Studio Hours Update – By Appointment for Now

On Hold/By Appointment….

Greetings, Friends. I’ve had a few open studio afternoons this month, but for the time being with an eye on virus numbers, will keep hours by appointment only: My shop is *tiny* and hard to socially distance in. I’m more than happy to arrange pickup for any items ordered from my Etsy shop http://etsy.com/shop/artsyletters.

It’s open 24-7. (We will decide about December’s First Friday that week. Night on the Town is not happening in Beaufort, but lots of shops WILL be open for First Friday.) Thanks!

This Week’s Webinar: Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

Etsy Shop Owners! Need some Social Time? Check out Robyn’s THIRD Etsy U Webinar coming up this Wednesday – also featuring Mary Thibault of Thibault Gallery. Introverts welcome!

Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

September 30, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter… How do we keep up?  We’ll look at some of the main channels in the Social Media world and how they can help connect your shop with potential customers.  Then we’ll offer tips on choosing the right one(s) for you. Learn how to share photos, videos and stories, and how to make a plan for your shop’s social engagement that won’t overtake the rest of your life!

Register for the Social Media Workshop here.

Note:  Etsy U workshop participants will receive a “check in” link to provide an email address and the name of their Etsy shop. That’s actually how I’ll get credit for teaching the classes! Etsy states that it will not share personal information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes.

Etsy Search Workshop Coming Right Up!


How do you get found on Etsy? And what does Google have to do with it? Join me THIS Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020 for an online Zoom webinar exploring all things Search! Co-hosted with Mary Thibault and ‘broadcast’ from Thibault Gallery. I’ll be sharing slides from Etsy as part of the Etsy U program. Details below!

Getting Found on Etsy – How Search Works

September 23, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

You’ve got wonderful products, great photographs, and you’re all set with pretty packaging and shipping tape… but how do potential customers find your shop?  It’s all about SEO – Search Engine Optimization. We’ll delve into the workings of Etsy search, from keywords to conversion rates, exploring ways to optimize your shop listings to help match them with potential buyers.  As a bonus, we’ll talk some Google, too.

Register for the Search Workshop here.

And, could your Etsy shop use some Social Media savvy? Read on:

Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

September 30, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter… How do we keep up?  We’ll look at some of the main channels in the Social Media world and how they can help connect your shop with potential customers.  Then we’ll offer tips on choosing the right one(s) for you. Learn how to share photos, videos and stories, and how to make a plan for your shop’s social engagement that won’t overtake the rest of your life!

Register for the Social Media Workshop here.

Note:  Etsy U workshop participants will receive a “check in” link to provide an email address and the name of their Etsy shop. That’s actually how I’ll get credit for teaching the classes! Etsy states that it will not share personal information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes. (I have completed trainings this year as an Etsy U instructor, but I am not an employee of or representative of Etsy. )

ETSY U Workshops – Series of Three – with Me! :0)

I’ve received training this year to be an Etsy U instructor. And now I’m ready to share what I’ve learned! I’m offering three workshops this month on Zoom, all online and to be recorded in the lovely Thibault Gallery (a couple doors down from my own studio) in downtown Beaufort. Mary Thibault and I are hoping to offer in-person workshops, too, but for now, all Etsy workshops are online. Read on for details, and feel free to email me with any questions. Space is limited. (robyn@artsyletters.com)

Just in time for your holiday prep! Here’s the scoop:

New to the world of selling on Etsy, or would you just like to spruce up your skills? Whether you are an entrepreneurial Etsy maker, a vendor of vintage treasures, or a curator of craft supplies, these tips from Etsy can help you grow your business.

Join Robyn Hood Black of artsyletters® for some “Etsy U” tips in this September webinar series!  We’ll be coming to you from the lovely Thibault Gallery in Beaufort, SC, where artist and Etsy shop owner Mary Thibault will keep our 90-minute meetings humming with Southern hospitality.   

On Etsy since 2012, Robyn completed trainings this year to become an Etsy U instructor. You’ll benefit from content that comes straight from Etsy, as well as personal experience from Robyn (& Mary). Participants will have access to the slides after each session –a great resource in itself.

Sign up for one, two, or all three webinars. (We plan to record these and make them available for a limited time period following the classes, technology willing.)

Etsy Shop Branding Basics & Beyond

September 16, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost: $15

What promise does your brand make to your customers?

We’ll help you discover or fine-tune that, and then we’ll explore how your shop’s images, messaging, packaging, customer service and more help you keep that promise.  A great introductory workshop and also helpful for those who have been around the Etsy block a few times!

Register for the Branding Workshop here.

Getting Found on Etsy – How Search Works

September 23, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

You’ve got wonderful products, great photographs, and you’re all set with pretty packaging and shipping tape… but how do potential customers find your shop?  It’s all about SEO – Search Engine Optimization. We’ll delve into the workings of Etsy search, from keywords to conversion rates, exploring ways to optimize your shop listings to help match them with potential buyers.  As a bonus, we’ll talk some Google, too.

Register for the Search Workshop here.

Your Etsy Shop on Social Media

September 30, 2020 | 7:00 – 8:30 PM EDT – Cost:  $15

Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Twitter… How do we keep up?  We’ll look at some of the main channels in the Social Media world and how they can help connect your shop with potential customers.  Then we’ll offer tips on choosing the right one(s) for you. Learn how to share photos, videos and stories, and how to make a plan for your shop’s social engagement that won’t overtake the rest of your life!

Register for the Social Media Workshop here.

Note:  Etsy U workshop participants will receive a “check in” link to provide an email address and the name of their Etsy shop. That’s actually how I’ll get credit for teaching the classes! Etsy states that it will not share personal information with unrelated third parties for marketing purposes.

*wee* Summer Break & Found Poem Collage Video


Click here for my how-to video on YouTube!

Greetings, Art Lovers! TWO Things:

1.) Last week, I was delighted to be a guest presenter for young creatives at Camp Conroy, sponsored by the Pat Conroy Literary Center. It was my first time doing a craft workshop VIRTUALLY. We made found poem collages, like the sample I’m holding above. If you need a fun literary art project this summer, feel free to click the link under the picture and you can enjoy a mini tour of my studio, and the lesson I made for the campers, start to finish! :0)

2.) My Etsy shop will closed for a little summer break June 26 – July 2. If you send me a message through Etsy, I’ll try to respond in a timely-ish manner! (My physical studio is still closed for the time being.)

Here’s to good books, good poems, and soul-nourishing art. Stay safe and well, and see you soon!

Library (& Customer) Love from afar…

Greetings, Letter Lovers! Usually my little posts are peppered with photographs I’ve taken, but today I’m sharing a few from one of my wonderful artsyletters customers, Eileen.

One of my vintage typewriter note cards perched on a glorious old Underwood!

One thing I LOVE about being an Etsy seller is the contact made with folks from all over the country, and around the world. Eileen hails from Connecticut, a state still on my to-visit list, even more so after our brief interaction.

She ordered several packs of note cards, saying that she works in a small library and their staff was sending notes to patrons during this time of quarantine. (How great is that?!)

My books with glasses note card
is quite happy on this gorgeous card catalog surrounded by books!

Eileen shared these pictures in her very kind reviews, saying, “I work in a small historic library and during this shutdown we wrote notes to all of our patrons, and these notecards were perfect to use to check in with the patrons to tell them we miss them!” Obviously, thoughtfulness is abundant in Eileen’s literary world. (And maybe her review is one reason I’ve been mailing out several more orders of literary combo pack cards recently! :0) )

Eileen and I exchanged brief notes about our hometowns, as she is hoping to make it to Beaufort in the not-too-distant future when things settle down. (I am hoping so, too, as I’d love to meet in person.) She sent this gorgeous photo of the Bill Memorial Library in Groton, “built in 1890 as a library overlooking the Thames River and adjacent to Fort Griswold, which played a big part in the Revolutionary War.”

Bill Memorial Library

She added, “Our Library is tiny but beautiful, a true neighborhood library.”

I made a little online visit, discovering that founder Frederic Bill had been a schoolteacher, publisher and bookseller, and then a merchant. Years after he had moved on from the business world, he wanted to honor the memory of his two sisters, Eliza and Harriet, with a library. I love this description of his aim, that “in the volumes collected there may be found that which will tend to stimulate a high ambition, strengthen good resolve, cultivate the taste an afford pleasure to all who may read them.” 

A little more website sleuthing suggests that this is the kind of place sorely missed by its community right now, I’m sure. Enticing programs for all ages are the usual fare, including activities for teens and story times for the youngest readers and listeners. Whenever I can make a Northeastern journey again, I will plan a Connecticut detour to drop in to this gem of a library!

(PS – Did I mention how much I love my customers? ;0) Such interesting, generous people – I am always learning from them.)  –Thanks to Eileen for  allowing me to share these pictures, and for the support in these challenging days. 

Happy National Library Week / Library Workers Day!

WE LOVE OUR LIBARIES!

(Isn’t this the COOLest graphic?!)

When I saw this amazingly cool animated graphic to celebrate this week, I wanted to make something to celebrate the national treasures that are our public libraries. I had a few raw brass lighthouse stampings, so I made a couple of bookmarks to let them “shine.” (Click below the picture for a link to the listing.)

And, there’s Hoopla! :0)

I sure miss the open doors at my local branch, which I see every day when I go to my studio. But I’m glad folks are staying safe.

Click here for link to bookmark listing in my Etsy shop.

SO grateful for all the folks who work and volunteer in libraries across the country. We miss seeing you in person right now, but please know you are appreciated! I have the fondest memories of riding my bike through a couple of neighborhoods and around a lake to our town’s library in Maitland, Florida, many moons ago. (Sometimes I still visit it when in town!)

Do you have a particular library you’re grateful for?