Where did it all start?

It’s hard to believe but I started Tea Thoughts almost 6 years ago! It was May 2016 and I took the leap to finally start an etsy shop. It’s something that I had wanted to do all throughout college but was scared and intimidated by what came with starting a shop. By this point, I had been writing a little on my blog for a few months and decided to have both the blog and the shop.

My shop was called Tea Thoughts Shop, but at the start it didn’t really involve too many tea related items. I was doing a whole range of things that helped satisfy my creative itch. I created custom paintings, calligraphy pieces and even did some wedding items like place cards. I also started making cards by hand, mostly using tombow pens. These cards had tea puns on them and eventually I decided to do more tea themed items to match my blog.

You can see some of the designs I created, I’ve always loved a good pun! I love looking at these photos to show myself how far I’ve come in my designing and lettering skills but am still super proud of what I created back then too.

Running a business of any type is a lesson in research. I was looking up so many different things and teaching myself whatever I thought would help me be more successful. I would watch every free webinar about social media and blogging. Eventually, I taught myself how to use illustrator and started doing more digital designs. Going down this path helped me create designs that I could print on items at a larger scale. One of my first projects was pins! I always enjoyed collecting pins and since they had seemed to come back in popularity, I gave it a try.

Below are a few more shots of my earlier products and first attempts at digital designs!

As time passed I continued exploring new ways to create things for tea lovers and have grown my product offering significantly. Over these last few years, I’ve accomplished many of my goals but because I am still not quite where I want to be I haven’t really celebrated my Shop Birthday all these years. I think a few times, I might have done a sale but seeing how other shops recognize their Shop Birthdays as a big deal made me realize something. It IS a big deal. I SHOULD celebrate another year where I’m still running Tea Thoughts. You know when you’re younger and teachers ask you what you want to be when you grow up? I didn’t know it then but this is that path. I want to be running Tea Thoughts and I AM! So I want to take more time to recognize this!

Lessons Learned

I’ve learned many lessons throughout running Tea Thoughts and I’m honestly still learning all the time but here are some really important things I want to share especially to those who may want to start their own business.

You’ll be surprised what you can google : Pretty much everything I’ve learned from illustrator to setting up an LLC was found through google searches. If you have other resources, great! But if not, there are so many resources free and available.
Stay True to yourself : In the world of social media and trends, this is really difficult but I think there is always a way to keep parts of yourself when following a trend. The most important thing to remember is that there are no other yous and that is your greatest asset in all aspects of life! It’s also personally easier to relate to someone who I find to be genuine.
Be Kind : Everyone you interact with is going through their own struggles and you may not know it so I find it best to approach everything gently and with kindness when possible. Put good into the world. Help others when you are able. One thing I realized is that there aren’t many people out there who are willing to take a chance on you which is why I try to support other businesses whenever I can because it’s what I would have loved when I started out and even now!
Under Promise, Over Deliver : In terms of my business, this is probably one of the best pieces of advice I can give. When you say you’re going to send one product but maybe you’re able to include something for free or customize it in some way, do it. It’s a small effort that will go a long way and it always feels good to have a customer who is happy with their order!

How am I celebrating?

To celebrate, I will be releasing one product on May 5th. This is a special product that I think truly encompasses my progress and my roots in terms of tea. In Persian households, you’ll likely see tea being brewed from morning until evening. You will find the brewing vessel to be a modern version of the samovar in most cases, two tea pots on top of each other. The bottom teapot is a larger metal kettle and the top teapot is a smaller ceramic teapot. Sometimes both teapots are metal but growing up, the top was usually ceramic. These teapots all have a similar shape, short and round with the sides jutting out a bit. They often are lighter glazed or white and more often than not will have some floral designs. You can also read more about my tea roots here.

What will be in the shop birthday release?

In honor of this teapot, I created my own floral version and had totebags printed with them! Besides the design being fitting to my tea roots, this totebag is something I would have only dreamed of having in my shop when I first started! Products like these often have a larger minimum order and cost per piece and it just wasn’t a reality for me when I started. This totebag signifies to me the progress I’ve made and it’s also really cool! The totebag has two types of straps, an outide and inside pocket and a zipper! Due to the complicated nature of the design, these are digitally printed. Digital printing is more eco friendly but the toss up is that if you wash the bag often, the design will fade over time.
Birthday Special!
-As part of the special release, if you purchase a totebag, you will also get a free matching pin with the same teapot design.
-I will also be including a tea gift in the first 15 orders of the totebag! So far I have tea from white2tea, teawala, bitterleaf teas and the qi for these prizes! My Tea Places has also kindly offered to sponsor some tea !

How can you celebrate with me?

If you read this post, let me know what you thought ! Leave a comment or just say hi!
Share with any fellow tea lovers, this post or any information about the Shop Birthday
If you’d like to support the shop directly, you can purchase a tote bag on May 5th