Rebecca's How to Etsy in the Home

Ms.Vintage's Work Station

It's finally here! Installment 3 of our interview with EtsyMom Extraordinaire, Rebecca of The Vintage Closet & The Vintage Dress. Today we are privileged to hear some of the details of how Rebecca runs her wonderful shops all from the comfort of her lovely little home.

Do you work from your sofa, at the kitchen table? I have a desk in the living room or I stand at my shipping station in the EVERYTHING room.

How do you store your Etsy stock & supplies? Until my husband is able to build me closets in the "EVERYTHING Room" (which will be the last thing finished in there) my supply of vintage clothing hangs in the boys' closet locked up tight, which works out well since they don't really have many clothes that hang & their toys are in the EVERYTHING Room. The rest of my inventory (shoes, purses, hats, etc.) is organized in storage containers under my shipping center in the EVERYTHING Room.

Do you work set hours or do you fit in Etsy as you can? My schedule differs depending on how well my shops are doing, but normally I try to set up days for each week: a shipping day, photo day, editing day, listing day, shopping day (my favorite) & an organizing day. I also spend about 1-2 hours a day on normal shop upkeep: convos, treasuries, blog, networking, etc.

Do you ever use daycare/babysitting for your children in relation to Etsy?
I don't get a babysitter because it seems kinda silly to me to pay someone to watch my boys, so that I can try to make money. I take my boys with me on my shopping trips to the thrift stores (they always get to pick out a book, so they don't mind). My husband is in the midst of transforming our garage into the "EVERYTHING room" (playroom, workout room, theatre, etsy shipping center, etc). While I package my orders or organize my shop stuff, the boys play in there with me. The one thing, though, that is VERY difficult to do while they are awake is take photos, so I try to do this while they are napping (Harry has gotten to the age where he can help me, though).

Easter Sunday 2009

If Estypreneur stopped by your house in the middle of a normal week day, what look would we find you sporting? On the days that I shoot pictures I look GREAT, but the rest of the time it's hit and miss. If I don't plan on going anywhere, I sometimes stay in my pajamas (boxers & a tank) all day. I'm not really a "princess" so to speak & I don't feel the need to ALWAYS look perfect. I kind of find it liberating to just be Me at times. On the flip side, I do LOVE any reason to wear a fabulous vintage outfit with all its trimmings.

Do you feel others respect the fact that you work from home, or do they seem to treat your work as something less than a "real" job? I think so, but I'm not one to really care if someone takes me seriously or not, which I think is sort of a blessing, but can come across the wrong way as well.

Children's Activity Table

If money were no object, what one Etsy item would you splurge on to help you in your job as an Etsy mom? I'm not sure if this counts, but I'm pretty much CRAZY about this Children's Activity Table from Etsy seller DennisKing.

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Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your tips on keeping organized while running an Etsy shop from home. I love that you have a "day" alotted just to doing general "housekeeping" for your shops. It seems that is the main area I struggle in. I love to shop & the thrill of selling, but when it comes to keeping everything tidy, I tend to turn a blind eye. I will have to add an organizing day into my routine! And the children's activity table definitely counts, and spoken like a true mother. I am too am always on the look out for constructive ways to keep my kids occupied & engaged in beneficial activites while I finish up some of my work.
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Stay tuned for our fourth & final installment of our interview with Rebecca as she shares a little on how she manages to have a life beyond Etsy.