Launching my Etsy Shop: The Story Behind Sacred Glow

My mom's roses

Starting an Etsy shop is an exciting step toward turning your creative passion into a business. I started selling on Etsy in 2014 and since then, I've made a total of 73 sales. This may not seem like much, but each sale meant a lot to me. I also did not devote much time to my shop. With all the other things I had going on, like law school and employment instability, I did not have time to create or list or even ship orders out. But life has gotten better for me and outside of my full-time job, I have a lot of extra time on my hands. I have decided to re-open my Etsy shop and invest time, effort, and money into this endeavor. Here's how I'm doing it.

I work 40 hours a week and get weekends off. In the first few months of starting this new job, I struggled with managing my time and wondered if I had time for anything outside of work. Turns out, my time management skills have greatly improved since then. I spend my extra time reading, writing, and dabbling in side hustles. Among those side hustles is selling stuff online. I have an eBay store and an Etsy shop, but for purposes of this article, I will only talk about my Etsy shop. Selling one's creations online is a great way to make extra money and an easy way to run your own business.

My first step was browsing the marketplace as a consumer. I asked myself, are there any trends? What sells and what doesn't? Just because something is listed, or just because something is expensive, doesn't mean there are people willing to buy it. What's the competition like? What makes some sellers stand out and other sellers seem invisible? These were some preliminary things to think about.

For me, it was extremely easy to get started. The next step was figuring out what unique thing to sell. I knew that people were interested in beautiful, high-quality items. I also knew, based on my mom's experience as a seller, that people were interested in one-of-a-kind items that you can't get anywhere else, or that you would have to travel very far to find. That led to me to the idea of selling handcrafted jewelry using Huayruro seeds (more on these later). Each piece of jewelry was acquired during my travels to my home country, Peru, in South America. The jewelry pieces were an instant hit! I was shipping out orders every week. That came to a stall when I started law school and devoted all of my waking hours to studying. This went on for many years, and after the Florida Bar exam in 2020, I was just trying to survive. I had pretty much given up on selling anything online.

But now, the year is 2025. I finally have the job stability I always wanted and a decent income that allows me to invest in my hobbies. Just two years ago, while on a trip to Peru, I met Peruvian chamanes (shamans or "witches") that taught me about spirituality, magic, and manifestation. I learned about amulets, charms, and spell jars. I was naturally interested in this topic, but it wasn't until I witnessed the power of my own amulet that I began to seriously consider making my own and marketing them. I experienced so much good fortune in the year that followed, that I could only attribute it to magic. This was the inspiration behind my revamped and improved Etsy shop, PeruKnit.

My amulets are put together by myself. They are infused with positive energy derived from a deep connection to ancient tradition, nature, and the metaphysical. All of my items reflect my Peruvian heritage and culture. I put hand-selected crystals and other charms (including Huayruro seeds) in each amulet. My crystals are currently sourced from the United States, but pretty soon, they will strictly come from Peru. Each amulet has a specific intention, such as attracting financial abundance or relieving stress. This is a venture that I am very passionate about and I enjoy sharing my creations with the Etsy community.

Check out all the items that I have for sale here: PeruKnit on Etsy