Interview with Wild Child Woolies

This week we take a close up look at Wild Child Woolies in our talk with owner and creator Angela.

Tell us about you!
I am Angela, the work at home mom behind Wild Child Woolies. I've married 16 years and have 5 children ranging from toddler to teen. We're a pretty average, semi "crunchy" family in NW Ohio.

Tell us about your business!
Wild Child Woolies is about fun and unique wool clothing that is both fun and functional. It makes a once dreaded chore (changing the baby's diaper) into something fun by covering little behinds in bright and cheery wool.

What do you make and how long have you been creating?
I make wool diaper covers for use with cloth diapers. I have been creating these for about 4.5 years. I started (and still continue) on Hyena Cart. I will be celebrating 4 years there in April.

Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration everywhere. My gears are always turning. I try many, many ideas that never make it past an initial trial. I also take a lot of requests and and get new inspiration from customers.

What got you started in your craft?
WCW was  born out of frustration while cloth diapering my youngest son. I was tired of leaks by the time he was only a few weeks old. Everybody told me I needed to try wool. I did and was instantly hooked, no more leaks! But I wanted the perfect wool cover and had in my mind what exactly that was. I couldn't find that available on the market so went to work at creating it myself. I was already in business for myself making clay ornaments. But I enjoyed making these covers so much I decided to quickly switch gears and start offering my covers for sale. I was amazed at how quickly they were selling out and just ran with it. I haven't looked back since and still to this day get butterflies in my tummy every time I stock my shops.

What's your favorite thing you have ever made? 
I don't know that I have one single favorite item, but I do love making the MasterPiece line. I love playing with the different colors of wool and piecing all the small, scrap pieces into new fabric. I like put them all together and then see what applique seems to perfect for what I end up with. They take a lot more time than my normal covers and are definitely a labor of love. I put a lot of detail into making these covers one of a kind.

How long have you been on Etsy and how has it been for you so far? 
I started selling on Etsy in the fall of 2010 and really started to bring a little more focus to my shop there at the very end of the year. Etsy has been a very successful sales venue for me and I've met a lot of new customers there.

What advice do you have for other Etsy artisans? 
Do what you love and do your own thing. Nobody respects a copycat, and if you don't have your own vision and your own ideas you'll ultimately fail. And you can't just pick up the latest, greatest craze to make a few bucks. You need to have some heart in your product, a real passion for it. Lastly, make sure your photos are great! That is a huge turn off for me when shopping myself if I can't see the details of your product.

What do you hope to gain or contribute to the Natural Kids group? 
I hope to learn a little more about the ins and outs of Etsy since it's still fairly new to me. I've been selling online for a long time so I hope to contribute my general knowledge of that to the group.

Share your links:
Main home page: http://www.wildchildwoolies.com/index.php
Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/WildChildWoolies
Hyena Cart: http://hyenacart.com/stores/WildChildWoolies/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WildChildWoolies
Currently neglected blog: http://www.wildaboutwoolies.com/