Evolution

Smokecraft Hollow began as a side project teaching myself to woodburn art and decor as a way to supplement my income. Little did I know in 2020, that this would become my full time gig! Since then, I have hand-Smokecrafted more than one-thousand pieces of art from my little Etsy shop! Absolutely incredible and I have been so grateful for the support I have received! 

In August, me and my family moved to Suffolk, U.K where my Husband is from and we couldn’t be happier to be home!

I worked hard these past few weeks to re-purchase all of my supplies, set up a work space (with help), and set up my shop again. I didn’t know that Etsy would require me to open a completely new account, because they haven’t created a system to transfer accounts internationally. This was crushing because I had worked so hard to develop a following, reviews, and shop stats, but I tried to make the best of it. 

Since opening my new Etsy account, I have made a few sales but Etsy informed me that because my account was “new” I would not have full access to my funds for a period of 90 days! I have made Etsy thousands of dollars and I have had to jump through hoops with limited and poor customer service just to continue selling through their app. Now, they are treating me like a child despite my reputation, and not having access to funds for any small business can sometimes mean failure.

So, due to this, I will slowly be migrating solely to this independent website with the help of Shopify. I am beyond disappointed in Etsy and I know I’m not alone. I used to defend their fees because of their support and service but that has clearly been thrown out as well. Despite the fact that I can’t afford to wait to be paid my money, I can’t in good conscience continue to support a company that does not support small businesses and artists, though they claim so. 

Whole it is intimidating to leave, it also feels good to be able to present my art the way that I want, and with a more whimsical shopping experience for all of you. So whether you are new here or you have followed me here, I welcome you and cherish you. Thanks for being here! 

Here’s to the art and here’s to the makers. 

(Blog picture is of the first Woodburned item I ever made for my shop back in 2020).