Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Dustin
Hi Hannah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been the creative type; always working on one project or another, but my journey with entrepreneurship started back in 2014 when a family friend asked me to design and arrange her wedding flowers. At the time, I was part of a church where my parents hosted events for what was called the “pastor’s college” – and I suppose I was well known for helping them decorate those events. After that wedding, though, word quickly spread throughout my hometown that there was a high school girl doing wedding flowers with a lush and magical touch, and I started racking up clients! I started an official business, Hannah’s Blooms, and began servicing local brides both in and out of my church. It was a thrill, and I found that I absolutely treasured being apart of my clients’ most precious day. Looking back, I am so grateful for the push from that first bride and her mom; they were the catalyst to a wonderful journey that has brought me so much pride and joy.
When it came time to leave my Maryland hometown in 2015, I was devastated that my local growth had come to an end. My family moved to Colorado at the start of my senior year, and with it came a halt to my business. It was thriving on word of mouth alone, so the move stopped me in my tracks. However, this proved to be a blessing in disguise as the vacancy birthed the idea to move my business online – and with faux flowers. In 2016, I opened up my first Etsy shop, ‘Fairytale Florist’ and within two weeks of launch, I was promoted on Etsy’s weekly featured page! My business started off with a boom, and I was thrust into the thick of it from the get-go.
Over the years, that business absolutely thrived – even through my move to California in 2018! I found my signature floral style and learned the ins and outs of how to run a successful business. I was loving every moment of it, and I was loving how it made me feel to run something that I had built from the ground up. However, in 2020 when the pandemic hit, it took a toll on my shop. I was still making ends meet, but sales were slow. It was around this time that one of my paintings (a watercolor piece of Zelda from Breath of the Wild) went viral on Reddit, and people were asking me for prints and stickers and phone cases of it. This sparked the idea to go ahead and start a new business venture. So, in 2020, my pandemic baby was born – an art shop by the name of “Stardust Emporium.” I initially just sold stickers and an occasional painting here and there, but eventually expanded to the digital world of clipart and seamless patterns and such. That business quickly thrived, as well, and in combination with my floral business, I was back to having a good amount of work on my plate.
Unfortunately, things in my personal life weren’t going so well. I was struggling with my mental health, as well as going through a difficult breakup, and unfortunately my businesses suffered because of it. Though the quality of my work never faltered, many orders were shipped late due to my depression, and with that came some negative reviews – which I totally understand! But, they impacted my shops greatly, and eventually it got to the point where I came to the conclusion that Etsy was no longer working for me. It was incredibly hard, but I decided to close down both of my shops and pursue a career elsewhere.
Fast forward to 2023, and I was now in a much better place personally and mentally! In March of that year, I decided to give Etsy another go, this time with a fresh start; and with a slightly different approach. I wanted a place where I could make whatever my heart desired and just kind of slap it up there to see what happened. Hence, “Goddess Emporium” was born! Since I knew the ins and outs of Etsy, and all the components required to be successful, it didn’t take long before I reached a huge amount of sales, mainly from stickers, watercolor paintings, and gothic animal skull and moss pieces. I’ve recently expanded to designing Tshirts, hoodies, and mugs as well using a print on demand service, and just celebrated my 1,000th sale in early June! This shop has brought me so much pride and joy to be able to spread artistic beauty around the world with my art, whether its nerdy or gothic or just plain and simply beautiful. It’s a collection of artwork that I have put my heart and soul into, and have brought years of business experience to get it seen. I also have shared my floral expertise and designs with my mom, who started a wedding flower Etsy of her own just this year and leans on me for help here and there! And I am so proud of her! It’s wonderful to see my designs continue on, even if I’m not the one making them anymore.
I love my journey, and I’m so incredibly grateful for the people that have supported me through it. I’m proud to say that I’ve been building this business for about a decade, even if the launch date was only a year ago haha. Goddess Emporium is so much more than just an Etsy shop – it’s a place where I let myself create pieces that mean something, and spread beauty and wonder in their new homes. And I’m so grateful to be able to run it!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have certainly been many challenges along the way. Firstly, that initial learning curve is always the hardest. Figuring out how to take quality photos with the right lighting and camera settings and backdrops, figuring out SEO for my specific items, playing around with what’s selling and what isn’t… It takes a lot of time and effort and dedication, and a lot of trial and error. You can research for hours and hours and it still not help because at the end of the day, what works for one person may not work for the next. Having good content is one thing, getting it found is another. And it is an ever-changing road that we must all adapt on.
Another area that I used to struggle with in the past is staying motivated through the peaks and valleys of life. Being a one-woman show may sound impressive, but it comes with a lot of difficulties. I don’t have a boss pressuring me to make deadlines, or employees helping me out when it gets tough. I’m just me, and I must stay on top of things at all times. I take great pride in my work, and I hate hate hate letting people down – but I am only human, and there have been times when some orders ran a little late. Thankfully, I don’t really come across this issue any more. I’ve since put into place rigid structures that allow me to complete everything on time – if not early – and my business has thrived because of it. But finding a balance between keeping up and having grace with myself was for sure a struggle for many years, there.
My final area of struggle has been when the work becomes mundane, and the same tasks day-in day-out get old. The monotony of the work can become very dull at times, and it has taken a lot of practice and self-motivation to try to re-spark inspiration. When work is a drag, I try to make something new or work on something just for me to revive the joy in my art! And though I haven’t always been perfect at it, I’m proud to say that I am firmly on the road of improvement! I try to spark new interest and new ways to promote my shop when things feel a little dreary or monotonous. I also can say that my family has been incredibly encouraging and supportive of me, and I am so grateful for them and the impact they have on my business! I would not be where I’m at today without the many wonderful people in my life.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The beauty of my shop is that it is an Emporium, so really I sell a somewhat wide variety of items! However, the common theme among the listings is a nerdy and gothic vibe, as well as my great attention to detail. I also am a firm believer that one’s love and passion comes through in their artwork, and my pieces are no exception to this. Each and every piece, no matter how small, has had so much love and thought poured into it. Each listing represents a beautiful work of art, and deserves a loving home where it will be cherished!
As for my specialization or top sellers? I would say that my watercolors are the star of the show. I’ve been trained traditionally as well as self-taught in many techniques, and the vibrancy of colors and complexity of textures in every watercolor is a wonder to the eye. I am so proud of my work, and I’m ecstatic to be able to double or triple-dip my watercolor pieces as prints, stickers, Tshirts etc. From Padme Amidala to Zelda’s Koroks to a gothic gal, my pieces showcase the love I have for each subject and display my years of experience with the medium.
I also have a great love for acrylics, and have recently splurged on top-quality paints to offer long lasting paintings for my clients. I sell many originals, but my greatest passion as of today is to create custom wedding paintings! It harks back to my days of working in the wedding industry and the joy of being apart of someone’s big day, and allows me to capture the couple’s favorite moment and bring it to life with vivid colors and artistic liberties here and there. I am working on building up my experience in that, and hope to one day move on to paint weddings LIVE and in person! I think that would be a wonderful thing to have under my belt, and would again be an absolute honor to be apart of someone’s big day to that extent.
My shop is ever-evolving, and I am so grateful to be able to have a creative outlet that also helps pay the bills. My most recent addition has been to make designs of local San Diego beaches for T shirts and hoodies, though I am still in the works to expand that collection. I am just so incredibly grateful to all my past, current, and future clients for allowing me the freedom of creating anything my heart desires and finding success in almost all of it! It has been a wonderful journey, and I hope I can continue it for the rest of my life.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I’m not sure where the industry will take me in the future, but I am excited to ride whatever the wave brings! I do know that e-commerce is an ever-growing industry, and I can only hope that that extends to the artistic field of online shops, as well. As long as the threat of AI doesn’t overtake the passion of true, traditional art, we are on a road that will bring forth many fruits of artists who choose to sell online.
Pricing:
- Stickers: $4-$7.50
- Original Paintings: Ranging from $20 – $200+
- Wedding Portraits: $70+
- Animal Skull Pieces: $85-$280
- Clothing, Mugs & Prints: $18+
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Etsy.com/shop/GoddessEmporiumUS
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/goddessemporiumus
