Selling Art on Etsy: Opening My Etsy Shop

I am so excited to tell you that I am now selling art on Etsy. Opening an Etsy shop is something that I have wanted to do for a long time.

Today, I thought I’d share the story behind my Etsy shop and why I have decided to start selling art on Etsy. If that doesn’t interest you and you’d like to head straight to my shop for a nosey, you’ll find my Etsy shop here.

---

Creating The Life I Want

You may recall that my word of the year for 2019 is ‘create’. I chose this word as I wanted to start taking steps towards creating the life I want for myself.

Though having a job and earning money doesn’t define anyone’s worth, I am now at a point in my recovery where I am thinking about work.

I’d like to regain some independence and, for me, that means finding a way to make a sustainable income for myself.

Unfortunately, as my health can still be unreliable, taking on a job just isn’t a feasible option right now.

Making Money Online

I am fortunate that– after many years of blogging— I’ve found a way to monetise my writing. I’m thankful that I’m self-employed and make a part-time income from my blog.

That said, how much I make can be highly variable and it is not enough for me to be self-sustainable.

Due to this unpredictability, I’ve known for a long time that it’s important to diversify your income when you make money online.

However, my health had to take priority and any plans to do this took a backseat.

Thankfully, I’m now in a position where I can start to focus on other areas of my life. 

When it came to deciding how to diversify my income, it was a no brainer.

Etsy Has Been A long-term Goal

Opening an Etsy shop has actually been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

If you are an OG reader, you may know that– before I got sick– I worked full-time as a Guide Dog Trainer. I was healthy when I started my job but three years later I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

In the beginning, I actually found my job helped my Fibromyalgia. Being active each day helped to ease my stiff, painful muscles.

However, as time went on, my health changed. 

Working Was Challenging For Me

Working full-time became increasingly challenging and soon my life became work and nothing else. All my time out with work was spent recovering.

By the Spring of 2014, I was struggling and went off sick for the first time due to chronic illness (with hindsight I wonder if this is when Lyme Disease decided to join the party!).

I knew things needed to change. However, I was the breadwinner at that time as my husband had returned to university after being made redundant.

We couldn’t afford to lose any of my income. Yet, I knew I couldn’t keep going the way I was.

I didn’t yet realise the significance of my health problems and I decided that I needed to try and find a way to make money that would enable me to cut down my hours at my full-time job.

Trying To Find A Way TO Manage Work With Chronic Illness

At the time, I was getting into photography and I figured I would try selling prints of my photographs as a side business.

I purchased an excellent printer and my thought process was that, if I could make it work, I would be able to reduce my hours at my full-time job.

Sadly for me, that’s as far as I got. I didn’t have the energy to even start.

My Health Came Crashing Down

I was sick and struggling to work. Yet, getting back to work was all I could think about.

Being in denial about how serious my health problems were, I tried to return to my job a handful of times over the course of 2014-early 2015. Each time my health would come crashing down.

In time, I lost my job and independence.

In the beginning, I fought against this. I couldn’t accept that I didn’t have an income.

My 1st Etsy Attempt

This led to my first attempt at opening an Etsy shop in 2015. Unfortunately, I didn’t get far with it because my health made it impossible.

I soon learned that my health was the most important thing and that my worth wasn’t defined by my ability to work. Success began to look different to me.

My health became my main focus. It had to, really, as it consumed every second of every day. 

Now My Health Has Improved

Fast forward to now and I have fortunately seen significant improvements in my health.

Though I am not yet in remission, I came to the realisation that I don’t have to wait until I am fully healed to make a start at something I’m passionate about.

My initial plan for my Etsy shop was to sell photographic prints. I still want to do this, but photography is dependent on my ability to travel to places to photograph.

Turning To Art

I’ve, therefore, turned to another passion of mine– art. Specifically, watercolour painting.

I love painting; it challenges me and brings me so much joy.

Art has always been a passion of mine, but I never really thought about selling prints of my artwork.

It Wasn’t Something I Previously Considered

I think this is for a couple of reasons. Firstly because, for a long time, Lyme Disease stole my ability to be creative.

I struggled to even sit up for long periods of time, let alone paint. It has only really been in the last year that I’ve felt able to get back into painting (and finding that part of myself again has been amazing).

Secondly, I am the worst offender when it comes to self-doubt. Art feels incredibly personal and for a long time, I doubted that anyone else would appreciate my artwork.

However, after some helpful encouragement, I realised that my art has the potential to bring joy to others.

Making Plans For Selling Art on Etsy

I started making plans to sell prints of my artwork at the beginning of the year and it’s been a slow process getting everything in place.

I am happy to say that my Etsy shop is now open! With time, I hope to include original artworks and photographic prints in addition to my art prints. 

For now, I am starting small with a few pieces, which include a limited edition print inspired by living with chronic pain.

Thank You + 10% Discount

I want to say thank you to my family and friends for their encouragement and support.

And, I want to say thanks to you. Thank you for supporting me and my blog.

Selling art on Etsy is a new chapter for me and I feel very excited about it.

To share my thanks, I want to give you 10% discount redeemable on all the listings in my Etsy shop. Use the code FEBSTARSBLOG10 at checkout.

P.S I really hope to make a success of this so my Mum will finally get over the fact I dropped German at high school to pursue art, haha!

---

FURTHER READING:

• A Few Notes on Working with Chronic Illness & Creating a Future For Myself
• The Reality of “Looking Well” When Chronically Ill
• 50 Word of the Year Ideas + My Word of the Year for 2019

Share on Pinterest: