An Interview with Erin Posey from ErgoDesign

I’ll try to give you a condensed version. I always enjoyed art classes through out school. In college at SUNY Geneseo, I took a few art classes while I was working on my psychology degree. I also got involved in the theatre department, and did some scene painting and props work. After college I worked in theatre (at Syracuse Stage in Syracuse, NY) and opera (at Virginia Opera in Norfolk, VA) for a few years making props; which included furniture building, painting, sewing, etc. Then I went back to college at Virginia Commonwealth University and got a degree in Interior Design. Now I’m working as a commercial interior designer in Richmond, VA. I sell my crafts on Etsy on the side.

It seems like I’ve always been doing something crafty. My mom has a lot of artistic talent, so she kept me and my sister equipped with crayons and markers. I remember making pot holders and gods eyes at the summer recreation program at school. I loved gluing googly eyes to things!

Have you always made jewelry or did you start out making other things? -When I started on Etsy, I had jewelry and decoupage/collage boxes in my shop. I recently moved my collage to my new shop at ergodecor.etsy.com. I’ve realized it takes twice as much time to promote two shops, so ergodecor isn’t getting a lot of traffic at the moment.

My day job is in interior design. I work for a very small firm and we design banks and credit unions mostly. I consider my jewelry and collage work my “side interest”. However, I’d like to continue to grow my craft business.

Do you still dream about making other things? If so, what?

I’m doing as much as I can handle at the moment. I can also sew and knit and paint, but I think it’s best to show your best work on Etsy. And I’ve gravitated to jewelry and collage recently, so I’m sticking with that for now.

A friend told me about another local interior designer who sells on Etsy. I checked out her shop, and got hooked on Etsy, too!

Any words of advice to others?

There is so much information online. If you’re not getting emails from Etsy on Tips & Techniques and Events & Opportunities, then sign up! My best advice is to have fun with it! If turning your craft hobby into a business makes it less fun, then it’s time to reconsider. I’ve been building my business slowly and it’s been working for me so far. I’m a long way from making crafting a full time thing, and I may never get there. I’m just having a great time!

~Erin Posey

Here are the links to all of her websites:

Jewelry site: http://www.erinposeyjewelry.com/

Etsy Jewelry Shop: http://www.ergodesign.etsy.com/

Etsy Collage Shop: http://www.ergodecor.etsy.com/

Blog: http://www.ergoerin.blogspot.com/