Meet Girl Geek Boutique : From Nasa to Etsy, Megan Tells All

What inspired Girl Geek Boutique?

To quote the Legend of girlgeekboutique, "It all started long ago in a lab deep within NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Captain Girl Geek (CGG) rued the dearth of truly geeky jewelry and accessories...the fact that the inherent beauty of engineering components goes so often overlooked and that their artistic potential is rarely, if ever, utilized. And so, within the heart of JPL was forged a crude bracelet from copper wire and the remains of a memory chip..." Read the full Legend here! 

What brought you to Etsy?

First Mate Jessie researched options for a venue/community for our geekery and Etsy won out as the best fit--there's no better place to sell the hand-crafted geekery and other unique, quirky, and lovely items created by the robots and pirates of girlgeekboutique!

Bracelets like this , (only $19),

Steampunk Gear and Rainbow Computer Cable Bracelet

are made from upcycled components!

What materials do you recycle into new creations?

girlgeekboutique.com booty is made from:
Upcycled circuit boards and engineering components such as resistors, capacitors, LEDs, wires, cable, toroids, inductors, choke coils, hardware, gears, springs, and nuts.  Jewelry components/findings, duct tape, cotton, canvas, leather, beads, pendants, charms, rhinestones, Swarovski crystal, gemstones, glass, chain, epoxy resin, polymer clay, magnets, satin, Luck, and awesome.

What is your favorite piece?

Right now my favorite would have to be my Rainbow Resistor Spiral Cluster Earrings! It took many trips and many hours of rummaging through bins in surplus electronics stores to procure all the different colors/shades of resistors, and rainbows are among my two favorite themes (the other = robots). They are also meaningful because they contain resistors left over from my years as an electrical engineering undergrad. True recycling!

It's no wonder why these are her fave!

What advice do you have for other crafters about marketing your products , or social networking?

Here are two strategies I employ that have not already been covered in detail time and time again by Etsy/team blog posts and guides. SHAMELESS PLUG: My "day job" involves both of the below--I'm happy to provide advice for free and services at a discount to team members. >^-^<

1) WEBSITE!  Have a professional-looking website with a memorable domain name: A website that has been well thought out and executed can go a long way toward instilling confidence in those who are considering buying from you. A memorable domain name can be placed on business cards/banners/etc. and the site can be a compelling entry point for your Etsy store that you have complete control over--feel free to take a look at MINE to see what I have done with mine.

2) SEO! Related to the above, search engine optimization (SEO) can boost your rankings and increase the likelihood that you will be found. Strategies include standards-compliant websites with optimized tags/descriptions, fresh and interesting content (even if it's just re-posting your item descriptions from Etsy), strategic placement/formatting of appropriate key words, and relevant/valuable links both to and from your site (again, more advice/services available upon request).

Rainbow Swirl Earrings, I love these!

What about Megan, who is she?

I am a hardcore girl geek who graduated in electrical engineering, but I have a wide variety of experiences. I've started two (previous) tech-related businesses, researched in science labs at UC Riverside, Caltech, and NASA JPL, published in both scientific and creative writing journals, suffered from debilitating chronic illnesses, and won competitive ballroom dance awards. I am both a nerd and an artist and have loved both crafting and computer programming from a very young age--quite the unique girl geek!   Find out more about me and about our First Mate and Master Gunner here on my Crew page.

Megan is hard at work!

Does your workspace typically involve beaches, flowery bikinis, and tropical cocktails??

I wish! Much of my crafting is portable; though I have drawers and drawers of supplies, when I have an inspiration I often will gather all of the components and put them in their own compartment/bin/baggie. Then, when I am ready to craft, all I need are those components and my tools. I took several of these projects with me on vacation, and this photo was taken as I was setting up to make some resistor and circuit board earrings in a bar by the beach in Waikiki. Needless to say, I attracted much curious attention!

You will find other things besides jewelry here too, like decals, bags, art prints and more!

What is your ultimate goal for girlgeekboutique?
Hmm, I would have to say that I have been inspired to sell enough geekery to afford a permanent workspace on a tropical island beach! >^-^<

Catch up and Connect with Girl Geek Boutique : 

ON ETSY

ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE

ON TWITTER

ON FACEBOOK

VIEW HER WORK PORTFOLIO