Featured Crafter: Missy Mills of LuvyDuvy

Missy Mills of LuvyDuvy is our featured crafter this week. Her shop showcases her vintage style, coupled with her patriotism. I suspect the necklace above was inspired by her personal Airman.

What are your favorite aspects of running a craft business?

I love anything that has to do with being creative. Coming up with products for my shop that I hope people will love as much as I do is so fun for me! I also love sending out the product to that special person who purchased it--it makes me so happy and excited to have them receive my products that they purchased!

You are new to having a craft business. What have you learned recently? What practices have you changed?

I am still learning so much as time goes on. But I have learned that being patient does pay off. Also taking care of the customer is really important! Since I have started I have learned a lot from others through advice and practice. I have changed the way I take pictures (which is something I am still working on) and the way I promote my shop.

How do you decide on a focus for a line of jewelry or accessories?

I have always wanted to make jewelry. I used to sit in my room after school when I was younger and just make little bracelets or necklaces for fun from jewelry books. Plus I love wearing jewelry (my fiancé says I have way too much already). I love purses and wallets as well, so when I thought of the idea of creating purses and wallets with military items I just knew it would be something else fun for me to create. The military is a big part of my life.

What inspires you as a crafter?

Anything vintage, romantic, antique, rustic, and military items really inspire me! I love listening to music while crafting, it gets my creative juices flowing.

What goals have you set for yourself for the next month? Year? 5 years?

For the next month I hope to have more views/hearts/orders. I hope to reach at least 40 orders by the end of April, and find more productive ways to promote my shop. For a year, I hope to have really established my shop on Etsy. Also, I hope to have the best photographs of my products in my shop. In 5 years, hopefully I can have a well-established, successful business going for me in the years to come. That would be so great for me to have a creative business to work on full time!

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Missy, and for sponsoring this week's giveaway! Have a look at the cute hair clips below--your potential reward for commenting today. Hooray!

Giveaway Info:

1. All commenters on this post will be assigned a number, according to their post in the queue. Make sure there is some way we can contact you.
2. Comments close on Friday, March 26, at 11:59pm US Mountain time.
3. On Saturday, March 27, 2010, I'll have a random number generated through the magic of the Interwebs.
4. The winner will be notified via this blog and email, as will Missy.
5. Missy will deal directly with the winner regarding receipt of the giveaway prize.
6. We all have a cool, adult beverage. Aaahh.