Monday Madness - CrochetedByCharlene

MEET CROCHETED BY CHARLENE

We met Charlene about a year and a half ago on the Promotional Frenzy Team.  Charlene is so kind, sweet, caring, and helpful.  It has been such a joy getting to now her and to work with her on the PFTeam.  Because I like her so much, I'd like to allow each of my readers to become acquainted with her.

Tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

My name is Charlene. I’m a pastor’s wife, mother of two beautiful daughters, one 23 and the other 19. I have the most wonderful new grandson as of three weeks ago. He’s precious of course. I’ve been teaching first grade for 16 years, a job which I absolutely love, most days. But what I really love to do is crochet. I love making new things and knowing that people out there are getting to enjoy them makes it worthwhile. 

What's the history of your store?

My oldest daughter married and moved to Arkansas. She heard about Etsy from a coworker. I immediately got online and started looking into it. It seemed like just what I had been looking for. I was doing one or two craft fairs a year and the crochet items were piling up around my house. I joined in December 2009 and had my first sale a week or so later. I was hooked.

What makes your store UNIQUE from all the other stores that sell a product similar to yours?

One of the things that I like about my store is the variety. I know that a lot of stores specialize in one or two things and a lot of them are very successful. I just don’t think I can make the same thing over and over again. I love to make new and different things. Over the past two years I have sold a variety of different things. I always think I should try to narrow it down some to maybe four or five specialty sections, but then I find something else that I want to make that doesn’t fit. So I just keep making whatever I find that I love at the time. 

Tell our readers about your favorite items that you make and list in your store.

I love to make baby afghans and Christmas tree skirts. They take too long to finish though, so in between, I have to make little things, like purse pouches and slippers. I love finding fun buttons for my purse pouches. I also love to make little animals and know that out there somewhere, someone is loving them.

What is the item you are the most proud of in your store?

I think one of the greatest things that Etsy has done recently is create shop stats for us. I was always horrible at reading my Goggle Analytics, but the keyword feature is amazing. I’ve been checking them out regularly and to my surprise the word most people find me under is “doily”. Who would have ever guessed? That and doily rug. So I’ve started making more doilies and rugs. I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try. They are fun to make, and really don’t take forever like an afghan. 

What kinds of services do you offer for custom orders, what are your policies regarding custom orders?

I am always happy to make custom orders for my customers. Although my family would probably tell you otherwise, because I always complain. I don’t like being told what to do. Never have. But really, I’ve made quite a few special things for customers and have been thrilled to do it. I really prefer to finish the order and then list it. I really want my customers to be happy with the end result, and since I don’t do personalized work, I can always sell the item to someone else if the customer isn’t happy.

Where You Can Find CrochetedByCharlene:

• Store:  http://www.crochetedbycharlene.etsy.com
• Blog:  http://www.crochetedbycharlene.com
• Twitter:  http://www.twitter.come/crochetedbychar

A special gift to all of our readers from Charlene:

Feel free to visit my shop and receive 15% off when you use the coupon code KATERSACRES.  Coupon expires March 17, 2012.