Four years ago, if someone told Kathy R. Jeffords that she would one day be a self-employed artist with a successful business; her reaction would have been laughter. That is because in 2005 Jeffords, who actually studied to be a writer, was working full time as a legal secretary and sketching just for fun.  

“Years ago I never would have considered myself an artist,” Jeffords said. “I was working a full-time office job, and sketching was something I did during work breaks to relieve stress.”

 In 2005 Jeffords discovered that ACEOs (art cards, editions and originals) were making a splash on eBay. These small collectible art cards were being sold by artists on the auction site, and Jeffords says that she was rather surprised when she sold her first one.

Kathy R. Jeffords' collection of cute big-eyed girls, boys, and critters is available on her Etsy Web shop. (Click for larger image).

For this artist, the realization that people were willing to pay for her art —collections of fun, whimsical and cute big-eyed girls, boys, and critters—was more important than making a few dollars on eBay

Despite having made sales on eBay, Jeffords still considered her art a hobby until the day came that she could no longer handle work-related stress.  Having saved a little nest egg for a future home purchase, she decided to live off that savings instead, and give herself four months to try selling her artwork to earn an income.

From eBay to Esty: The Dreamy Giraffe is Born

The decision to be a self-employed artist was a good choice; however Jeffords says that nearly a year after listing on eBay, sales started to taper-off.  Around that time she discovered Etsy, a popular niche alternative site that offers crafty sellers a platform for selling all things handmade.  After some initial research, Jeffords decided to use Etsy as the main venue for selling her artwork.

“In using Etsy I found a community of people doing what I love to do,” she said.

 The community feel was just one of several factors that encouraged Jeffords to open an Etsy Web shop. The site was easy to use, and questions about running a Web shop were immediately answered by the staff and others in the community. 

According to Jeffords the hardest part of using Etsy is choosing a name for her Etsy shop name.  She finally decided on The Dreamy Giraffe, and this marketplace is now one of her main channels for selling her original acrylic paintings and reproduction prints.

In addition to having an Etsy shop, Jeffords also manages her own Web site, TheDreamyGiraffe.com (Click for larger image).

The Business of being a Self-Employed Artist

In addition to having an Etsy shop, Jeffords also launched her own Web site, TheDreamyGiraffe.com.  Here you can find art samples, a mailing list and information about the art and characters.  For online sales Jeffords links to her Etsy shop.

Eventually Jeffords would like to incorporate a shopping cart on her own site, but for now the Web site is mainly used for people to contact her about custom artwork and commission pieces.  She offers a newsletter sign-up form on her site, and through e-mail she can stay in contact with customers and send out monthly updates and sale promotions.

Jeffords also uses Twitter (@dreamygiraffe) to update clients on new arrivals and promotions. She said Twitter has been a great tool and she has obtained commission work through Twitter contacts.  

Jeffords also maintains a blog and has considered using MySpace and Facebook Fan pages to market her artwork; however, she feels it is best to keep a strong presence one on social site rather than spreading herself too thin trying to maintain a presence on multiple sites. 

The biggest hurdle that artists often struggle with maintaining the business tasks to encourage sales.  Jeffords says that right now she is limiting her painting and marketing endeavors to just the things she enjoys doing—a perk of being a self-employed artist.

Jeffords also says that being active is her key to success. “You have to continuously tend your shop; freshen it up with new items, you have to market yourself, keep in contact with clients, and work hard to be successful.”

In addition to Etsy Web shop sales,  Jeffords says she has increased private sales through her site, and is considering opportunities for  a line of greeting cards and collectible stamps—new ways to expand The Dreamy Giraffe business and her goal of “Making The World Cute, One Painting At A Time”.

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.