Sponsor Spotlight: UrbanTickle

I’m happy to introduce you to Ankita, of UrbanTickle. She designs the sweetest artwork for any children’s room, along with birth announcements and baby shower posters!

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I have lived in 3 continents and have dipped my hands in different careers. The common thread in them all was that it was always a creative field…where every day had a new project and new excitement. I was a copywriter, interior designer and graphic designer. I fell in love with graphic design and stayed in the game. I say `Game’ because I really think I am having fun when I am creating new designs.

How did you get into designing prints?
I was freelancing in boutique studios after I had my son and I loved it. However I always did harbor a desire to be independent and have my own business. I admire the spirit of entrepreneurship in people and secretly hoped that I would be a part of that group. After I found myself more `free’ from my freelance job during the tough recession years, I seriously started dabbling in designing prints for myself. Thank God for the slow time because I would have never done this. I am a self-taught illustrator and it had been fabulous and sometimes challenging to arrive at this place.

What is your inspiration behind your work?
I think deep down inside I just knew that I could do this and that my decision would lead me to where I needed to be. My work is an outcome of a collective coming together of my entire life- I was a copywriter, interior designer and graphic designer and now all those skills have culminated in my designs. My son was the ultimate motivating factor because there is nothing like being there for him when he needs me. I tried to go to full-time design job after had my son, but I did not feel it in my bones and I quit within the first week.

What advice would you give to Etsy sellers who are just starting out?
Persevere, believe in your work, do not rest on past laurels and keep improving your craft. Reach out to the wonderful community on Etsy and ask for shop critiques. And always strive to market yourself. This is a tough one because most of us would love to keep designing but at some point we need to stop and figure out how to get attention to the work we’re so busy creating.

What has been your best experience with selling on Etsy?
The opportunity to do custom work for people. Most of them are wonderful to work with, and I love seeing their suggestions and ideas come to life in my studio. Some of their requests have actually improved my own work and I end up offering them in my shop. Also form a seller’s point of view, it is so cool to be able to experiment with new ideas and not having to break the bank for it. I sometimes have this urge to create a new design, I execute it and offer it in my shop, and sometimes it sells within 24 Hours. How cool is that!

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Read Read Read,…..I just love the smell of old and new books and I wish I could read a lot more than I do now. I of course end up reading a lot to my son who also enjoys a good book. I watch movies, make day trips to near by places and take photographs whenever I can. I also have another shop on Etsy called TexturedInk, which I have not paid much attention to. I know at some point I will. A lot of the work in there is made directly from my photographs. Most people who stumble upon it have love it.

Thanks for the lovely interview Ankita! Be sure to show her some love and check out UrbanTickle on Etsy, Twitter and Facebook!