Etsy, a peer-to-peer e-commerce site filled with handmade clothing and accessories, vintage jewelry, and spunky home décor, now boasts more than 54 million users. Even Mila Kunis can’t resist the site’s appeal: The 33-year-old actress opted to purchase weddings bands for her and husband Ashton Kutcher on the 11-year-old site.
Here are four Chicago-based shops offering awesome goodies and services ranging from candles to career help.
BennettResumes, by Sarah Bennett
Sarah Bennett wants to help improve people’s quality of life. As a full-time vocational rehabilitation therapist and consultant, she found that resumes were the hardest part — a lot of work on a device foreign to many people: computers. So, she looked into how she could make a difference.
Someone recommended Etsy, and Bennett set up shop in January 2016. While many charge upwards of $1,000 for a resume revamp, Bennett found a sweet spot — services range from $25 for a simple critique to $150 for a full resume overhaul, including a cover letter and content for LinkedIn profiles.
Her defining moment came to a head when she came across a client based in Texas — a husband and wife team that had both been laid off and were hoping to relocate. The disappointing situation inspired Bennett to not only rewrite the couples’ resumes and provide cover letter and LinkedIn consultations, but also help the two with their actual job search. She hoped to show them their situation wasn’t a “dead end.”
In her spare time (she laughs, “What spare time?”) Bennett enjoys exercise, cooking, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and “walking away from the laptop.”
ArtumieCandleStudio, by Lauren Hernandez
Lauren Hernandez loves the feel of a candle — it’s romantic and enhances a room. Yet the candles she was purchasing weren’t enough — they weren’t natural and herbal, and many were artificial. She began making her own and sharing them with family and friends. Finally, she decided to set up her own shop, inspired by watching her father manage his own whiskey distillery.
Hernandez always tries to envision different scenes when creating her scents, noting her “Forest of Ferns” scent as an example.
“It smells like you’re on a hike, walking in spring, coming across a ray of sunshine. It’s very natural,” Hernandez says.
While she hopes to eventually make her candle business her full-time job, she is currently a 9-to-5 digital marketing professional during the day.
All of the products in the ArtumieCandleStudio have recycled labels, reusable jars, and all natural cotton wicks (no dyes added).
SoapDistillery, by Danielle Martin
True to its name, Danielle Martin’s shop sells soaps based on cocktails, beer and wine. Martin loved shopping at Whole Foods for natural soap products, but “they were kind of boring … for me,” she laughs.
Craving a better variety, she looked up soap making — how hard could it be? She gave it a go in late 2011 and opened up her shop on Etsy in 2012. It wasn’t easy getting a hold of Martin; her business has taken off, and gets particularly busy around the holidays when flavors such as “Pumpkin IPA” are in high demand.
Like many other Etsy shop owners, Martin works full time for a company that manufactures bike parts. Fitting, as she loves to commute by biking everywhere.
While Martin calls her products kitschy and has no plans of opening up a storefront, she is intrigued by the idea of expanding the business further online as she continues to hone her craft.
rhymeswithtwee, by Leigh Kelsey
You name it, Leigh Kelsey has tried it. From pillows and key chains to soap and even nail polish, there is little Kelsey won’t try. Yet she finally hit her stride when she settled into home goods and cards.
Kelsey is an early adopter of Etsy; she began making goods in August 2005 and joined the online market space in 2006 as an extension of her growing business. She describes her products as “punny,” stemming from her love of word play. She finds inspiration in everything (“music, colors, animals, words”), which comes as no surprise from someone who enjoys trying anything. A doodler from a young age, Kelsey describes her style as “weird” and “not clean cut.”
Full time, Kelsey works at Blitsy, a startup that sells arts and crafts supplies backed by original content. She calls her day job a dream job. By working in the customer success division, she has encountered inspirational people and products, and often meets a few customers of her own. One of her most popular products is a set of kitchen towels featuring fruits and vegetables with fangs.
While Etsy has opened up the marketplace to manufacturers (versus small local shops only), Kelsey still appreciates the website’s contributions to her successes. For now, her Etsy shop is simply a fall back, although she dreams of an actual storefront where she can sell her artwork as well as that of others.
“Connecting with my customers and making friends in this great community … Sure, there are other ways you can meet people, but meeting these other wonderful creative nerds … I don’t know why I wouldn’t want to keep doing it,” Kelsey laughs.
