If I remember correctly, it was a successful seller who made this comment on one of the Etsy forums, and it really stuck with me:Do one thing, and do it perfectly.
And in this context, "perfectly" takes on a different meaning. To me, it's deciding on and creating a product that's...
...enjoyable to make...
...easily repeatable, and...
...not so labor, time and supply intensive that it simply cannot be profitable (remembering that Etsy and Paypal are each taking a cut, too).
In my case, fingerless or texting gloves were the obvious choice of product. As I've admitted before, I'm basically a really lazy crocheter. I like to work with solid colors, so I don't have to weave in ends. I don't want to deal with sizes. And if it takes too long, I get bored and give up.
BUT, Etsy is awash in fingerless gloves, and I knew that from the start. However, my reasoning was along the lines of what seller Jenna Sue said in the Etsy's "Quit Your Day Job" feature recently:
"Not everything has to be a revolutionary idea. There are only so many ways to knit a scarf, but you can make yours stand out by making it easy for customers to personalize it, offering a wide range of colors and patterns... and setting up your shop with excellent product shots, clean cohesive branding, and the right price point."
I swatched a bit, using my favorite hook size and yarn weight (because remember, this has to be enjoyable!) to come up with something I hoped would be a little unique, and settled on a stitch that looks like thermal underwear...or the surface of a waffle.
When I was happy with the design -- the look and fit of the gloves, the time involved in making them, the amount of yarn required for each pair -- I did a Google search to ensure that I would not be infringing on anyone else's idea for the "brand name" that kept repeating itself in my head, pretty confident that no one would already be using such a supremely corny alliteration. Yeah. I'm listing a product called Wrist Waffles.
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