The Lola Collection

Etsy Shop Name: The Lola Collection

What you sell: I create unique pendants using collage, decoupage techniques, glass and polymer clay.

Tell us about your featured item: My featured item is my most popular pendant, featuring a vintage map of Los Angeles. I love the colors in this piece and it seems many other people do as well. I create a lot of custom map pendants using the same style map and people cannot get enough of them. It is a great way to commemorate your home town or favorite destinations.

How do you decide on the price of your products?

I see so many talented artists on Etsy and in other venues and sometimes wonder how they can afford selling their work at the prices they do. Pricing is such a touchy subject, but one that I spend a lot of time contemplating. Basically, I add up all of my supplies, my time and listing fee’s and double the sum to come up with a price. Then I work backwards to determine my Etsy and PayPal fees and then adjust the price accordingly.

I’ve settled upon this formula so that I can offer a substantial discount for wholesale orders. I have found that the 50% discount for wholesale that is standard in the retail industry is so imbedded in people’s brains; I had a difficult time landing wholesale accounts at a 25% - 35% discount.

How do you market your Etsy shop?

Why do you think that most Etsy shop owners are worried about filing taxes? Well, I cannot speak for other Etsy sellers, but I can certainly tell you why I am worried about filing taxes! The whole idea of taxes (or anything that bureaucratic and/or involving mass amounts of paperwork) really stresses me out. Plus, this will be my first year not receiving a W-2 from a job. But, on the other hand, it’s a great feeling knowing that you’ve had the opportunity to really make your money work for you and your business before having to pay massive taxes. Hopefully I’ve invested in the right areas and won’t get crushed this year!