We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chele Archer a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Chele thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the idea at the beginning of 2016 when I felt there was a need for unique home goods. Not the run of the mill, all-white modern farmhouse style that inundated the home goods market. At the time I was part of a specific demographic and community that was known to be very sleek and clean, while I am edgy and have a warp sometimes dark sense of humor. I knew there were many more that were like me, and I decided to start creating appropriately inappropriate home goods to cater to the weird and unusual. I was worried that my humor and my sometimes sailor-esque language wouldn’t ‘speak’ to my customers, but I soon learned that many people were looking for something more light-hearted- thus began my company. We started off under the name “Archer’s Arrows” and recently rebranded our home goods shop to fit what we grew into and are now known as ‘The Boo-tique’, while Archer’s Arrows continues to grow on her own for On Target Branding.

We pride ourselves on offering quality products at a great price. I want people to have a piece of my art that is practical and that can be used. I love helping other businesses grow, and although the Boo-tique has taken over our home goods shop, Archer’s Arrows is still alive and well but is the home of our business branding, coaching, and consulting. We work with other startups to create a brand that speaks to them, and shows who they are to their customers. Because I know what a tight budget we were on in the early days, I keep that in mind when offering our services to our clients. Because our shop and our branding business grew so much on their own, I decided to separate the two at the beginning of 2023. I feel that what we offer in both businesses is quite unique.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started this company after years of working in corporate wellness. I wasn’t happy in my job, I loved what I did, but being in corporate has its own struggle and will suck the life out of you if you let it. I needed to find something that fulfilled me, and that let me create and create in the way I wanted to, without guidelines. At the time I started the company with a small bonus check the owner of our company gave me for Christmas, that year the company was running a tight financial ship, and company-wide bonuses were voted down by the board. He felt that I did a stellar enough job that I deserved something extra, and wrote it from his personal account as a ‘Thank You.’ His only caveat was that I needed to invest in myself somehow, so I did. I started my company and within a year it had made more money than my full-time corporate job. So, I made the scary and BEST decision I could and quit my job. It was scary since I wasn’t sure what was ahead for us. I had a lot of people question my decision to leave a ‘sure thing’ for an online business. We started small, making decals for bottles, and expanded to carry more home goods- mugs, towels, cutting boards, and apparel. I was able to use my creative background and started to design 90% of the designs we offer. It’s important to me to support other small businesses and artists, for any design I don’t do myself I purchase from another artist and create something amazing with it. To say that it took off is an understatement! At the time we were one of the only ones that were offering these goods, I was surprised that the need was there, and as time went by we continued to expand. I knew that if I had this weird, and quirky personality that wanted weird, and quirky home goods- others must as well.

Our shop is best known for being a top seller (for our shop type) on Etsy for the last 5 years in a row, and for being the main home goods supplier at the Oddities and Curiosities Expos across the US. This expo has allowed us to sell at pop-ups in person and meet our customers face to face. I bring my amazing assistant, Anna, to travel with me to these events. She’s my clone and reads my mind and just knows what I need. I could not do these events without her amazing work ethic. She is one of the hardest working women I know and I’m proud to have her as a part of this shop as well as a part of my family. At these events, I offer a new line of items that aren’t available on Etsy until the end of the show season (November) just in time for Christmas sales. I love vending at these expos because I’m able to hear people enjoying my products while they’re shopping in my booth. A good hearty belly laugh can really do a number for the ego, especially as a small business owner who sometimes experiences imposter syndrome!

Enough about my shop, here’s a tidbit into my life. I am a wife to an amazing man who works alongside me doing a large portion of my production, we’ve been married for going on 17 years this year! We have an ongoing Facebook message stream that is literally ideas for products. To say we are a team is an understatement, I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to do this life without him. Together we have an adorable and spicy two-year-old who keeps us busy, and in all honesty, is the boss around these parts. We have a beautiful, gentle giant of a Rottie dog named Oswald “Ozzy” who is our shopkeeper, he’s there to snooze and watch us while we work. When I’m not busy in the shop, or working with clients, I enjoy being outdoors and am an avid reader. At any given time I’m reading 3 books, and rotating them out depending on the day. My ideal client is someone who is confident with themselves, and open to learning. My ideal customer is someone who can laugh, loves the strange and unusual, and doesn’t take life too seriously.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I spoke a bit earlier about how I funded my business through a small $300 bonus check. At the time I started my business, I was determined to never run into the red and to sustainably fund my business through sales. I still stand firm on not going into debt, but I’ve also learned that ‘some’ debt is ok. I realized that in order to bring some of my products up a notch and to make a better quality product. In order to do that I had to take a small loan out to purchase a large piece of equipment. The other portion I ‘borrowed’ was from an investor that paid for a portion in hopes that my business would grow exponentially. This investor has been incredibly kind and one of my biggest supporters, I couldn’t have stayed out of debt without this! You can ask my husband and he’d tell you I was NOT ok with a loan. That small loan paid itself off quickly as I was right in knowing I’d be able to sell more, higher-priced products that were also higher quality products for my customers.

I’d encourage new start-ups to look into grants, and how to fund their business without going into debt. Business is hard, and keeping your money right will help lighten your load. I’d also encourage them to shop around, if you’re getting items printed, manufactured, or buying bulk- shop around. Ask your distributors to price match. Build relationships with your distributors and manufacturers so that you can feel confident in asking them to make it work within your budget (especially if the ask isn’t too outrageous).

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I sell on my own website, but my main site is on Etsy. Etsy has been one of the best outlets for me from the start. I built a large audience on social media personally, that transferred to sales on Etsy. The more you sell, the better your reviews and the relationships you build on the platform will push you to the top of searches.

That first ‘cha-ching’ I heard on Etsy lit a fire under me. I’ve chosen Etsy because they take care of some of my marketing. They run Ads for me on the items I want to be shown. They reward good shop owners and good businesses. I’ve been a part of Etsy since early 2016 and they have always had my back, including when art theft has occurred.

I know a lot of shops starting out look at the fees on Etsy and question it. If you break down the price of running your own outside advertising (which I still do, it’s important to get seen), website platform fees, outside processing fees, shipping, etc. You’ll know that the fees Etsy charges are fair, and in my opinion, budget-friendly.

One thing that disheartens me on Etsy is when I notice a lot of shop owners, who aren’t organically creative, steal designs and design ideas and call them their own. When I started my shop there weren’t many who were doing what I was doing. A year later, roughly 20 shops were started by acquaintances or friends of friends who saw my designs. Sadly, this is a part of this business. Sometimes creativity’s colors run. I’ve also seen artists who have crazy similar art, and have never seen or heard of each other, it was just an idea that was born.
Rick Rubin says it best “If you have an idea you’re excited about, and you don’t bring it to life, it’s not uncommon for the idea to find its voice through another maker. This isn’t because the other artist stole your idea, but because the idea’s time has come. In this great unfolding, ideas and thoughts, themes and songs, and other works of art exist in the aether and ripen on schedule, ready to find expression in the physical world.
As artists, it is our job to draw down this information, transmit it, and share it. We are all translators for messages. The universe is broadcasting. The best artists tend to be the ones with the most sensitive antenna to draw in the energy resonating at a particular moment. Many great artists first develop sensitive antennae not to create art, but to protect themselves. They have to protect themselves because everything hurts more. They feel everything more deeply.”

In all, Etsy and the platform has been integral to my business growth.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebootique.shop
• Instagram: instagram.com/thebootiquebychele
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebootiquebychele
• Other: Our business branding site is www.archersarrows.com

Image Credits
The first image is Chele with an Owl at Oddities & Curiosities Expo. Second is Chele and her Assistant Anna, photo taken by the tin print company Blk Hnd