brand independence

Editor's Note: This post is brought to you by Kristina from Streeter & Company and expresses her experience struggling with brand independence for her handmade business. 

In October, my sister-in-law gave me an adorable diaper bag with quilted owl fabric and said "I got it from Etsy!"

If you know me, you know handmade products are a favorite of mine but that phrase makes me uncomfortable because it sounds as if Etsy were a large retail store and not a site filled individual stores stocked with products crafted by individual artists.


It would break my heart if someone bought an item from me to give as a gift and told the recipient they purchased it from "Etsy". Even if the recipient loved my product, they could have a difficult time finding my shop by searching on Etsy. Like when I asked my sister-in-law which shop she bought the diaper bag from and she had no idea who the creator was. The lack of customization on Etsy makes it difficult to create brand independence for your products. While I utilize branding on my products with tags, labels and packaging, I know those can and usually are removed and discarded, especially when a product is being gifted. 

I understand how that is so easy to do with Etsy shops. Aside from your banner on Etsy you get no room for individuality, so it's easy for shops to blend into the thousands of stores listed with hundred of somewhat similar items, and what sets you apart? Just the banner across the top of your shop page. 

I feel it's important to stress that I personally do have an Etsy shop and that's where my company started when it opened in 2011. I read the helpful articles they send out, I enjoy the treasuries and community groups that are available and convenience of the Etsy app - all great features, but as I am a shop owner that's looking to build my individual brand, in my opinion Etsy does not offer much room for growth.

Naturally, I want my shop to standout and the customer to remember their shopping experience, my branding, my products - I want to set set my business apart from other handmade businesses. 

My solution? 

Storenvy.

Here are four different shops, all hosted on Storenvy and all look completely different. Each has their own branding and all have something that sets them completely apart from the other - personality. 

With Storenvy.com you have the options to customize your shop as little or as much as you would like from the header, background and font colors. And if you have HTML knowledge you can completely customize the shop entirely to include such features as landing pages and slideshows, interactive menus and more! Allowing you brand independence and endless room to grow your products and brand.

In addition to the custom store fronts that Storenvy offers, it is also free to list and free to sell on Storenvy.com. You are allowed unlimited listings, which can be browsed through Storenvy's powerful search engine that ranks products in real time popularity with a discovery system that makes it easier than ever to get your products in front of new consumers! Every time your product is purchased or "Envy'd" (Storenvy's version of liking a product) they get a spike to the top of the category, showing the product to everyone who follows the person who purchased from you or Envy'd your product, giving your products the potential to go viral at any moment.

All in all, Storenvy.com is the place for creative businesses looking to stand out and really develop a brand for their products!

Read more about Storenvy's features here in our recent post reviewing New Storenvy.

And if you are wondering if I ever found the shop the diaper bag came from - the story has a sad ending...I learned there was no way for me to find that individual shop because the labeling on the bag taught me it was a commercialized bag and the shop just embroidered the name on it. Short story-I found a different handmade changing pad solution.

Shops Pictures: Streeter, LTD:The Shop. Lu & Ed. Melli's Trinkets. Sew Beastly