EtsyStory:magickalrealism
From EtsyWiki
Magickal Realism
I almost quit perfuming after my divorce in 2002. My oils sat on my kitchen island, and while they didn't get dusty, few people besides myself ever saw them. As financial troubles came upon me as so often results from divorce, I started organizing to sell off my product. I had discovered that absolutely anything synthetic makes me break out horribly, and it was infringing on my life. While all my materials were essentials, I was worried for my health and I wanted to push everything out the door. I mentioned this to a friend of mine over coffee. She's a local tarot reader, and somewhat of a sage. At that point she had never smelled my perfumes, but even then, her reaction was profound. She dropped her cigarette and pounded her fist on the table. "Don't sell them off!"
A little stunned, I promised her I wouldn't. A few months later, a much younger friend who was in business school came to visit me while I was home from work with a cold. Her boyfriend had discovered the joys of birch oil at a workshop I'd taught a few years earlier, and she asked me to supply him with more of it. She loved it...and asked for more. And then she asked for hair oil. And then we started devising a business plan. I started doing consignments locally, and the woman who became my business partner left the country for a few days.
During her international hiatus, my boyfriend came across Etsy on boingboing, he had to tell me about it. I didn't hesitate. I hopped right on Etsy. By the time my business partner returned, I was up to 900 hits and had managed to obtain two additional shop consignments. I thought she was going to kill me, but one look at Etsy, and she was won over to the handcrafting community cause.
As it's worked out, I'm doing what I've loved for years full time and Etsy has been a cornerstone of creating my new life. The artists that create the Etsy community are hugely talented, and I'm grateful for my friendly reception here. I'm thrilled to be moving forward with my perfume business with Etsy, and the shopping is just phenomenal.
