Our Story: From 33,000 Etsy Orders to Our Own Shop

If you'd told me back in 2017 that a small creative idea would turn into over 33,000 orders and a business I'm genuinely proud of, I'd have laughed. But here we are — and I want to share the story of how Flourish Store Gifts came to be.

Where It All Began

My name is Yetunde — though most people who know me call me YettyBoss. Before Flourish Store Gifts existed, I was working as a Public Health Specialist with the NHS. It was meaningful work, but there was always a creative side of me that needed an outlet.

I've always been drawn to design — the kind of person who can't walk past a gift shop without mentally redesigning half the products in the window. I'd sketch ideas in notebooks, play around with fonts and layouts on my iPad, and make personalised bits and pieces for friends and family. Every birthday, every wedding, every new baby — I'd make something rather than buy something.

People started asking: "Where did you get that?" And when I'd say I made it, the next question was always: "Can you make me one?"

That's when the seed was planted.

Starting on Etsy

In 2017, I took the leap and opened my Etsy shop. I had no business plan, no marketing strategy, no fancy equipment — just a laptop, an idea, and a determination to make personalised gifts that were beautiful, unique, and affordable for everyone.

That last part mattered to me. I'd seen so many personalised gift shops charging premium prices for what were essentially simple designs on basic products. I wanted to prove that you could have quality and creativity without the eye-watering price tag.

The early days were slow. A sale here, a sale there. I remember the thrill of my first five-star review like it was yesterday — someone had bought a personalised gift for their daughter's birthday and said it was "even better than expected." That one review kept me going for weeks.

Growing the Craft

As orders grew, so did my setup. What started at the kitchen table gradually evolved into a proper home studio right here in Coventry. I invested in the tools that would let me deliver the quality I was after — Roland Ecosolvent printers for vibrant, long-lasting prints, pneumatic heat presses for precision application, and professional embroidery equipment for that premium stitched finish.

But the heart of every product starts the same way it always has: with me, a blank page, and an idea. Every single design at Flourish Store Gifts is conceived and hand-drawn by me, then refined using Adobe tools and my iPad before it ever touches a printer. I don't buy templates. I don't outsource design. When you order from Flourish, you're getting something that came from my imagination to your doorstep.

That creative control is something I'll never compromise on. It's what makes every product genuinely ours.

33,000 Orders and Counting

Over the years, those early trickles of orders turned into a steady stream, and then a flood. We've now completed over 33,000 orders on Etsy — each one made by hand in my Coventry studio, each one quality-checked before it goes out the door.

I've made wedding gifts that have been opened at the altar. Santa sacks that have sat under Christmas trees in homes I'll never visit. Baby bodysuits worn on the journey home from hospital. First-day-of-school bags clutched by nervous five-year-olds. That's the privilege of what I do — I get to be part of people's moments, even from a distance.

Along the way, there have been challenges too. Late-night production runs before Christmas. Supply chain issues during the pandemic. The constant balancing act of being a one-woman operation handling design, production, customer service, packing, and posting. But every challenge taught me something, and every obstacle made the business stronger.

Why We Built Our Own Website

Etsy was — and still is — brilliant for reaching customers. But by 2022, it was clear that Flourish Store Gifts had outgrown being a shop within someone else's marketplace. I wanted a home of our own.

Building flourishstoregifts.com was about more than just having a website. It was about creating an experience that matched the care we put into every product. A place where customers could browse properly, see the full range, and feel the personality behind the brand — not just another listing in a sea of search results.

It's been a learning curve, honestly. Running your own e-commerce site is a completely different game from selling on a marketplace. But it's given us the freedom to present our products the way they deserve to be presented, and to build a direct relationship with our customers.

What Drives Us

At its core, Flourish Store Gifts is built on three things:

Creativity: Every design is original. Every product starts as a sketch. I pour genuine creative energy into making things that feel special — not mass-produced, not generic, not "that'll do."

Affordability: Personalised gifts shouldn't cost a fortune. I started this business partly because I was frustrated by how expensive customised products were elsewhere. Beautiful, thoughtful gifts should be accessible to everyone.

Quality: From the materials I source to the equipment I use to the final quality check before packing — every step matters. When someone opens a Flourish gift, I want the reaction to be "wow", not "it's alright."

Thank You

To every single person who has placed an order, left a review, recommended us to a friend, or simply browsed our shop — thank you. Genuinely. This business exists because of you.

What started as a creative itch has become my life's work, and I wouldn't change a thing. Here's to the next 33,000 orders — and whatever comes after that.

— Yetunde (YettyBoss)
Founder, Flourish Store Gifts
Coventry, United Kingdom