We recently connected with Allison Scaring and have shared our conversation below.

Allison, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Designs by Allison is a celebration of all things made by me, Allison! I started this business initially make leather earrings and now I have expanded into making all sorts of jewelry including necklaces, earrings, bracelets and more. I also create a variety of other home decor items including custom glass blocks with LED lights, tumblers and glass coffee cups, shirts, tote bags, signs, hot plates and more! I wanted a name that could allow me to grow and not just focus on one product. I also wanted to include my name for a personal touch.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

Hi my name is Allison Scaring and I am a freshman this year at Missouri Baptist University where I am planning on getting a business management and entrepreneurship degree. I started my business towards the end of 2019 just looking for something to do and a way to make a little extra cash. Ultimately my business blew up and before I knew it I was an entrepreneur. After a few months I started my first ever Etsy shop selling my handmade earrings and necklaces. I’ve expanded since then into more jewelry products and other decorative items. Everything I make is handmade by me! And I love doing it! I am only 19 years old and I think I have made a pretty successful business learning lots of things along the way. I am now able to participate in my town’s local Farmer’s Market and I plan on doing other craft shows in the future.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

Etsy was the best option for me to sell my products. It’s easy to use and create your listings. The search engine method helps me get my customers from across the US and even to other countries. It’s important to have quality pictures that showcase the product your selling. Also include specific details like size, materials, etc. There are a lot of costs behind Etsy as they take a portion of your sales but it’s important to keep this in mind when deciding on price and how much time it takes you to make the item.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

A few months back my original Etsy shop got shut down. This was heartbreaking for me as all my hard work of growing my shop for the past few years vanished before me. I knew I couldn’t let this stop me. I started over with a new shop name, new email and a new way of thinking. Since then this shop has grown month by month and I am happy with how it has been going. My piece of advice is to keep on going! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It’s important to stay positive and to be thankful.

Contact Info:

• Website: Shopdesignsbyallison.etsy.com
• Instagram: @designs.by.allison
• Other: Tiktok @designs.by.allison

Image Credits
Allison Scaring