my online shop :: gabrielle kai

and we’re back! back for some more thoughts on etsy vs big cartel vs supermarket! i know you want to keep reading these, so let’s keep going. yesterday we had the fabulous photographer {tina crespo}, who has an {etsy} shop and another one on {supermarket}. today we have a. jarrett from {gabrielle kai photography}. you probably might know a. jarrett, because her photography is amazingly soft, colourful and dreamy. she combines what usually is very soft and delicate with pops of colour with a bit of more accent than usual. let’s go then…

hello, how are you? so can you tell me a bit about yourself? i’m doing well, thank you!  my name is a. Jjarrett.  i currently live with my husband and two small children in pennsylvania. i am the photographer and owner of {gabrielle kai photography}, named after my oldest daughter who first inspired me to pick up my camera.  i am self taught photographer – i love experimenting with textures and light, and most recently, film.

i know that you have an online shop, right? how many do you have and where? yes, i have an {online etsy shop}, which is my primary online shop.  i also have {big cartel shop}.  i am currently in the process of creating an online shop so that prints can be purchased directly from my website.

what made you choose having those shops? i opened my big cartel shop in march 2009, and my etsy shop shortly after in may 2009.  although I began with bigcartel, i love the feeling of community on etsy!

what is your main shop? my main print shop is my {etsy shop}.

can you tell us about 3 advantages in having a shop on your etsy shop? first, i believe there is no better site for exposure than etsy. the community and traffic that is generated is like no other – plus, some people simply prefer to purchase on etsy simply because they trust the site.  one catch with my big cartel site is that i am responsible for generating traffic to that shop; however, it is easier to “stumble upon” my etsy shop through treasuries, etc. secondly, i love the ability to offer coupon codes (a percent discount or free shipping).  finally, the ability to track visits via google analytics is a definitely an advantage.

and disadvantages? can you also name 3? i think that the main disadvantage is the inability to change the look/feel of my shop on etsy.

what made you open the second one? what are you looking for with having several shops? my bigcartel shop was actually the first shop i opened.  the main draw for me was having  full control over the look/feel and low shop fees.

can you look at your shops and name the most successful one? why? my etsy shop is my most successful shop, which is a reflection of all of the time and effort i spend to keep it up

well, this was a. jarrett’s insight on having two shops… on having an etsy shop… and on having a supermarket shop, as well. there is one thing that, so far, is common among etsy sellers, the amazing sense of community. i also have a big cartel shop and definitely community is one thing that i can see on etsy, and it is a hard thing to find on other markets. i hope you have found this talented lady’s opinions good for you, if you are thinking about opening another shop, either on etsy or somewhere else. we will be back tomorrow for another interview… this time with the amazing anna jonhson from {a alicia handmade accessories}, who has also both big cartel and etsy shops!

images: gabrielle kai via etsy