I wanted to take the time to write a small blog about the whole COVID-19 experience at the moment.
It is a scary time that is for sure. Since the 16th of March I have been working from home. Normally I work at Dreambeads (In the Netherlands) which is a wholesale company for beads and other jewelry making supplies. (Hence why I started making my own jewelry line. And selling on Etsy which is A kiwi creates!) Of course I still work for them but at the moment I have to work from my home environment instead of there at the office. Just to stay safe.
What I do for A kiwi creates and also Rachelschat.nl I do besides my regular work. So I chose to keep my Etsy shop open because I am the only one who makes the jewelry and does everything for A kiwi creates. I take precautions such as wash my hands regularly, keeping social distance and staying at home as much as possible. I did not want to close my shop since it is something that I’m passionate about. What I earn from it isn’t the thing that I’m aiming for. It’s the experience/ making something I love and building on something beautiful. Everything that I do earn goes back into more supplies so I can make more jewelry for you.
It is very surreal what’s going on in the world and I could have never imagined this. Normally speaking you would go anywhere and not have to think about it. Now you have to think twice about where you go. Also events are banned until the 31st of May (in The Netherlands). And you can even get a fine if you don’t keep 1,5 m distance. What has the world become like?
I understand these times are tough for everyone at the moment. A lot of countries are in lock down and many shops are closed for the time being. All we can do is the best we can.
Etsy has advice on how to handle things with your shop in this situation: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044460414?ref=search&segment=shopping
Also my shop is open for The Netherlands only + Free shipping. Once the pandemic is over I will open it for everyone again.
If you have an Etsy shop I recommend reading there advice. Stay safe and take care, Rachel