Petitewonders28.com was launched on July 24, 2020.
Choosing Indiemade.com to host my online shop instead of better known brands such as Wix, Godaddy, Shopify, etc. is because I love the name "Indiemade". It represents rather well the essense of products made by independent artisans and crafters.
Starting an online shop outside or alongside one's Etsy shop takes a lot of drive and determination. I have been pretty content and happy with Etsy. It takes care of marketing and SEO. Best of all, it brings traffic to your shop. Listing is fast and easy. There are lots of pros selling on Etsy. Then, why branching out?
Well, whenever I learn of sad stories on Youtube by long-time Etsy sellers whose shops got shut down all of a sudden for unknown reasons, I feel extremely uneasy. My knee jerk reaction usually is to WANT to set up another venue to sell my work because my shop may suffer the same fate unexpectedly However, my want had not been strong enough to turn into action.
Then, one day last July, an upset artist contacted me. He demanded a compensation of $100 as he found an unauthorized use of his artwork in a dollhouse framed painting I listed on Etsy. The alternative was for him to report to Etsy this offense and he emphasized, my shop would be shut down.
When I used the image of his artwork in the miniature painting, I honestly believed it was created by a world renowned painter whose copyright protection has long expired. It turned out this current artist was inspired by the deceased one. I didn't read carefully the descriptions accompanying the inspired work and just assumed the work is in the public domain. My fault, no argument about it.
Long story short, I declined to pay up because it was a huge sum. I then braced myself for a possible Etsy ouster. Within two days, I signed up with Indiemade.com and my website was born. Meanwhile, that artist told me he would drop the complaint. He concluded that I was not a serial infringer after going through my Etsy sales.
That July incident was a blessing in disguise. It just gave me a big push to set up shop elsewhere outside Etsy. I probably would be sulky for weeks if my Etsy shop got shut down last year, not because of a devastating financial impact as I haven't been selling volumes anyways. It is because my Etsy shop has been a dear place to me. I started it in 2009 when I still worked full-time. Over more than 10 years, Etsy chronicles all the craft items I made and sold. I also have the luck to meet a few friendly and interesting customers there.
My Indiemade website is a new chapter. I do appreciate my new and repeat customers in my new digs! Thank you so much! I'd love dearly to hear your thoughts and comments!
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To celebrate this 1st anniversary, all listings (except custom orders) will be 15% off from 9pm EST July 23 to 9pm EST July 31. 2021.
Discount coupon code: ANNIVONE2021