We were lucky to catch up with Lydia Korson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Lydia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
Coming up with a name, whether it be for a child, a pet, or a business, is no easy decision. I had thought about creating a business many times before, but never followed through. This time around, it was a little easier to pick a name.
There’s a lot that goes into choosing a business name: it shouldn’t be limiting, should sound good when said out loud, have the domain and trademark available, and mean something to you.
Wilde Lou came about from two separate memories.
When I was a kid, my siblings and I would spend nights at my grandparent’s house. They lived in the woods too, so I felt right at home. I had never seen such a clean house growing up (I still haven’t, to be honest)- white carpet, light furniture, glass everything. I was a blonde and barefoot kind of kid, running around the gravel driveways and dirt down by the barns- I hated shoes and loved being outside. So, you can only imagine how a kid who much prefers outside instead of inside faired in their pristine house- not well. I remember running inside after playing out in the woods- leaves in my pockets, twigs in my hair, dirt smudged on my face and under my fingernails- and about giving my grandma a heart attack. My grandpa looked like he was trying to hold back laughter as he carried me to the garage and sat me on the counter in there. He helped me clean up and explained that while my grandma enjoyed her clean house and white floors, he loved my carefree spirit and wild child look on life. I always loved my grandpa, but that moment right there, he became my best friend. No one ever understood my outlook on life or took the time to get to know me like he did. It was that night he shared stories of our Bohemian ancestry, and I still don’t know what was true and what was made up by that wonderful storyteller, but I fell in love with his words and the glint in his eye.
One of my favorite traditions growing up was watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” after Thanksgiving dinner (the classic 1966 short and not the weird 2000’s movie). Everyone was quiet and tired from the dinner (which we always went all-out for. I still think of the Polish kruschiki we would make), and we would all pile into our small living room and watch the 26-minute short. I could recite it word for word, and when my boyfriend started to join us I like to think it was charming, but was probably more annoying. I can’t recall when it started, but eventually I was given the nickname “Lydie Lou” or “Lydie Lou Who”. I don’t know if it’s because “Lydie” kind of sounded like “Cindy”, or that I had blonde hair, but I also think it was because I was constantly asking “Why?” Either way, it stuck around as I grew up.
Combining these two memories is how I came up with Wilde Lou. I wanted it to represent me: a wild child at heart who still believes in what some people might see as childish joy and belief, but is really just me. I added Studio to the end so that I can share more than one passion I have. Wilde Lou started off as a small Etsy shop with polymer clay earrings and now I have my own website with polymer clay earrings, barrettes and keychains, stickers, apparel, bookmarks and glassware. I have an ever-growing list of new items and new adventures I want to add, too!
Wilde Lou Studio is me- child at heart, gypsy-descendent, hopeful lover, and multi-passionate.
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 there- I’m Lydia! I am the mind, hands, and heart behind Wilde Lou Studio. I would describe my business as cozy, light, and a little bit Wilde *wink wink*.
I started Wilde Lou not intending to start Wilde Lou. I was a year into my accelerated online college and was feeling pretty depressed and overwhelmed with schooling and two jobs. At the time, I had not made anything artistic that was not related to school, and I missed creating for the sake of creating. It was Christmas break 2020, and I had some spare time- I did little research online before going out and buying the primary colors of clay, the basic tools (a roller, simple shaped cutters, pliers, and jewelry findings), and a $40 pasta machine from Joanne’s. I started making earrings as soon as I got home, ended up gifting some as Christmas presents, and eventually was told by those around me that I should start selling them. I was skeptical, as I was brand new into this world, but my passion for it was soaring. I spent all day, every day working on earrings- literally from morning to night. It’s all I wanted to do, and still is!
A couple months later I felt confident enough to create an Etsy to sell to more than just my friends. Since then, I have expanded into other forms of polymer clay accessories, such as hair clips, keychains, and coffee mugs. I have also added my love of graphic design, which opened up the chance for Wilde Lou to offer stickers, custom illustrations, logos, glassware, and apparel. Everything that Wilde Lou has is created by me, and I love how authentic that is.
What sets me apart from others I would say would be my background- I grew up being told that I could not make a living off of art, that I should not go to school for it, and that it should remain a side hobby- a thing to do if I found spare time. The old idea of “starving artist” hung over my head constantly, even after graduation! And despite that, I have taken many chances in life to prove those ideals wrong. Something else that sets me apart is that I turned my passion into something in the middle of working two jobs, going to an accelerated school full time, and in the middle of a global pandemic! I’ll be honest, this was not something I saw in the cards for myself when I was younger, but here we are and I am loving every minute.
What also sets me apart from other jewelers is that everything is made by hand and made for those with sensitive ears. I personally have sensitive ears, and found that jewelry I bought at the store or online turned various colors, irritated my ears, weighed my ears down, and sometimes broke in my hand as soon as I put them in- no matter the price I paid for them. I saw a problem for myself and knew there were others with similar issues, and found a solution! I take great pride in my research and dedication to creating earrings that are made with sensitive ears in mind. I create my earrings with nickel-free and surgical steel posts. With polymer clay earrings, they are much lighter than any other earrings I’ve seen and owned. No one likes droopy earlobes! Even my heaviest of earrings are fractions of an ounce, or weigh less than a quarter- I often forget that I am wearing them. My earrings are a wonderful option for anyone, but especially with those who have sensitive ears!
I am most proud that this business is me- from my online presence to my design work, it’s ME. I have never pretended to be someone I am not with my business, and I have been open with my audience from the beginning. I do weekly live questions, I share where I get my supplies and how I do things, I show how my tools work- there is the idea of “gatekeeping” and it has unfortunately expanded into the clay-world- I am not here for that. The mentality I have with my business and how my business works is community over competition. I have met and connected with so many lovely, outgoing, and all-around the sweetest people since I have started. I never thought I would be selling to those all over the US, but even overseas too! I am extremely grateful for my support system, my lovely boyfriend and family, and a few close friends- without them this would have been a very lonely journey.
Overall, I’d like to say that what I make is pure passion. Everything I create, I create because I love it. I look forward to the day where I can take this full time, and until then, I’m excited to see what’s around the corner!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media can be intimidating, but seriously, do not make that be the reason you say no to social media. Not to sound too “back in my day”, but we are living in a digital world! Businesses cannot thrive if they do not have an online platform or presence.
Making my social media accounts was pretty easy- I started with Instagram, added on Facebook, and eventually caved and got a TikTok too!
When it comes to anything with your business, you need to make sure your name is available, and that includes any sort of version of it- for example, my Instagram handle is @wildeloustudio. If that was not available, but @wildelou_studio was, I would have chosen another name because someone, even if it’s a personal account, has already put out associations with the name. And that goes with all social media accounts- if you have different forms of your handles for different platforms, it could become confusing for everyone involved.
I would say that Instagram is my most used platform when it comes to my business. It was my first form of social media when I was growing up, so I have the best understanding of it and ways to utilize it. I have a business account, which offers various analytics into followers, my posts, etc. I do weekly questionnaire sessions on my Instagram stories- people can ask any questions they have, whether it be about clay, my business, where I shop, school, my boyfriend, etc, and then I record myself answering their questions. I then put them together on my highlights for people to look at at a later date. I also have other highlights such as Shops & Markets, Reviews from purchasers, Earrings Tips, and Behind the Scenes; I created the artwork for these as well, personalizing them to my business- marketing people!
For Facebook, I take what I posted on Instagram and post it there, usually with a simplified caption and no hashtags. My audience on Facebook is comprised of my-aged people or older adults, and so I present myself just a little more professional and simplified. I try to stick to regular photos on Facebook, whereas I post videos and reels on Instagram.
With TikTok, I really fought getting one for a long time. I’ll be honest, I thought the platform was a little annoying and had some childish connotations with it (all I really knew about the app was from what my boyfriend’s sister showed me- the silly dances and the wanna-be’s who didn’t know what Vine was) and I didn’t think it would help my business at all. I caved about a year or so after that, and though it’s my least-used social media, I do think it’s really fun. There is an option to have a business account on TikTok, where you can get insight and analytics, but I chose not to (even though I get TikTok inviting me daily) because mainly business accounts do not have the same music library as personal accounts- that’s a personal choice. I will say that TikTok is becoming more and more popular, and it can be scary to record yourself, make the reel, choose music and caption, and wait for views. Your first reel is pushed into people’s For You page, which can be misleading because after that, your content isn’t pushed as hard. Like with any social media, there are suggested posting times and reel lengths, but it really takes time and dedication to figure out what works for you and your business.
All in all, I built my social media audience by being real. I know that sounds cliche, but it’s really easy and rather common to not be real online. I’m upfront about when I’m having a hard time creating, or I give my audience a heads up when school is too consuming for me to have the dedication to post. There is a fine line of being too open and personal, but I think the level of that I have created a better bonding opportunity between my audience and myself. Yes, I have friends who I see often who follow me, but there are people I have never met who I consider close friends as well. It’s important to be aware of how much you are sharing, how specific and personal you are, but to each their own!
I suggest that, if you are brand new and starting off, choose a single platform that you are most comfortable with and dedicate yourself to said platform only. It can be daunting to have multiple social medias, especially when you’re newer, and can easily become overwhelming and dedication and posting may falter. For me personally, Instagram is easy and fun. Facebook is a little less fun, and I forget to post on there sometimes. TikTok is a bunch of fun, but takes up a lot of time. Between setting up the shoot, splicing it all together, and then remembering to post at the best time- I wish I had more time for it, but I know my boundaries and with school and work, it’s too time consuming for where I am currently.
On any platform you choose, thinking of branding. Some businesses have their logo as their profile image, some choose to have a photo of themselves- totally up to you. For platforms like Facebook, make sure to have a relevant banner image- some choose to have an explanation of what they offer as their image and some have product photos. On Instagram, take use of the highlights option and make sure to have branded images as the cover image. I also suggest filling out every portion of information you can!
Finally, be aware of where you passions tend to drift- is it with photography, stories, reels- and know that it’s OK to forget to post or update your audience. Sometimes you’ll have a week where you post every day, you share events and stories, and out of the blue a month has gone by and you haven’t posted at all. This might be different if you’re trying to make your business you’re life, but if not, you have a life too. It’s perfectly okay and normal and healthy to live it.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
I currently have my website that I made, but I did start off of Etsy.
Unfortunately, Etsy has changed a lot since I started using it, and not in a good way.
I left Etsy because it’s impersonal and not loyal. When you ask where someone got their necklace, they most likely say “Oh, I got it on Etsy!” and not “I got it from *insert shop name here* ON Etsy!”- more often than not, people will come to Etsy and not find your shop, but a different one that sells similar products and they’ll choose what they see first. It’s also highly oversaturated. Niches are overcrowded, competition is the highest I’ve ever seen, and it makes it hard to stand out.
Marketing and Etsy do not mesh well together, unless you can dedicated days and days into researching and trail and error. You cannot just list your product and have people flock to your site. There is so, so much that goes into each listing- specific words need to be used in a specific order and in certain places on the listing for maximum profit and views. You need to take into account SEO- Search Engine Optimization. If you want to thrive on Etsy, you need to use SEO, and also understand that even if you use it, there is no guarantee it will work well for you.
Finally, it was the fees that was the last straw for me leaving Etsy. There are listing fees, transaction fees, advertising and promotional fees, Etsy and off-site fees, subscription fees, in-person selling fees, payment processing fees, shipping fees, regulatory operating fees- oh, there’s more. And while there are fees I never took part in, the ones I had to have for my shop’s bare minimum was still too much.
So, I took the leap and made my own website! I was able to customize it exactly the way I wanted, adding products was a breeze; I could add as much or as little information I wanted and was able to add a contact and gift Gard portion. I could see much more specific analytics and insights into customers (including a live feed, which is as creepy and cool as it sounds), selling and shipping was more simple, and I had an actual home page to showcase various products and what was new. On the price-side, I have a single site-fee that is significantly less than all the various Etsy fees. I also was able to obtain a card for business purposes, and it’s a nice way to be able to put the funds I have earned right back into the business.
The only downside to having my own website, if I could call it that, would be that I have to drive all of my views and customer myself. I can see where my customers come from, whether it be from social media or directly from my business card, how they’re viewing my website, etc., which is pretty cool and helpful. And considering that with Etsy, it was just as hard to get views, I’d say that having my own website was the smarter choice between the two.
I suggest doing your own research into both options and see what would apply to you and your business. I know people who are doing really, really well on Etsy, but I also know people who were ending up paying Etsy more than they were making in sales. You need to do what is best for you and for your business- in that order!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wildeloustudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildeloustudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildeloustudio
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lydia-korson-b39800128
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdExYbnB/ https://linktr.ee/wildeloustudio
Image Credits
Lydia Korson