Ever since she was young, senior Samantha Shieh has had a knack for making things. After seeing her talent for creation, one of Shieh’s teachers suggested to her an outlet for her to display her talents: Etsy. Etsy is an online marketplace where people can sell unique, artistic products of their own creation, to a variety of eager customers. Etsy mainly focuses on vintage and handmade items. At first, Shieh was hesitant about selling her products as she was worried about the time commitment. It wasn’t until high school that she decided to actually pursue the use of Etsy.
Her online shop, OnsetofImagination, has been active for over a year now and has been going strong. Her revenue is higher than expected and her customer base is growing, having started from a small personal business and growing to a customer base of over one hundred.
But it’s Shieh’s approach towards selling her products that makes her service unique.
“It’s for fun more than anything,” Shieh said. “Yes, the money’s nice. But do I need it? No.”
Shieh’s products include hand-made shrink plastic necklaces, charms and other small do-it-yourself items that usually reference books and TV shows, as they appeal to fandoms, or groups of people who are devoted to a particular series or saga of fictional works. A lot of Shieh’s products follow Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings and other popular cult universes. Personally a member of a few fandoms, Shieh enjoys making things that relate to her fandoms of choice.
“People tend to buy things that make references to books or other things that they enjoy,” said Shieh said. “Being a member of these fandoms creates a community that I love being a part of.”
Shieh enjoys using Etsy as it allows her to satisfy her customers while doing something that she loves. Satisfied customers have even requested custom orders from Shieh, mainly around Christmas time when people are purchasing special gifts for loved ones.
“I particularly enjoy the holiday rush,” said Shieh. However, when Shieh is making her holiday products, she simultaneously must study for final exams. Shieh realizes the pressure in this, and acknowledges it as good life experience, as handling multiple things at once is an important skill.
At times working with customers can be difficult, as they try to point out flaws in the service.
“There was one lady who bought a custom order from me and complained about its late arrival,” said Shieh. “But I was able to work with her and let her know that it had already been shipped and that it would be arriving shortly.”
With support from her parents, Shieh is able to keep her business running. Her mother and father are supportive of their daughter’s ambitions in selling her creations.
“Samantha is really independent, just like I raised her to be,” Shieh’s father Donovan Shieh said. “Hopefully her talent can contribute to the arts society.”
Shieh’s business allows her to have real-world interactions with real people, rather than replicating them in a classroom setting.
“Overall, it’s fun to put my work out there, interact with the community and make people happy,”, said Shieh.
