Our Interview with Halfanacre

Who are you?
My name is Anna and I’m covered in paint! It’s everywhere, even in my hair. I must stop scratching my head with paint brushes. I have three boys, under 10, and I live in a chaotic whirl of lunch boxes and wooden fish.

Where are you located?
In a small village in West Sussex, England. It is quite rural and often smells like it.

What do you create? Funky wooden decorative thingies for you to brighten up your walls with. Lizards and snakes for kids bedrooms (except I like them in my spaces too), fabulous fish and some great hearts that make lovely gifts. I also make natural stone decorations from hag stones I find on the beach.
Where do you sell your creations? My first place is my website http://www.halfanacre.co.uk but for my friends across the water I have an Etsy shop here http://www.halfanacre.etsy.com.
If I knew back then what I know now I would never have spent out for a website. I hadn’t discovered Etsy and Dawanda then. Its been a bit neglected but now is being re-vamped – I have it so I might as well make it work for me!
Not wanting to miss anyone out I also sell here http://en.dawanda.com/shop/halfanacre I have a few other online outlets too but ……. the above will do!

Where do you create? I’ve taken over a room in our house. It’s meant to be a study but now its my little stygian cave. I love it BUT it faces north so the light is atrocious, its too small and the kids come in to use the computer and stand on stuff. But it is mine. Just about. And I get to say to my kids ‘come to my study’ … which is something I ‘ve always wanted to be able to say. That may just be a British thing.

Is your Etsy shop a full-time job, part-time job, or hobby? Strangely that is a difficult question! It is full-time in that I do it all day, everyday – but part-time as in between I’m doing mum things, and a hobby because I need to make things to satisfy something within me. If I had to answer with one thing it would be full-time.

What type of marketing is the most effective for you?
I’ve not been going long enough to find this out yet! I’m still in the early stages with only a few online sales. I just try to make myself as visable as I can which means I spend too much time online!

What are your goals?
I’d like to reach 10 sales on Etsy (keeping my sights low for now) and to break even on the outlay for some of my online uk shops. I started everything all at once so the outlay has been quite heavy. I would also like to be making enough to buy the extra things that we can’t afford at the moment – like decent haircuts and things I don’t need but have hearted on Etsy!!

How do you envision your creations being used by your customers?
Hung on their walls and bringing a smile to their day. My Fat Fish keep reminding me to little chopping boards so I guess you could use one for cheese if you so wished! I want my things to make people happy in whatever way they choose. I can varnish anything for outdoors so I especially like the idea of the lizards and snakes being incorporated in a garden somewhere.

Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Yup! My blog …… http://www.halfanacreblog.blogspot.com. Some people are actually reading it! YAY! And some say it is vaguely amusing! I’d like some subscribers. Or maybe just the one.


Online store: http://www.halfanacre.etsy.com
Website: http://www.halfanacre.co.uk
Blog: http:/www.halfanacreblog.blogspot.com