Monthly Archives: June 2012

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Branding Your Etsy Shop – DIY Business Cards, Price Tags, and Packaging

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Business Cards

One of my oldest and dearest friends, Elaine of Elaine Melinda Studio offered to design my business cards using the Vintanthromodern Vintage logo that Emily created.  Elaine and I have been friends ever since high school.  That she is a successful lifestyle photographer in Arkansas and that i’m running my own online vintage clothing shop isn’t  suprising.  We met in our high school art room and our love of art and all things creative has kept us kindred spirits for almost 20 years! After several phone and email exchanges, Elaine and I came up with a business card and matching sticker that embodies Vintanthromodern Vintage’s whimsical aesthetic. In this case, the shop logo that Emily created , along with another promotional graphic she created for our ad on the blog Oh Hello Friend, has insprired an entire branding suite.  We’ll be ordering the business cards  from Miller’s Lab and I can’t wait to see the finished product!  In the meantime here are screen shots of the business card (front and back) and matching stickers.

UPDATE! Here are the finished products:

Price Tags – Hang Tags

Even though all of our price/hang tags are different, they all have the same text stamped on them.  In addition, they all have a  similar color and vintage aesthetic that ties in with the shop. I used vintage school books – phonics workbooks, children’s dictionaries and other vintage paper for the tags.  Plain white sheets of sticker paper were adhered to the back and I used a custom stamp on the back.

price tags

Hang Tags

Packaging

Whether its online or at a brick and mortar shop – customers LOVE packaging.  When considering packaging for your shop it’s important to consider cost, the branding suite you already have in place, and of course saving the environment!  In other words the packaging you use shouldn’t be too expensive, should complement your shop’s logo, business cards and price tags, and should be either recycled or recyclable.  Perusing Pinterest is a great way to get great affordable DIY packaging ideas for your shop.  Having already created price tags, I had a general ideas about the look I wanted my packaging to have:  bright yellow, school or vintage themed, and a bit quirky.  I love the look of brown craft paper – and a lot of people are using this material in tags and such but after searching for it online, I found that it can be a pricey option.  I also love the look of old school vintage manila envelope with the tie closures but  I learned that tie closure manila enveloped were phased out long ago in favor of metal closures.  Manila clasp office envelopes are almost  a dime a dozen.  A box of 100 10×13 manila enveloped is less than 10.00!  With a few small alterations – and using a colorful piece of string and one of my business cards or price tags, I’ve created a budget friendly, colorful and cute bag to pack items in!  Below is a quick tutorial of how to create your own manila tie closure bag.  Here are the supplies you’ll need:

  • A manila envelope (any size)
  • Colorful string
  • Scissors
  • Business card, price tag or similar item made from cardstock
1.  Cut off the flap of the manilla envelope

2. Punch a hole in your business card or heavy card stock shape ( You can also use price/hang tags)

3. Extend the metal fastener arms and stick the card over it and close

4.  Wrap string string under the card and around the fastener

 5.  Place item inside the envelope, fold excess over and wrap string around the back of the package. Fasten by wrapping the tail of the string around the closed fastener.
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Branding Your Etsy Shop – Creating a Shop Logo and DIY Sign

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Today’s post is the first in a series about Etsy shop branding.  Creating a successful online shop, whether it’s on Etsy, Big Cartel, Copious, or any other online fashion platform, begins with the quality of product you sell and the strength of your customer service.  Once you’ve successfully mastered these crucial features, shop cohesiveness and branding are the next steps.  Whether it’s handmade craft, artwork, or vintage items, presenting your shop as a cohesive brand is key.  Branding has become a buzz word in the burgeoning market of small indie businesses. Branding is the experience you create for your customers before, during, and after their visit to your shop.  Consumers have come to expect a shopping experience.  Creating this experience for them ensures a lasting impression and  is very important to having staying power and a loyal customer base. Some of the most successful brick and mortar fashion retailers (think Anthropologie or LL Bean or Victoria’s Secret) have very developed, cohesive, and recognizable visual branding. They sell an image, not just a product. This package included a store’s visual merchandising in window displays, store props, catalogs, shopping bags, price tags, gift wrapping, and even the music and scents that are piped into the store. The result is a recognizable experience that hooks the customer.  In an online store, this branding may consist of the store’s avatar or banner, business cards, the style of the shop’s photography including backdrops, gift packaging, stickers, price tags, and sale avatars.  If these items are crafted cohesively, the result is the creation of a shop brand.

Creating a logo is the first step in a successful branding.  Your logo should capture the spirit of your shop and be unique enough that people will remember it.   Emily created Vintanthromodern’s logo based on a DIY sign I made for the shop when I first started out.  I was doing the East Rock Street Festival in New Haven (my very first) and needed a sign to hang in my booth. While diving at the bins at the Goodwill Outlet, I found some  buttery yellow cloud shaped vintage placemats.  I  painted and cut out banner cloth letters in a font called Sybil Green, and strung them together.

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Emily created the graphic logo in a vector graphics editor, building all of the pieces of the logo by hand. I wanted a shop logo that was clear and easy to read but whimsical and kept the DIY feel of the original real life sign. The end result is a banner for the Etsy shop and for the blog that mimics but streamlines the original Goodwill-placemat banner. I also love birds, so she included a bird sitting atop the “clothesline” that holds the clouds together.

etsybirdbanner2

If I can’t use the full shop logo, like for an ad, Emily can take some elements of the full logo — the clouds, the bird, the clothesline — and use them individually or put them together in a new way while maintaining a consistent brand.

 

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Once your shop has a logo the next logical step in branding is creating business cards. In the next post, you’ll learn about the business card design process!

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Vintage Pop Up Shop in New Haven

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We are so, so, so, so excited to announce our very first pop-up shop! We’ve done fairs and expos and flea markets, but this is the real deal — we’re the headlining act! On Saturday, June 23, Gilt (formerly Bespoke in downtown New Haven) is hosting us from 12noon to 6pm, and we’ll be selling vintage bags, shoes, belts, and other accessories, as well as some great in-season clothing.

Watch this space for more details in the upcoming weeks.