Etsy Design Awards Application

I applied this year to Etsy Design Awards with my Natural Colors Birthday Calendar. Read my application bellow. 

1. About you
2. About your product
3. Is this item sold exclusively on Etsy, or also available elsewhere?
4. We’d love to hear the story behind your entry.
5. Why do you love selling on Etsy? 
6. What would winning this award mean for your business? 
7. How does your personal or cultural identity inspire your shop or the items you make?
8. Submit a photo of yourself at work
9. Submit a video

1. About you*

Tell us about yourself! Is there a unique story behind your business? Why did you start your shop? Where do you find inspiration?

I opened my Etsy store in 2018. My first product was a BirthDay Calendar very colorful and joyfull. I designed for myself but then thought maybe someone else will like it and find it usefull.

2. About your product*

Tell us a little about the item you’re entering. What makes it special? Is it well-crafted or vintage? If crafted, describe your process—is it uniquely yours?

Natural Colors Birthday Calendar I entered the awards my second Birthday Calendar, it is similar with the Colorful Version but is more elegant, classic, suitable for many more interiors. It's inspired by painter strokes, there are painter stokes in muted colors.

3. Is this item sold exclusively on Etsy, or also available elsewhere?*

This won’t affect eligibility—we’re just curious!

The English version is exclusively found on Etsy.

4. We’d love to hear the story behind your entry.

What inspired its creation? What makes it meaningful to you or your buyers? (Optional) Feel free to share anything special or unique about its origin, purpose, or design. Is there an exceptional story about this item that you’d like to share?

I wanted to have a birds eye view over all the birthdays of the people I know and so I made this Birthday Calendar to keep them all in sight. I find interesting to see how little/ many people we know, and how many celebrate their birthdays in the same month. Some months are really crowded (September and November) while some have just a few celebrations. But maybe that's true only in my Birthdays Calendar. I like the fact that it has evolved over the years. I think I designed the first version in 2020, then I made some adjustments to the elements, then from 10 spaces for names I went to 12, then I added an interactive pdf version, then I added a portrait and landscape version, a letter version and finally a version for easy edit in Canva. I am proud of it's evolution and that was possible only because people showed interest and/ or bought it.  

5. Why do you love selling on Etsy? (Optional)

How do you want buyers to feel when they purchase your items? Is there a goal you hope to achieve?

I think it's pretty easy and straight forward to buy on Etsy. And there are means you can communicate your opinion to the seller publicly or in a private message. I had some problems though, a costumer left an unsatisfied comment(at the time the calendar didn't have an letter format, just A4/ A3 and the client wanted it printed in letter format) but later didn't reply back, so communication isn't withouth problems.  

6. What would winning this award mean for your business? (Optional)

It would mean more people finding out about this product, and hopefully finding it useful.

7. How does your personal or cultural identity inspire your shop or the items you make? (Optional)

My life inspired the design of this product but I didn't bring to many elements of my culture into it's design, I used elements of the world, not particularly from my country. And that is maybe because Etsy is an international site, mostly American buyers, and very few, if any Romanians.  

8. Submit a photo of yourself at work

Share a photo of yourself hard at work, at home or in your studio, doing what you love most.

9. Submit a video

Upload or drop in a link to a short video that shows what makes your item unique, whether it’s your process, the details that set it apart, or how you’ve styled or used it. This can be anything from a quick studio clip to a behind-the-scenes reel sharing the story behind you or your item—no need for anything fancy!