Quit Your Day Job: Briana Taylor

btaylorquilts

Story by btaylorquilts

Published on Feb 07, 2012 in Seller Handbook

Photo by btaylorquilts

Tell us about your shops and the idea behind them.
btaylorquilts developed because of my love of sewing and fabric. It’s sentimental and a way for me to keep hold of my past and honor those who taught me this amazing skill. Quilting has a vibrant history, steeped in tradition. With btaylorquilts, I’m trying to maintain that hold on tradition but bring it into this century with clean, modern designs and colors. I sew in my home studio.

My painting shop, brianataylor, was the first shop I opened on Etsy. I’ve been a working professional artist since 1997 and my studio is in an old mill building in Easthampton, Massachusetts, called Cottage Street Studios. We have over 60 artists in the building with a tight knit network that works hard to present an open studio sale twice a year. Exhibiting and open studios were not really cutting it for me, and I wanted to find a web presence that was not cheesy and cheap looking. I was lucky to find Etsy.

Tell us about your previous working situation/s and how you discovered Etsy.
My path has not been very linear; I’ve was a stall cleaner at the local horse farm when I was 12, hotel housekeeper when I was 14, file clerk, executive admin, art library assistant, human resources assistant, art supply store manager…the list goes on.

Over the last five or six years, I had been working full time as the coordinator for Easthampton City Arts. I loved my job, but after five years of intense workload and amazing projects, I had reached my limit and was burnt out. Another major project was looming on the horizon and I realized I needed to step down. I was also painting for a solo exhibit at the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts and trying to manage my increasingly busy quilting business, so I was very torn and going in many directions. None of my endeavors were getting the attention they needed.

I discovered Etsy at the beginning of 2007 and knew that I had found the place to “exhibit” my work! It was beautiful to look at, easy to use, made my work look great and didn’t cost a fortune. I signed up my painting shop in July and then the quilting in December of that same year.

What steps did you take to prepare for transitioning into full-time Etsy selling?
I’ve had the luxury of working for myself from time to time in the past, and I am always working towards the goal of being self-reliant. I guess I’ve been preparing on a consistent level for years now. This time feels a little different; I’ve made some smart investments that will keep me going during less lucrative times, so I feel a bit more confident about the transition. I think the trick is knowing what you need to make all the ends meet. It always seems that when I have a clear enough idea of what I need, it is easier to attain.

What is your favorite part of the process during painting and quilt-making?
My favorite part of painting is the mental workout. There are so many decisions; sometimes the answers come instinctually, and there are many surprises, but it’s the result that’s the joy and the challenge of getting there.

Quilting is similar to painting: there’s a lot of color theory and many choices to be made. I rarely or almost never work from a pattern, so it’s a struggle to put things together. I love finding ways to put printed fabrics and colors together, especially if they are an odd match. It’s the challenge I love. Oh, and I have this thing for fabric shopping.

What are your best marketing tips?
Always be looking for ways to tell the world about your work. I’m not the best marketing person, I admit that. It’s hard.

  • I have a btaylorquilts page on Facebook where I shamelessly post new items, along with my blog posts.
  • Pinterest and Twitter are newer for me, but they do drive some traffic to my shop — not much yet, but I can see how this could develop with some effort.
  • Teams are a great way to make connections, get noticed, and get yourself in treasuries. Find a team that fits your style and product and consider your abilities to participate; they are golden opportunities. I’m involved in some very active, creative, interesting teams. Find one or two that fit your style and get involved.

Have you made any business mistakes you regret?
So far I’ve been lucky. I try not to be influenced by what others are doing. I do lots of uninformed designing, if that makes sense. I’ve made a lot of stuff that just didn’t go anywhere; I’ve also made many things that are unique and one of a kind due to that experimentation. When things don’t work out with a design, it’s pretty frustrating, but I chalk it up to experience and lessons learned, and this is how great discoveries happen!


What is the biggest challenge you face during your daily schedule?
Staying focused on my goals for the day. I usually have an idea about what I’m going to work on each day, but I can easily get distracted by things like laundry, gardening, the cats and especially the Internet. I’m not normally a list-maker, but sometimes when the demands are high, I need to write everything down and start ticking off tasks as I complete them.

What’s the hardest part about running your own business?
I try not to worry about a non-consistent paycheck.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? 
My free time. I’m able to manage my schedule so that I can do most of the things I want to do. I was never very good at a structured schedule and whenever I worked for someone else, I was sure to say so. This always seemed to work out and kept me from working at jobs that would inevitably be unsuitable. I’m the best boss I’ve had so far, but I do work myself hard.

What is the most exciting thing that has come out of selling your designs through Etsy?
Selling my work all over the world has been a thrill. My paintings (and quilts) are in collections in Australia and all over Europe. I wouldn’t be able to do this without Etsy. It’s a true, global community and there are serious collectors out there who are buying original works of art and quilts.

What advice would you give someone considering a similar path?
Working for yourself can be very isolating. Take care of yourself and be ready to work long hours on whatever it is you do. Make sure it is something you love because you will spend your life making it happen. If you are like me, your work will tell you when you need to concentrate on it full time. When you no longer can manage your “real job” and your own personal career, it’s time to make a decision. If you can do it without losing your house or your significant other, do it, and put all your energy into being creative about it.


Anything else you would like to share?
Thank you, Etsy (and community). You are an integral part of my ability to do what I love. I also want to thank Jeff Derose of One Match Films for creating and editing my video, taking a million photographs, and making it such a fun experience.

Thanks for sharing your story, Briana. Check out her work in the Seller’s Items below.

Seller Handbook | Quit Your Day Job Series

Discuss: 138 comments

Seller's Items

138 comments

Sign in to add your own