This week’s Shop of the Week is dstefanTreasures, owned by Diane.
What is the meaning behind your shop name?
It’s the oddest thing. Before I opened my shop on Etsy I registered dstefan as a user name just so I could buy something. A year or so later I decided to open a shop and I was stuck with that name and couldn’t change it. After a while, Etsy decided there would be a grace period so shop owners could change their shop names. By then I felt like it was part of my identity, except it didn’t really say anything. I thought long and hard and decided to add Treasures to the name. It seemed like a good fit. It wasn’t a drastic change and dstefanTreasures expresses how I feel about each item in my shop.
How did you get your start selling vintage?
In the beginning, as a young teenager, my mom would buy things from a neighborhood thrift shop. She liked all the hand crocheted doilies and knick knacks that were sold. Well, I was so embarrassed that my friends would find out and think we couldn’t afford to buy from regular retail stores. Teenagers…what did I know. Of course, attitudes are different today. Vintage is more appreciated and valued.
As I got a little older, I began to think about how cool it was that a dish or toy may have been made before I was born….maybe surprised there was life before I existed. That was probably the start. Over the years my mom gave me some collectibles like depression glass. I still have them and treasure each and every piece.
I didn’t buy vintage myself till I was older. I finally settled on jewelry and started buying whatever caught my eye, till I managed to collect more than I could wear. That’s where Etsy came in. I loved the idea of a shop and wanted to sell my jewelry on a respectible online site.
What is your favorite item in your shop right now, and what makes it special to you?
My fav right now isn’t even jewelry. It’s a pyrography box signed “To Helen From Don, May 1, ’07”. That’s the only background I have, but it’s just so sweet. The box itself is in great condition, but Helen must have used it as a pencil or letter box. It has an ink stain and something yellow like chalk or poster paint inside. I think it adds to the charm. I can’t help wondering how old they were and if they were sweethearts. I think Don must have done the woodburning himself.
What is the most unusual or amazing item you have sold from your shop?
I don’t really sell amazing, but maybe unusual or beautiful. I always try to find different interesting things. My favorites are both brooches from the French artist Lea Stein, a black cat named Atilla and a flying goose. They’re partly my favorites because of the people who bought them and the stories they shared.
A lady from Australia bought Atilla as a 50th birthday gift for a dear friend because she wanted to own a genuine Lea Stein.
SOLD!
The goose was purchased as a gift also. It was for an old college roommate who was going to France for the first time and would celebrate her birthday there. She also lived on the east coast where hundreds of geese appear every fall. Perfect gift that was very personal. I love it when buyers share stories.
SOLD!
What social media platforms do you use? Share your links with us, so we can follow you!
I’m currently posting on Pinterest.
www.pinterest.com/deestefan/etsy-most-excellent-finds/
I’d like to start Instagram, but haven’t gotten further than opening an account. I’m trying to figure out how to go about it and how it should look.
Delightful reading, Diane—-I am a kindred spirit from the standpoint that a sale is so much more than the treasure someone selected. The story whether it be past, present or future (or all of the above) is what it’s all about!
Don and Helen, you live on! (the box is very special indeed!)
Thank you Barbara. Makes you wonder why Helen’s family didn’t want to keep the box. I guess you can only keep so much from someones’s estate.
Such a pretty shop and always so nice to learn more about the owner. I’m a big pyrography / Flemish art fan too 🙂
Thanks for the compliment, Lea. Love your shop as well. So many wonderful items. The pyrography boxes were really an art form back when. It also gave people something to do in the evening 🙂
You have such a lovely shop and a familiar story. Thanks so much for sharing. Love those SOLD items. 🙂
Thanks. I think Lea Stein animal pins are so cute. I love Attila the cat. I didn’t want to let him go. I also love your piggy bank with the cork nose. I remember having those when I was a kid. You don’t often find them anymore, especially with the cork. Very cool.