted?  Was I just being silly or should I listen to my gut and not buy the customization?


At the beginning of the summer I made a goal - my own shop.  One that was custom and my vision.  Rather than try out someone new and feel uneasy about it, I went with the tried and trusted Dana of The Wonder Forest {she designed this blog and SO many others}.


Dana is super talented and I know what to expect from her.  No guessing if I might like the end result.  Dana definitely has the designing and coding thing down but what she does better than anyone I have worked with is take my stupid inspiration photos and jumbled sentences and create what's in my head.


Some people just have it and she is one of those people.


Dana designed my custom shop {powered by Storenvy and linked at www.acutedesignshop.com} and I could not be happier.  It looks like {Acute Designs}, not like Etsy or Big Cartel.  And Storenvy has minimal fees, which is a huge plus.


I am still scared of completely leaving Etsy, so I am staying but directing my marketing efforts towards the new shop.  {Acute} will always be available for purchase on Etsy because it has been really good to me but starting today, you can also purchase from the {Acute} Shop.

Check it out!  It's really simple and pretty.  Also, you can take 20% off through the weekend with the code NEWSHOP20.