Packaging Restyle

Packaging is important.  It is also one of my favorite parts of selling my jewelry...wrapping up something in a beautiful way to present it to a stranger on the other end of transit, just makes me happy.

I have read a lot of forums about packaging on Etsy, and believe it or not, there are so many sellers out there that don't package their goods in a special way, using reasons like...it's a waste of materials, money, time...

But what you miss out on as a seller when you don't have great packaging is a chance at branding your business, and making your customer feel, well, appreciated, or loved, or you know, like they matter.

To me, packaging is another way to say thank you!

Since I opened Tarnished & True, I have sent all of my orders packaged in a little handmade wooden crate (made generously by my handy husband).  To create that packaging, Matt is responsible for, cutting the wood, making the box, burnishing the lettering onto the box, and then cutting cardboard so I can wrap and ship the box.

The box looks like this:

What was once a fun pastime for Matt has become an overwhelming demand with about two orders a day...(can you believe he works his stressful job and is enrolled full time in a masters program, and still makes time for these boxes??)...so we have come to a crossroads of sorts in terms of efficiency and time...

The easy solution would be to switch to pre-made paper boxes.  The only problem is that we love the little crates!

So we came up with a few innovations to make making the packaging more efficient.

Instead of using cardboard that Matt would cut up for me, I now use brown paper to wrap the packages up myself for shipping.

Instead of Matt burnishing the lettering on the box (he is much more patient than I am at that), I designed a stamp!  It is being made as we speak, and I cannot wait to try out the wood ink stamp pad and see how it looks on the box!

The new design looks like this (very crate-like, don't you think?):

Restyling just a few steps of my packaging is going to make a huge difference, and save us a lot of time!

If you still aren't convinced that packaging is an amazing part of any online business, here is some real life feedback from some happy customers who shopped Tarnished & True.


"OMG I was so thrilled to open this darling little wooden package!! The rings are even daintier than I imagined and my babies' names so cute and tiny, I just love it. Annie even "extra" customized the font for me by dotting the "i's" in my daughter's name and it turned out great. Love love LOVE how they turned out, Annie. Thank you so much. This is a forever keepsake -- something I will get to pass on to my kids when they've grown."


"Love them! LOVE THEM! They fit perfectly on my tiny fingers, no mistakes or errors, exactly what they were represented to be. I could not be happier! Annie was a saint, very communicative, patient, willing and understanding. The order was finished and received on the exact schedule her policies list. I had my beautiful rings in their beautiful box sitting on my lap exactly 10 days after placing my order. I really can not express enough how fantastic this entire experience has been. Thank you, thank you so very, very much Annie!!"


"The earrings are gorgeous and classy, and came in a beautiful wooden box. I will definitely be shopping from TarnishedAndTrue again!"


"I LOVE them so much! Just as I pictured in my mind and the workmanship is A++++. The presentation (sweetest little box & raffia, which the cats enjoyed) was super excellent. I am a true TarnishedAndTrue Groupie now! Thank you so much. Will be ordering more!"

I just love knowing that my customers enjoy opening their purchases, that my packaging made them smile, and that I made a positive lasting impression for my business.