Interview with Sher AKA magins

The ProSeller Corner Tell the world a little bit about yourself.

Sher Sher Magins from Magins Creations store with animal/nature art themes in watercolor and graphic illustration. I'm based in Nevada and have worked as a teacher with special kids over the years in public and private schools. I'm currently working with children tutoring, guitar instruction and jewelry making classes. I love animals and have had a cat named Black Beauty, a parrot named Ruby, many fish and a turtle named Schlump.

The ProSeller Corner When did you start designing at Zazzle and what made you choose them?

Sher I started designing at Zazzle in 2009. I came across the website from another artist's online gallery link. I have been sketching and painting as a hobby since grade school with portraits, landscapes, animals, and still life. I was able to use my art on products on Zazzle and then just kept creating new designs. I love the animals and being able to customize them with cute sayings for teachers, kids, etc.

The ProSeller Corner Do you have any other stores at Zazzle?

Sher My other stores are:

The CoconutZoo | I started The CoconutZoo after the Magins store was getting filled with so many ocean animals and other designs. I wanted to have this one be animals and more nature designs.

ElectricNeonArt | I love vibrant, neon, colors and creating abstract designs. I also love how animals and other art look with black backgrounds.

ShalomTova | This one was to express some of my spiritual side with love of the Jewish religion and culture through biblical stories, songs, and poetry expressed in art.

The ProSeller Corner What has been you best selling product?

Sher Anything with elephants i.e. iPhones, iPads, mousepads, cards, shirts, stickers, etc. The African Elephant design is the most popular with four elephants in different colors.

African Elephant Walk Tees by Magins

The ProSeller Corner What do you enjoy doing when you're not working on your store?

Sher I swim almost everyday, bike, do yoga, play guitar, create earrings and visit with family and friends. I love to travel and do photography, painting, sketching in nature settings. My favorite thing is to hang out at the beach which I travel to whenever I'm able.

The ProSeller Corner How do you balance your time between Zazzle and life?

Sher Since I retired early from teaching, I have more time to work on my favorite hobbies. I take classes and attend workshops to improve my skills and hope to publish children's books with some of my illustrations in the near future.

The marketing end of Zazzle is the hardest part and very time consuming. I visit the forum and get ideas and support from all the other great Zazzlers. I do what I can and hope to do more in the future.

The ProSeller Corner How long had you been with Zazzle before you reached a ProSeller status?

Sher I think a few years at least. It seems like the more products created that will appeal to a variety of audiences does help.

The ProSeller Corner Getting noticed and becoming a ProSeller takes a lot of hard work and time. What advice would you give to those aspiring to become a ProSeller?

Sher For me, I just kept doing my art the way I wanted to. When I first started I worked months on a painting of beaches or landscapes. Then I started doing more designs with animals which took about a week or so to finish. I did work for many years, many hours, day and sometimes all night. I guess I was doing this because I loved it. I think that was the key.

You definitely need to put some time into the social/marketing end. Starting on the Zazzle forum is great. It is a great, supportive community.