25 Days Of Christmas Celebration # 15 - Interview with Cindy of Panchos Porch & Littlest Sister

Today's 25 Days Of Christmas feature spot is claimed by Cindy, the lovely owner of Littlest Sister and Panchos Porch. Both shops are vintage oriented, so you're bound to find lots of interesting and beautiful items! While the first one - Littlest Sister - contains the results of Cindy's creative side, Panchos Porch includes the vintage finds she came across as she worked on her own pieces of art.

"My creations come from my heart"

Find out where Cindy gets her inspiration from, how she deals with managing two shops and why she is an active member of our SPS Team! 

1. Please share a little something about yourself!

I was born in southern New Jersey and have lived in South Africa, Uruguay and Brazil before returning to the US to live in Tennessee.

I am the youngest of three sisters-the littlest sister!

2. Tell us about your shop – what made you open your shop and when did it happen? Also, what items do you sell?

Littlesister is my creative side- renewing vintage finds, crochet, cross stitch. Seems like I have always been making something and enjoy learning new methods and modernizing old ones.

I opened Littlestsister in December 2011. Once I started searching for different wooden pieces to recycle/upcycle I saw so many great vintage finds I decided to open my second shop PanchosPorch to find new homes for them. Pancho opened in March of 2013 and has a varied mix of great vintage and retro finds.

3. What’s the story behind your creations? What got you to create the items you’re making?

My creations come from my heart and are influenced by life experiences, place I have lived, people I have met. I choose colors and patterns that make me happy and feel it shows in the work I do. And vintage is just great-I admire the way things were made in the past-we should learn from them.

4. Please pick one of your items that you feel is most representative for your shop and tell us what makes it the most special?

"the personal touch means a lot in these days of technology"

My favorite item is my African Flower Afghan. The pattern reminds me of the time I spent in South Africa and with all the process of crocheting has carried me through many of life's twists and turns.

5. Please share a little wisdom on time management! How do you organize your time? How does a typical day selling on Etsy look like – time spent on orders, on teams, promoting on social media etc?

Time management is a bit of a problem at the moment! I am adjusting to a second shop, keeping up with promotion, etc. I enjoy what I do, so it doesn't seem like work. I like to have my orders in the mail quickly, so I devote the necessary time to keep that in line. Hopefully I will be more organized in the next few weeks! I need more time for my creative side!

6. Speaking of Etsy teams, what do you look for in them? What makes you choose a particular one?

What is important in an Etsy team to me is active participation from its members, a little structure, a little leniency, and an atmosphere of helping each other. That is why I am a member of the SPS team!

7. What’s the best advice you received when you first began selling? Also, what advice would you give to new sellers – whether it’s about promoting items, shipping, photography, communicating with clients or whatever else you feel that new sellers should be aware of?

As a beginner, I was advised to be involved with promotion, follow and fave as much as you can. It all builds from there. Etsy is a great community! I also send all my orders with a handmade, hand written thank you note along with the invoice. I feel the personal touch means a lot in these days of technology!

8. What are your goals regarding your shop for the near future?

In the future I am looking forward to create more with Littlestsister-colorful crochet and upcycled finds. Panchosporch has been growing quickly and I hope to fine tune the shop itself and improve my photography! Flexibility is essential-know what has potential and know when it does not. My goal is to keep enjoying myself and hope others enjoy as much as I do!

We wish you the best of luck, Cindy and we're sure you'll achieve everything you set your mind to do! Thank you for responding to our invitation and answering our questions!

Visit Cindy's two shops for some awesome vintage finds!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PanchosPorch

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LittlestSister

PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER: 

I'm Andreea and along with my husband we create "paper miracles". We make cardstock boxes of various shapes and sizes, but also other paper goodies such as die cuts, envelopes, table numbers, gift tags, coasters and more! We truly hope that you will enjoy them just as much as we enjoy making them!    http://www.etsy.com/shop/FunkyBoxStudio