Barn Owl Primitives

I don't know about y'all, but if I put my elbows on the table at dinner, my dad would poke them with his fork.  There were 5 of us kids, and no one ever wanted to sit by Dad, lol.  Ah, the good ol' days when families had sit-down dinners every night....  This is a tradition that I still proudly carry on in my home.  I'm thinking I'm going to get two of these handy table manners signs--one for my house and one for my dad's.  Of course, all of his baby birds have flown the coop, but I'm sure he sits around wishing he could poke just one more elbow.  The table manners sign is just one of many appealing items that you can find at Barn Owl Primitives.

How are you getting so many views on your treasuries?

I have a fabulous fan base on Facebook and I post my treasuries there for them to view. I also send a personal email to each shop that I include in my treasury. It’s a great touch point and a nice way to meet your fellow shop owners. I’ve made great friends with other shop owners through the treasury. It is also very important to use all the tags when creating a treasury and to make sure you are using words that people might actually search on. My top three tags when I create a treasury are vintage, shabby chic and antique. If you've seen my treasuries, that will come as no surprise!!

Why pine?

I use premium pine boards for almost all of my signs. I want my signs to be of the highest quality. And I don't want to worry about knots when I’m painting the letters. I create a mountain of sawdust as each board is sanded before, during, and after the painting process, but it's worth it. (Or so my customers tell me!)

I see that you have shipping rates to Australia ($45- yikes!). Do you have many orders that go there?

I’ve shipped 18 signs to Australia. Just got an order for another one today! I’ve actually shipped signs to all 50 states, Australia, Ireland, England, Scotland, Norway, Canada and Singapore! I really can't believe it!

You did a promo with Junk to JENius a bit ago. How did that work and how did that work out?

Jen won a giveaway that I did with a blog in the fall. When she opened her shop a few months later, she asked if I would be interested in hosting a giveaway for her. Since I don't blog, and since she was trying to build her blog, I suggested she host a giveaway on her blog and we each giveaway something from each of our shops. It’s so much more fun to collaborate with another shop owner then to do something by yourself. We had a lot of fun working together that week and the best part is I’ve made a fabulous new friend!

How many sets of stencils do you have?

My stencils are one time use, so each sign has a unique stencil. So far, I’ve painted 1,632 signs {deep breath}, so I’ve used a lot of stencils! I have about 50 designs that are usually available in my shop at any given time. I typically don't paint a sign until an order is placed since the customer can choose their colors from my standard shop colors.

Your Etsy shop has a little over 1,100 sales.  What venue did you use for the other 500?

When I started, I sold wholesale to several shops. And I was selling through www.chickspicksbyhillary.com for almost a year. Hillary lives near me and offers an online shop as well as a fabulous pop up boutique in her home about 7 times a year. I've also done several local craft shows. My shop is now busy enough that I don't have time for those things right now. Since I do all of this myself...from cutting the wood all the way through to boxing it up and shipping it out, I just don't have time for much more.

One day, I too will be able to share that testimony!  Cord cover anyone?

Any thing else that you would like to add?

I would like to thank my family and friends who support me every day. And I’d like to thank all the wonderful customers, shop owners, bloggers and friends on Facebook and twitter who send me messages, purchase signs, leave comments and posts and otherwise encourage me to do what I do. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful network and I could not do what I do without them. Thank you!

And to those shy people who don't like to post, comment or otherwise interact but who follow along and view my art...THANK YOU! I appreciate each of you too!!

She has many other wonderful signs hanging around her shop.  Signs about wine, beaches, baseball, motorcycles, and my favorite--baby girls.  Go "favorite" some of your favorites.

FB www.facebook.com/barnowlprimitives
Twitter twitter.com/#!/barnowlprimitiv
Blog nope
Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/barnowlprimitives