Q. Who are you?
A. long answer short, i'm carol. 30. born in taipei. grown in new york. Christian. studied graphic design and psychology in undergrad at Umich (go blue!!!). worked a few years as a graphic designer and creative coordinator for an ad agency. trained for and ran the san diego rock 'n' roll marathon with the leukemia and lymphoma society's TNT in summer '04. went to grad school at NYU in fall '04 and studied art therapy. married in june '07 and thankful for the unconditional love and support my hubby gives.
Q. When did you open up shop and how did you come up with your shop name?
A. i created an account with etsy on 01.01.09 (one of my new year's resolutions was to open up a shop!) and listed my first item on 01.22.09. my shop name is MustardSeed by.carollai because Jesus says, "i tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. nothing will be impossible for you." matthew 17:20. faith is huge in my life. God has grown my faith greatly through the experiences and struggles in my life and through it all, His faith has given me hope and strength.
an additional meaning behind the shop name mustard seed is found in matthew 13:31-32. the parable of the mustard seed. "the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
Q. What do you create and sell?
A. i create delicate and unique earrings and necklaces... and hopefully in the future, will branch out to prints/cards, sewn objects, knitted goods, and other handmade creations as my mind and fingers take me.
Q. What is your favorite item in your shop?
A. it's hard to say a favorite because i really do try to love each item in my shop. i figure if i don't love it, then why am i selling it? one of my loves is this pair of earrings. sweet grace earrings. they're uber feminine, simple and sweet. it is also the first item with the curl accent i hand-created.
Q. Do you have any advice for newbie Etsy sellers?
A. since i'm still a newbie and learning so much myself, i don't have too much advice. however, i've found it helpful to inform all my family and friends of my new shop and asked them to pass along the info to their family and friends. hopefully as each person passes the info along, more and more people will become interested in my designs.
Q. Lastly, what is your giveaway this fine TGIF!
(one giveaway winner will be selected at random the following Wednesday at 11.59pm EST. to enter, please comment below with one or more marketing suggestions for MustardSeed by.carollai. 'follow' me on blogger and you'll receive an automatic second entry. :) please remember to leave an email address because if you are the lucky winner, you will want to be contacted!)
A. i absolutely adore these earrings and think the winner will enjoy as well! that's why i chose to give away my musing moon earrings.
