1. Let us know a bit about yourself

I’m a young mom to a 15 months old baby girl. I studied & work in fashion design. I’m not married but I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost 10 years (already!!!) We have a dog & a rabbit (no, I’m not kidding!). I absolutely love cooking, crafting (of course!) and I think I’m a bit obsessed with my Iphone! Haha! That’s who I am!

 

2. What do you make?

For CUTIFULbaby, I make baby toys & accessories:  soft baby cube, quiet book, headband, hair accessories, pacifier clips, toy strap, baby keepsake & nursery decor…and for CUTIFULmemories, I make custom digital printables for occassions such as birth announcement,  baby shower invitation,  birthday invitation.

3. Where do you find inspiration?

My 2 main sources of inspiration are my daughter & the materials I work with!

When I first started out making soft toys, seeing the smile on my daughter’s face was the best reward of all. Shopping for fabrics also usually gets my creativity going. Sometimes, I come across a lovely fabric and all of a sudden, ideas start pouring in! And I must confess, I’m addicted to Pinterest! Browsing through this website usually gets me in the mood for crafting!

 

4. How long has your Etsy shop been open?

My CUTIFULbaby shop has been opened for about 6 months, and I opened CUTIFULmemories in Mid August, so it’s pretty new!

 

5. Do you still have time to make crafts for pleasure while running your online business?

Unfortunately, not much!! I have a few unfinished projects on the side, for example a quilt for my daughter which I started out about…hum…I’d say 6 months ago! Between my full time job in the fashion industry, my full time job as a mom, laundry, dishes & whatnot, as soon as I have a chance to do some crafting, I usually end up working on my listings & custom orders! But I totally enjoy it, don’t get me wrong! 😉

 

6. What inspired you to move your art into an online business?

Mostly comments & feedbacks from friends! I started making soft toys & accessories for my baby girl during mat leave, and there was an instant reaction! The word spread out and I started doing some custom orders for family, friends….and then friends of friends! So I decided to give it a try & opened my 1st shop on Etsy!

 

7. What are your future goals for your shop, and do you have a plan for achieving them?

In my wildest dream, my Etsy shops would be my full time job…a girl can dream, right! But for the moment, I want to focus on getting the word out there, promoting my shops because in July, I learned that I will be losing my job at the end of the year (long story short, the whole design department where I’m working will be relocated in Europe) When I learned the news, I decided to put as much time, efforts & energy as possible on my shops! Opening my 2nd shop offering printables was the 1st big step I took! Hopefully, I’ll get enough success with Etsy to be able to take the plunge and work from home as a freelancer!

 

8. Where can we find more about you online? (web site, social media, etc)

You can follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cutifulshop

or Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vanessa_Giguere

You can also visit my blog & Etsy shops:

http://cutifulbaby.blogspot.ca/

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CUTIFULbaby

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CUTIFULmemories

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