Where are you located?

Pine Valley’s Country Creations is located in Lexington, Virginia which is nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Our little town is full of history and two wonderful educational facilities: Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).


Tell us about what your business offers…

We make handcrafted soaps, toiletries, candles, felted wool hats, jewelry and most recently we have added embroidered items. I am always thinking of new ideas and unlike some never get bored with one craft, but am always eager to try my hand at a new one.


How did you get started in this business?

I can’t remember when the creative bug first hit me, but I know my age was then a single digit  :o)    As a teacher by trade, I have always felt as if something was missing if I wasn’t doing creative work with my hands. I also take great pride in finding just the right presentation for my items. I spend a great deal of time on creating my labels and finding just the right way to display each item.


How long have you been in business online?

I entered the online business about four years ago. The packing up and doing shows was getting old (and so was I), so I decided to cut the shows down a great deal and create a web site.


What are your top selling items?

My candles and polymer clay jewelry have been my top selling items. I try to create candles and jewelry that are different and interesting. My candles are not just “wax in a jar”, but more creative and by far more time consuming to make. The polymer clay jewelry is great fun around the holidays.


What challenges have you faced while running your online shop?

Although the online website is less stressful than packing everything up to go to shows, I find that having people find you on the Internet is by far the greatest challenge. I enjoy creating my web site, but the search engines confuse me a bit. Each day I learn something new, which is great.


What has been most rewarding about running your online shop?

Talking with people from all over the country is great fun. Online you are able to reach out to people everywhere instead of just the local people in your area.


Any advice you would like to offer to our crafters?

For those crafters thinking about entering the online business, I would say to make sure you give yourself enough time for your web site to get enough exposure and the greatest factor…….be patient! It doesn’t happen over night. Linking with craft sites is a great way to get the exposure you need. The most important thing is to ENJOY YOURSELF. Your creative abilities will show greatly if you are happy with what you are doing. Be creative and have fun!!!