Seller Handbook

Since giving birth to her second child earlier this year, ceramicist Mary Lee is back in the studio and striking a balance between life’s many pulls. In this seller case study, we asked Mary for her candid thoughts on what inspired her entrepreneurial journey, along with some of the unique challenges, learnings, and opportunities that come with running a creative business built from the ground up. Read on to learn more about her experience.

Name: Mary Lee
Shop name: Mammoth and Minnow
On Etsy since: 2010
Based in: New York City

When did you start your Etsy shop and why?

I started making pottery in 2016, and very quickly fell in love, stopping by the ceramics studio in Manhattan most evenings after work, sometimes sitting down to throw on the wheel in work-wear if I'd forgotten to pack a change of clothes. I worked out of a shared studio for many years, but I've since moved my work into a home studio after becoming a mom in 2021 and then having a second baby in early 2024.

I started my Etsy shop as a way to begin sharing the pottery I made—beyond my immediate friends and family. I love being able to offer items that can bring a little bit of joy to someone when they interact with it. I design pieces that are meant to be purposeful, beautiful, and that feel good to hold in your hands. I make a lot of mugs which reflect my appreciation for being able to pause with a hot cup of coffee, as well as vases which speak to my more recently acquired hobby of growing flowers in my small garden.

The Challenge

There's a long lead time for making ceramics, so I’m not able to react quickly to changes in demand or to restock immediately when something sells out. On top of that, there's a persistent need to plan far ahead and set production goals so that I can stock my shop, as well as allow room for customizations and my own creative explorations.

The Solution

Build up your inventory with a tracking system in place.

It's a work in progress, but I've developed a helpful spreadsheet-based tracking system for my production and inventory that helps me see at a glance which items I need to restock.

But leave room for made-to-order.

It's helpful that Etsy supports made-to-order as a product type with customizable lead times so that I can offer a broader range of pieces, including more large-scale designs, despite my limited storage space.

When it comes to offering made-to-order items, I've learned the importance of setting clear expectations around how long something might take to be completed, as well as emphasizing that each piece is individually handmade, and therefore variations are to be expected and indeed are what make each one unique.

Review what’s selling, and when.

Collecting and reviewing data on sales allows me to better plan for the busier times of the year, such as wedding season and the holidays. It also helps to validate that there is an audience for certain designs that I like but mighthave felt unsure about. For example, it turns out that mugs with hand-painted ghosts on them can be popular outside of the Halloween season, and there is a market out there for sculptural serving dishes with unconventional shapes or details.

Communicate with care.

As I've grown my Etsy shop, I've seen how impactful clear and responsive communication can be. As a shopper myself, a seller who is helpful and reliably timely in their responses greatly increases my confidence in the transaction.

That feeling of being taken care of can really only be conveyed in this way when your customer base finds you online, so starting with the right tone is a hugely important signifier of what someone can expect from the entire transaction, from the initial product inquiry to the final unboxing once the item arrives at their doorstep.

I always send a handwritten note with each order so that the recipient knows that it was packed personally by me.

Take your time when shipping delicate items.

Shipping ceramics can be tricky, and pieces with handles or appendages are particularly vulnerable to damage during shipment. To help protect the pieces I send out, I first add bulk around delicate features to round out the overall shape so that pressure will be better distributed across the whole item, including filling open spaces (such as the inside of a mug) with kraft paper. Then, I use multiple layers of paper bubble wrap.

If I'm packaging multiple pieces as part of the same order, I might also box each one separately before putting them together in a larger box for shipment. I've found that crumpled kraft paper works really well as a filler, and I avoid using those plastic bags that are filled with air—these pouches can actually cause damage because they can only give so much when under pressure.

One big rule is that I never use a box that is too small, even by a little bit. The piece is much more protected when placed in a larger box with filler all around to secure it enough that there is little to no movement when you shake the box.

The Impact

Some of my most memorable orders are from customers that reach out ahead of time to tell me the story behind their purchase: A daughter gifting an engraved vase to her parents for a significant wedding anniversary, someone who purchased a jewelry dish for herself and then purchased several more to send as gifts to others, a dog mom who found me through the rescue agency we'd both adopted from and wanted a set of bowls for each of her two pups. I like to accept custom orders whenever I'm able to accommodate them so that the buyer can receive a one-of-a-kind item that we worked on together.

I also love when someone includes a special gift message that I get to deliver to the recipient on their behalf. This personal connection to the customers is special to me, because I get to see firsthand where the pieces I've worked so hard to dream up and make are flying off to.

The icing on the cake is when someone takes the time to write a review or direct message after the fact that includes kind words or even a picture of the item in its new home.

Shop the Mammoth and Minnow collection

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