This week, I interviewed Liane Doxey, owner/designer of two Etsy shops, Prairie Garden and Prairie Garden Studio. I enjoyed learning that like our past Shop of the Week sellers, Liane has also managed to turn her personal hobby and love for gardening into a successful small business. It is also the first time I heard about zeroscaping which is a beautiful concept.
As our Shop of the Week, Liane is offering a special Free Shipping privilege for the whole month of July exclusively for our readers. Enjoy complimentary shipping on Jewelry and complimentary book rate shipping in the US, 50% off worldwide shipping from Prairie Garden. And enjoy complimentary shipping from Prairie Garden Studio (matted art is the exception). Just enter “ShopBug” in the message to seller to get the free shipping.
What’s the inspiration behind your shop’s name?
Prairie Garden is a name that means many things to me. Let’s start with the garden portion of my name… I am an avid gardener; in fact I recently graduated from the Illinois Master Gardener program. My first journal was a garden journal designed to hold all of the information I wanted be sure I incorporated into my own garden. Also my art work in Prairie Garden Studio is almost entirely botanical in nature. The Prairie portion of Prairie Garden is because I happen to live on Prairie Avenue.
Some people say you grow into your name. Originally this was the concept for the name of my store. Illinois is also known as the Prairie State due to the terrain and the name of my shop has also come to reflect my gardening philosophies which focus on using native plants whenever possible. This type of gardening is the building block to water conservation. The concept is known as zeroscaping, here is great synopsis of the philosophy if you are interested.
How old is your shop?
My first shop, Prairie Garden, opened February 15, 2009. My art studio, Prairie Garden Studio began April 1, 2009 when I chose to separate my art work from my journals. It’s enormously challenging to manage and promote two stores and I allowed my focus to be on Prairie Garden to start and now that it is more established I will be working on promoting Prairie Garden Studio.
What inspired you to start your own home business?
The economy and my house. I bought a tiny Chicago bungalow, mainly to be able to have a garden and I knew money would be tight for awhile. Little did I know the economy would take a downturn almost immediately and my property taxes would more than double.
While I wanted to help them in any way I could I was exhausted, I was never home and I decided if I was going to spend my time thinking about a part time job why not make it my own and out of my own home. Every personality quiz I have taken has placed me in the “entrepreneurial” category and I am quite sure they are accurate!
Can you give us a peek on the creative process involved in your craft?
For the journals the driving focus is need. As I said the garden journal was my first journal. My second was a knitting journal for my sister (I have since taken up the hobby of knitting as well). Aesthetically the journal process begins with the cover. I decide what sort of journal fits the cover material and work from there.
I must admit I am hopelessly addicted to the cover materials and loose myself in the designs imagining what they can look like on a journal. The beading of my journals often takes weeks to make it to the store because I spend a great deal of time looking for just the right bead for the cover. This also catapulted me into making earrings as there are so many beautiful beads that would not work well for the journals and I just had to use them somehow.
For my art studio it is driven by another need entirely. I have an absolute need to photograph and see where it takes me. My camera is an extension of myself I often get up at dawn with a smile on my face wondering what kind of images I may catch in the early morning light. Regardless if I sold my work, I would have to take photos. Without my camera…well, I don’t want to think about it!
What was the toughest challenge you faced so far?
Time, time and more time. To have your own business takes a great deal more time than you ever thought possible. Even if I did this full time I would never have enough time to develop all of the ideas floating around in my head.
How did you get over it?
The positive part of that is I am forced to focus on certain aspects and it likely has created a more cohesive approach to my stores. Bottom line is I am doing what I enjoy and I tend to be a workaholic and this way it actually gives me a bit more balance at my “day job”.
Please Name:
the things you do when you’re not busy in your shop:
Gardening (surprise!), volunteering for the Master Garden program (this is the primary purpose of the program), reading, knitting, drinking tea and wine (not necessarily in that order), visiting neighboring communities or exploring one of my favorite cities, Chicago.
stuff inside your bag you can’t leave home without:
camera, phone
your favorite shops:
The shops I am frequently at are art shops….not surprising often botanical in theme: merrithyde, jellybeans, MerryBluesArt, labokoff, GollyBard, Genuine
your top 3 favorite picks from your shop:
Grace Kelly Silver Vines & Pearls Guestbook
What tips would you want to share for aspiring home based entrepreneurs like you?
Patience, try new things and you may never have a clean house again. The photos of my home with clean surfaces are purely for show and a rare glimpse. I’m glad I have a few photos to prove to myself it’s actually possible!
I have a full time job and took a part time job to try help with the bleak situation I found myself in. I intended for the part time job to be a fun, no responsibility job but the owners (a startup company) seemed to rely more and more on my ideas and it turned into a situation where I was spending most of my free time trying to come up with ideas for them.
It takes time and hard work. Success is rarely immediate. Be unique and let your craft be a reflection of yourself. I’ve found it is a rare person that has a true “studio”, every room of my house is storage for supplies or work area. I work at my computer for my art and store management, construct on my massive dining room table and sew journals on my sofa, quite the unusual assembly line (perhaps not that unusual for etsians).
One last thing to keep in mind is you are likely to have very little “down” time ever again so you must choose what you enjoy to do and be aware that it undoubtedly changes the dynamic of what was/ is a relaxing hobby. I have offered a few items in my store that I stopped because I realized, for those items, it turned a wonderful hobby into a stressful job. Be assured, it is also immensely rewarding. I’m thrilled beyond words when I hear how something I have created has enhanced someone else’s life in some small way.
Any message to your customers and the people who support you?
My customers are truly a joy. They have been so kind with their feedback and it’s amazing how wonderful it is to sell online and across the world. Every day I become more aware that we are all truly and essentially one community.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank my parents who have come to be my closest friends. They are an endless source of encouragement and so patient with the constant question of “so, what do you think of this?”