Make Jewelry = Graduate from High School

I've been thinking for quite some time now about starting an online jewelry shop. A friend told me about Etsy, a site that allows you to set up your very own shop and sell practically anything you like, so I began looking into it to see what it would take to set up my own shop. I soon discovered that it was actually quite reasonable; you pay 20 cents to list an item for 4 months & they take 3.5% of every sale. I looked around at different users' shops, and ran across more than one seller that boasted more than 1000 sales. "Wow," I thought to myself, "Wouldn't that be neat?"

Well, that was as far as that thought went. I quickly became overwhelmed by the prospect of setting up a paypal account, figuring out shipping methods and costs, writing up my Shop Policies, and doing all of those other responsible things that no 17-year-old wants to do. All I was interested in was posting an item and selling it, equaling more money for me. My quest to set up my own shop ended there.

A few months later I received an email from my senior adviser (I go to an online school based out of Scio, OR) reminding me that I should get going on my senior project. Being the die hard procrastinator that I am, I hadn't even looked at the project requirements yet, and probably wouldn't have for another 6 months if not for his email. Deciding that I really shouldn't wait until a week before the due date to look at it, I opened up the project description. As I read through it, I realized that the sky was the limit for this project and I could basically do anything I wanted to (within reason, of course) in order to complete it. All summed up, the assignment is basically to do a project that relates to the career path you are interested in.

Now, I don't want to make jewelry and sell it online as a career, but running an online shop could definitely be considered to be related to what I would like to do someday (owning my own clothing boutique).
I instantly remembered all the poking around I had done on Etsy, and began to draw up a plan of action in my head.

So with all that being said, I've decided that for my senior project I will:
a) Start and run an Etsy shop online,
b) Open accounts on other networking sites, such as Blogspot, Twitter, and Facebook, to advertise for my shop,
c) Go to at least 2 craft fairs this winter to sell some of my pieces, and
d) Look into selling at markets in the spring.

I officially started my Etsy shop on December 3, although I have no items listed yet (still working on shop policies, shipping, etc.) and have opened accounts on Blogspot (obviously...) and Twitter (much to my everlasting shame...). Getting a Twitter account is something that I had previously swore I would never do, but after reading several articles about it on Etsy, I realized what a great advertising tool it can be and I hope that I will be able to utilize it well.

I've already gone to one craft Bazaar at Calapooia Middle School's DC fundraiser bazaar and did very well. I have another one scheduled for this Friday and Saturday in Corvallis at Zion Lutheran School which I am really looking forward to.

While this should have been something that I started a long time ago when I first heard about Etsy, it actually has worked out well with the timing of the senior project. I'm excited about getting started and hope that I am able to do well.