Art Hound

Esti is an artist, crafter and an all-around inspiring person. From her home in Bilbao, Spain she recently launched her e-shop, pintameldia, and is already off to an amazing start!

How long had you been thinking about opening a shop online and what made you finally do it?

I don’t remember exactly when I first thought of opening an online shop, but it must have been when I started to get positive feedback on my artwork and people started asking me about it. This must have happened about two years ago.

Had you already been selling your art and crafts…if so, how (i.e. through your blog)?

Yes, for the last couple of years I’ve been selling stuff I’ve posted about on my blog. People have contacted me through email and that was it.  However, when I launched the “We are a Happy family” card game and project I realized I was missing quite a few sales because not everybody feels comfortable emailing the artista directly. Having a “Buy” button seems to be a better option.

Were there any big obstacles that you encountered while setting up the shop (either logistical or psychological)?

The big obstacle is time. It takes time to photograph the pieces, to write their descriptions (especially if I want to do this in English as well as in Spanish), to think up of how to mail them, how to set the right price, etc.

Time is the key. The shop takes quite a lot of it. Apart from this, I thought it was very easy. Once it’s running you have to keep working on making it better. In my case I don’t feel mine fully reflects my art, because, for instance, it is still missing more of my originals and a bunch of prints that are now in the works. I trust that people who have been following me for some time will see it with positive eyes.

Having now successfully opened a beautiful shop, what are you most proud of?

I’m proud of having the most supportive and helpful team I could: my husband, my friend Jorge and my uncle Antonio. I bomb them with questions, tasks and challenges.
Secondly I am also proud of all the things I’ve learned from scratch in the past few years and of having reached this point, when I can spare time doing what I love doing.
Lastly, I am proud of having connected with people who like what I create.