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“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”

― Joseph Chilton Pearce

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3 Years on Etsy

February 23rd 2013 was when we first opened our online doors here at Create the Cut, 3 years down the line and Create the Cut is now a small Design Studio employing us both full time. To get a true understanding of how this came about we really need to look back 5 years to the beginnings of our Etsy journey and our first venture into e commerce.

Back in 2011 as a side project while pursuing our day jobs (which were both small businesses that we owned separately) we ran an Etsy shop selling wedding guest books. This was the first time we had dipped our toes into the world of e commerce. At first it took time to gain traction, eventually though we started to see some sales trickling in and after a time we managed to see a very small income from it. During this time however we had come to the realization that although working from home and running a business together was always the goal, this business didn’t feel right. We spent more time posting and packing orders and conversing with people rather than creating products. Our most popular products were items that had the same design which left very little room for creativity, it started to feel monotonous making them over and over again. Although we never put a ‘closed’ sign up, we fulfilled our last orders with the remaining stock and stopped listing new products. While this was going on, subconsciously we were actively exploring other options.

A personal friend and mentor had a business model that inspired us both and although our current business is worlds apart from his product, the principles and theory involved have proved to be invaluable.

Toward the end of 2012 we started experimenting with digital products. Our shop was very basic with only a few items for sale, at this point with very little skill or specialist knowledge we decided to open Create the Cut. Primarily this started off selling digital templates for you to print and cut out by hand, we also sold SVG files for use with cutting machines, hence the brand name! Eventually we felt the need to incorporate some artwork in our products. At that time it was a very niche market, with lots of complex hoops to be jumped through in order to be able to use someones artwork. As a result we decided it would be best for the business if we created our own artwork. As we entered into the realm of digital design work we realized this was actually the kind of business that we wanted to expand, nurture and grow. We wanted to share our artwork and its simple terms of use with the design community. With gaps in our knowledge but with enthusiasm and a desire to learn we threw ourselves into consuming as much information and skills as we could.

3 years on we have experienced:

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We just want to say a massive thank you. Thank you for all your support, kind words, fantastic feedback and continued custom. Our customers truly are some of the nicest people on the planet, so, so talented.

Over our working lives we have been involved in the start up and running of 7 businesses between us, each one building on top of the next, none have been “wrong” but each have allowed us to explore our creativity further. We are both thankful that we have had this opportunity together.

Here’s to next year!

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All week we will be giving a thank you free gift with any purchase and as a special anniversary day treat if you make a purchase on the 23rd of February you will be entered into our prize draw to win 3 free clip art sets of your choice from our Etsy shop! In fact, since its been 3 years we will have 3 winners!

To be in with a chance to win, all you have to do is make a purchase between now and midnight on the 23rd of February and write the phrase “Happy Anniversary” in the note to seller.

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HOW IT WORKS:

– Purchase any item in our Etsy shop.
– Go to download your item.
– At the bottom of the download page you will see a Note From Create the Cut
– There will be a special link within the note to the free gift. Copy and paste the link into your browser.
– Download and enjoy your freebie!
– Terms and conditions still apply.

If you are unsure of how to download your free gift then please just get in touch after purchase and we will send you the link manually.

Free gift available until February 28th 2016

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