Treasury Challenge Winner January – LollysCubbyHole

Contributor post by Alicia of AliciasFindings

On Etsy many shop owners curate treasuries. A treasury is a curated shop gallery comprised of 16 items from any shop. Most of the time they are done by theme, color or anything you can imagine.

The Christmas in July team has challenges to create treasuries centered on themes of our choosing. We then pick a winner based on views, creativity and the like.

The January winner is LollysCubbyHole who loves burlap, vintage fabrics and creating beautiful treasures for weddings.

1. Why did you start an Etsy shop?

I found myself in the middle of 23 acres, with my husband traveling 3 days of each week, my two sons grown, married and living elsewhere. I pondered the question, “who am I” and what am I doing with the rest of my life”? I decided that I could go into therapy to discover that question or I could jump into an Etsy Shop! I chose the latter!

2. What made you love vintage?

I opened the Original LollysCubbyHole as a way to share years of personal collections I had carefully saved for my children.

Surprisingly the dolls, puppets, watches and such did not hold much interest for my two boys! So, yes, LollysCubbyHole began as a Vintage Shop only. I love the memories I have of growing up in West Virginia, the barns, the antiques, the many things that I now see listed on Etsy were within arm’s reach for me as a child. Living next door to my great grandparents, I watched as they churned their own butter, planted and harvested their own crops and raised their own chickens. Mason jars, washboards, enamel cookware, tools, you name it…we had it all!

3. What made you start making burlap items and many other items for weddings?

I started getting requests from friends and family who knew that I had a crafter’s heart, and coming from a grandmother and mother who were seamstresses ( not professionally but out of a need to clothe children on a budget ) I loved the thought of starting up the sewing machine. Private orders were so appreciated that I decided to make a few things for LollysCubbyHole.

4. What is one thing you wish you had known about or had done better when starting your shop?

Ha! The one thing I wish I HAD known, and still WANT to know is how to I reach my target group? How do I unlock the secret of SEO and internet shopping? I listened to seasoned shop owners and read a lot, so I have no regrets in how I started..it was a learning process.