I Finally Opened a Shop!!!

I finally did it – I created and opened a shop for Dans le Lakehouse!

Saying Goodbye to the Vintage Etsy Shop

Years ago, I had an Etsy shop selling my vintage finds.  By the end of 2019, I had decided to wind down the shop because of Etsy.  The fees were skyrocketing (they even charge sellers a fee on shipping, which I always lost money on) and the platform was so pushy (ex. forcing “free shipping” on sellers – which really just costs customers more).  It was also getting more and more difficult to source vintage finds and predict what would sell – plus storing/shipping a very breakable inventory was stressful.  But there were parts of the shop I really loved.  I find photographing vintage things deeply satisfying.  But the biggest motivator was my amazing customers!!  Connecting people with vintage finds went beyond just selling tchotchkes.  People would message me with all kinds of sentimental stories about how the vintage item they found in my shop completed a set their grandmother owned or reminded them of a family member.  One customer bought a figurine from me that was identical to one she broke at a friend’s how and she was THRILLED I could ship it right to the house she was staying in – Express!  People who collected vintage would send me photos of their new find in their collection.  I loved getting those messages.  So I kept the Etsy shop open.  But when the border closed in 2020, I was forced to close and, although I still have inventory, I never re-opened the shop.

Opening a New Shop for a New Chapter

I’d been meaning to open a different kind of shop, anyway.  I’ve had requests to sell so many things: my aerial photography, my handmade beaded spiders, my iced dyed textiles, my felt Christmas ornaments…

I spent a lot of time waffling: Can I manage a handmade shop?  Do I open a *new* Etsy shop?  Sell those things in my existing Etsy shop? Create a new shop myself?  Which platform do I use…?  It was overwhelming, to be honest!  And I think, in the back of my mind, there was a fear of failure as well (especially because the new shop platform I’m using costs me money upfront).

Last weekend, I finally did it: I opened a brand new shop that I will eventually integrate into this website.  It was definitely a lot more work than Etsy and right now the “branding” is just a placeholder until I can design something a little more thought out…

But I finally did it!!!

Actually setting up the shop was so much more work – and so much more complicated – than I even imagined, so I felt really, really good when I launched it in the wee hours of the morning.

What’s in My New Handmade Shop?

Currently I’ve listed a small batch of my handmade beaded Christmas spiders, as well as a PDF tutorial for how to make them.  The PDF is SO good – it’s 13 pages with huge photos, plus an additional condensed tutorial that’s only two pages and is easily printable.  The last page is the spider story, that’s ready to print and gift.

I’ve had requests to make printable tutorials that are ad-free, so I’ll be slowly adding some of the most requested ones to the shop.  I have also offered the option to pre-order a CUSTOM spider – I am nervous about that, to be honest, so that will only available for a limited time.  But it’s a way for you to get a spider handmade just for you, to match your tree or decor.  I’m excited to work together on color combinations!

I also have some ice dyed textiles on really high quality linens and silks that will be listed soon, in time for holiday shopping.  And my aerial lake photography will be available soon too – I had a test photo blown up really large and it turned out sooo good – although the prints will be available to display on a Samsung Frame TV as well.  A lot of art doesn’t look good displayed on a TV, because the light makes it look fake, but the light plays really well with my aerial photos because the added glow just adds to the luminous effect of the sunlit, crackled ice.

In the future, I’ll be selling little limited edition capsules of handmade home decor.  Whenever I share a DIY tutorial for something, like these DIY wood slice ornaments, I always get a lot of questions about whether my readers can just buy it from me.  But as a creative person, I can’t just get into production… I want to move on to creating the next thing!  But a small collection might be the way to go because then I can share my handmade creations with you, but then move on to the next exciting DIY or craft project!  If there’s something you’d like me to add to the shop, let me know!  You can always leave a blog comment, send me an email, or direct message me on Instagram.

Thank you so much for your support of Dans le Lakehouse.  Please note that there is NEVER any pressure to buy anything from me!  If you’d like to support me or the new shop, even just sharing my DIY tutorials or shop link means to world.