JMillen

Etsy Shop Name: JMillen

What you sell: I have two creative passions: Graphic Design and Knitting. Manipulating my own photos with Photoshop into interesting and unique prints is very rewarding. I usually don’t know what I’m going to end up with until I’m done playing!
I started knitting about 6 years ago. At first I made scarves and felted purses. In 3 years I sold over 100 purses in craft shows. Recently I began the fine art of needlefelting. I buy wool pants from Goodwill and needlefelt designs onto them, then make them into scarves. I pay it forward by knitting hats for chemo patients. I donate about 50 per year to our local oncologists. I don’t usually follow a pattern so sometimes they look a little wonky!

Tell us about your featured item: This is one of my original designs, the zinnia swirl. It makes me think of spring and fun! I have sold it with many different colored backgrounds, in card form and matted prints.

Is your Etsy shop a full-time job, part-time job, or hobby?

At first it was a hobby, but as I spent more time marketing and listing, I decided I needed to approach it as a job. Unfortunately I don’t sell enough to make it a full time job, but I do make enough to call it a part time job. I love what I make and it feel so good when I make a sale, because it validates my work!

Do you enjoy, loathe, or simply accept the necessity of record keeping for your business? Why?

I am a former computer programmer so the record keeping goes with my need for things to make sense. When my financial records aren’t up to date I get a panicky feeling… like I’m going to forget to record something.