Etsy Jargon- What is a BNR, what is a BNS?!

Hello everyone,

I thought today I would do something a little different (infact something I have never done before) and attempt to explain as simply as possible some Etsy jargon! This post is for all my readers who are sellers on Etsy.

I quite often get asked, or come across posts with people asking, what is a BNS and a BNR and how they work. It can be quite confusing and there doesn’t seem to be much explanation of what they are on the internet so I thought it might be of interest to those of my readers who have Etsy shops if I explain what they are and why they can be useful to help with your business. 

What is a BNR?

BNR stands for Buy and Replace

What is a BNS?

BNS stands for Buy and Stay 

They are both very similar but have some key differences.

How do they work?

The curator of the BNS or BNR will put together a treasury of items from different seller’s shops just like a regular treasury on Etsy.

The idea is then that all members who have been involved in the treasury will work together to promote it by putting it on their social media, teams and also sometimes inviting other Etsy members. This way the shops get exposed to a much greater number of people who might not have normally seen their shop. By doing this it increases the likelihood of a shop making a sale. 

Each curator has a slightly different way of running their BNS or BNR so rules are posted at the top of the treasury.

To join in with the BNR or BNS another Etsy shop must do what is called ‘buying in’. They make a purchase from one of the shops featured in the treasury. This means that not only by being in a BNR/ BNS do you do group promotion but you are likely to make a sale.  

The transaction link is the posted so the curator can see that the item has been purchased. This is by copy and pasting it into the comment section of the treasury. By ‘buying in’ the shop has secured themselves a place in the BNR/ BNS.

This is then where the BNS and BNR differ. For a BNR (Buy and Replace) the Etsy shop which has just purchased from one of the featured shops will immediately featured in the treasury. The shop which has just been bought from will be removed and the new shop shall replace it. For a BNS (Buy and Stay), the shop which has ‘bought in’ will wait for the end of the BNS until they are featured. There are different rounds to the BNS so after every sale a new round is started. This means that a featured shop can make more than one sale. In a BNR the featured shop can only make 1 sale before they are swapped out of the BNR. However, a BNR is usually much faster paced and so sales are quicker. It also means that a shop will stay in until it sells an item where in a BNS a shop will be removed at the end of the BNS even if it didn’t make a sale.

Why should I take part in a BNR or BNS?

*Good fun

* Helps you sell items, especially if you are a new shop or a shop who is struggling to get noticed.

*Because all of the people taking part in the BNS or BNR are expected to promote it, it also means that by promoting the treasury you are also promoting each other’s shops and therefore are opening them up to a much wider audience who might have not otherwise known about your shop or looked on it.

* Your shop will be promoted by other members all over social media sites which even if it doesn’t mean you make a sale in the BNR/BNS can mean that you get seen by a potential future customer

*A good way to increase your feedback rating (again this is especially helpful if you are a brand new shop which is yet to get a feedback rating)

* Great way to get to know other buyers and sellers, there usually is a group chat running so it is very social and lots of people will pop in to say hello.

* It is fun to try something new.

* By 'buying in' you are supporting other independant sellers

* You get an excuse to buy some really lovely items.

The main reasons that people join BNRs or BNSs is that they can make quick sales and increase traffic and customers to their shop. Instead of working just to promote their shop and their products, other featured shops are also promoting the treasury so your shop gets the benefit of everyone else promoting the treasury and therefore your shop. 

I hope this has made it more clear what a BNR/ BNS is. Each curator does have their own way of doing things and their own set of rules (which are listed in the treasury) so they may differ slightly from what I have explained here but I just hope that this helps people to understand a little bit about BNR/BNS and encourages you to try one out.

Any questions please feel free to post below and I shall try to answer them as best I can.

The Dorothy Days

Handmade hair grips/ bobbypins by The Dorothy Days

Hello everyone,


I hope you are all enjoying this glorious sunshine. I have been really enjoying sitting outside for breakfast and having tea and toast in the garden, feels great to be out in the fresh air and I can't believe how hot it is even in the morning! The sun has already made my hair much blonder and all my freckles have come out! I love the summer so much but I am torn between spending all my time sat outside in the garden in the sunshine or watching the Olympics.

Last night's opening ceremony was amazing,  felt so proud to be British. There was so much to see, it must have been amazing to be there. The music was really great too. Today I watched some of the swimming and gymnastics which was really enjoyable. What events did everyone else watch ? and which events shall you be following ?

In between sitting in the garden and watching the Olympics, I did some creating for my Etsy shop and made some hair grips/slides (bobby pins) which match my new rose earrings.

I am selling them in sets of three and they come on a hand stamped gift tag as I thought it looked pretty and also meant that people could give them as an alternative to a card or could write their own message on them if they were giving them as gift. It is also a nice way to store them.

What do you all think ? Would love to hear your feedback on them.

Here is the link to them in my store and I have also uploaded a photograph of one in my model's hair.

Observant readers will also notice that I have changed my blog background to white. I would love your opinions on the new look as well, I thought it looked a bit 'fresher'? Love it or loathe it, please let me know :).

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend

The Dorothy Days Xx

Wordless Wednesday- The English Countryside

Hi everyone,

Sorry that my blog has been so quiet recently, I had a few days away on holiday down to Cornwall (which, for those of you who don't know Britain very well, is a beautiful part of Britain right on the coastline). The weather here has been awful and we have all been feeling short changed as it really has not been summer weather but now this week has been the most beautiful week full of blue skies and sunshine. In fact today has been the hottest day of the year so far :) .....summer is FINALLY here!! Being in Cornwall was lovely and I can't believe how lucky we got with the weather. I got back today from my holiday and shall spend tomorrow catching up with my blog, etsy shop, facebook and twitter pages and also my emails so please bare with me, I promise that there shall be some good blog posts coming soon :).

Thanks to everyone who took a look in my shop this week, I sold my first upcycled letter writing set :).

Anyway....back to my not so wordless wednesday.....

The Dorothy Days

Tutorial- How to make a fabric flower

Hello everyone,

I hope that you all have had a great week. I have spent mine preparing for a craft fair, catching up with old friends who I had not seen for a long time, going for a walk and then fish and chips on the seaside and trying to enjoy every second of sunshine as the weather is still a bit up and down!

Today I am very excited to have my first ever guest post which has been written by Ariella who runs the blog Haus of Ariella and also an Etsy shop. She has written a fabulous tutorial on how to make a fabric flower for you all to enjoy.

The Dorothy Days Xx

How to make a fabric flower  (great for putting on bags, hair clips etc)

One of the ways in which the fabric flower can be used

Materials:
-Fabric - light to medium weight fabrics work best; I used satin for this tutorial
-Needle and matching thread
-Large button for the center
-Hot glue gun
-Scissors
-Paper for the template



Step 1:

Step 1

Decide what size you would like your flower to be. The one I made was about 4 inches across and the inner petals were about 2.5 inches across. Measure two circles - one for the large petals and one for the smaller ones - on a piece of paper with the diameter you'd like your flower to be as the large petal template and about 60% of that size for the diameter of the small petal template. Cut them out.

Step 2:

Step 2

Step 2

Fold one of your templates in half over your fabric and cut around the template so that you end up with a circle of fabric. Cut 5 of the large circles and 4 of the small ones.

Step 3:

Step 3

Step 3

Take one of the circles and fold it in half with the right side of the fabric (the side you want showing) on the outside. Thread your needle and put a knot in one end of the thread. Make a line of fairly small stitches close to the rounded edges of your circle, going through both layers. Pull the thread tight to gather the fabric and tie off the other end of the thread as well. Repeat with all of the circles.

Step 4:

Step 4

Take your 5 large petals and sew them together in a circle with the petals slightly overlapping. Do the same thing for the small petals.

After completing step 4 your flower should look like this

Step 5:

Step 5

Take your circle of small petals and sew it on top of your circle of large petals.

Step 6: 

Step 6- The final finished piece!

Take your button (which should be large enough to cover the hole in the middle of the petals) and put hot glue on the edges, then place it in the middle of the flower.

Congratulations! You now have a cool fabric flower to put on purses, hair clips, or whatever else your heart desires!

By the seaside- Brighton Beach

Hello everyone :),

I have been featured in a beautiful treasury of Etsy sellers from Brighton which, because we are a seaside town, has a seaside theme. The treasury made me smile so I thought I would share it with you all. We have been having lots of rain here in Britain at the moment so as Freya (the lady who made it) says the sea is "a bit stormy at the moment but these will remind us of those beautiful days on the south coast". Please take a look at the different items featured, there are some beautiful items and all are from sellers in Brighton


The Dorothy Days

Wordless Wednesday- Adventures in the Landrover!

 

Hope you had a wonderful day :) 

The Dorothy Days Xx

Feature Friday- Kendra from House of Heirlooms

Hi everyone,

After yesterday's beautiful sunny day and clear blue skies we are back to pouring rain here in England and apparently it is here to stay for at least a few days! Yesterday I grabbed the opportunity and got outside and photographing some of my new stock for my Etsy site. My shop is now the fullest it has ever been and I have the most items I have ever had listed in my shop, exciting stuff!!

My new English Rose earrings please click here to view

 There is now a mixture of new handmade items and also some beautiful vintage treasures. Please take a look at my new stock here. This week has been a really great one as not only have I got the most items in my shop that I have ever had, I also reached my 40th online sale and my 400th twitter follower! I think I squealed for delight at each one!!

A massive thank you to everyone who has supported me whether that be by following me on twitter or facebook, reading my blog and being one of my blog followers, buying from me, featuring me, retweeting something I have written, favouriting some of my work, leaving a comment on my blog or telling someone about my little site, it all is really appreciated :) . I really feel so lucky to be able to do what I love doing so much and have the support of so many people and I hope that my little business will continue to grow :). Thank you!!!!

This week for my Feature Friday I am featuring Kendra who runs a wonderful shop called

Kenda lives is Oregon in the U.S which is where she was raised and sells all things vintage, from jewellery to typewriters and from clothing to games. Kendra lived with her grandparents until she moved away for college and therefore she grew up being mature for her age and is still kindly described as an 'old soul'! By living with people who were raised through the Depression, Kendra gained an appreciation for the high level craftsmanship of most vintage goods. She feels that selling them on her Etsy site is not only a wonderful example of re-using and recycling but also about appreciating quality from another era and I couldn't agree more.

For this feature Kendra also gave me a beautiful quote which she feels sums up her motivation and enthusiasm for running her vintage shop and also her closeness to her grandparents:

"It's one of nature's ways that we often feel closer to distant generations than to the generation immediately preceding us." - Igor Stravinsky





Here are some of my favourite items in Kendra's shop:

When speaking to Kendra for this feature she spoke of how she is a keen writer (which is reflected in her beautifully written product descriptions). It therefore made me smile to see a vintage typewriter listed on her site as writing is clearly such a passion of hers that it seeps through to all parts of her life including her business! Please click here to view

Vintage 'LIFE' magazine with John F. Kennedy just after he won the election.

"Vintage eyeglasses are an easy way to make a style statement. Eyewear shouldn't be boring and this pair certainly isn't."Take a look at these beautiful 80's glasses.

I hope that you enjoyed this feature, another shop shall be featured next week for my Feature Friday :)

Have a wonderful weekend

Rachel from The Dorothy Days

(Vintage and Handmade) Xxx

Renovating vintage furniture with 20sixltd

Hi everyone :),

Does anyone else love vintage furniture ?! If you are anything like me, somewhere in your house will be a vintage piece which you adore! The weather here in England has been so bad (rain, wind, more rain and more rain again) that I have been unable to get out in the garden and get working on some of my vintage pieces of furniture which need a little bit of tender love and care and the weather certainly has not allowed for any upcycling projects! However, I am forever the optimist that this weather is on the way out and we will have blue skies and sunshine soon so I have been speaking to the team at Brighton based fit out company, 20six, about restoring, upcycling and reworking vintage pieces of furniture.

The team recently put a question to their Twitter followers; “What do you prefer, original or reworked pieces?” It wasn’t a shock to hear that the answer seemed to be largely in favour of original, vintage pieces.

Of course, sometimes renovating a piece is unavoidable, so the 20six design team have put together a few tips to for anyone looking to refresh or up cycle existing furniture:

“As part of a large PFI public library refurbishment, we were asked to try and retain and recondition as many original interior features as possible to play homage to the original 1960 Basil Spence modernist building. 

Part of the original furniture specification was the Fritz Hansen Series 7™ chair designed by Arne Jacobsen. The Series 7™ chair is by far the most sold chair in the history of Fritz Hansen and perhaps also in furniture history. The pressure molded veneer chair is a further development of the classic  Ant™ chair.

In embarking on this project, we realised how difficult it can be to find the balance between keeping the classic touch of the original design whilst refurbishing it to make it more usable in the modern day.

After a lot of different attempts, that included re-upholstering even painting artwork onto the chair, we settled on re-lacquering the designs - but not before we learnt a few lessons from the whole experience!

So here are our top tips:

1) Keep it as simple. The old design saying of "Less is more" applies here. Whilst some ways of reconditioning make items more suitable for new purposes, when dealing with iconic classics - try not to undermine the integrity of the design.

2) Test first. If trying out a new decorative colour of design finish - try and get a small sample of a similar material to test out your ideas on first. This could potentially save you a lot of time and money in the future!

3) Ask questions. If in doubt there is a phone book full of professionals and craftsmen with a wealth of experience ready to tap in to.  Alternatively you could always look online in design forums and websites for advice.”

Thank you to the team at 20six for sharing their knowledge and tips.

I hope you all enjoyed the article and fingers crossed for some sunshine so we can get outside and start our furniture projects! 

Has anyone from other, sunnier,parts of the world started a furniture project? If so I would love to hear about it, please leave me a comment in the comment section below :)

Thanks!

The Dorothy Days  

Wordless Wednesday- Fire

To warm up after all this cold weather....