Crafting A Lifestyle - With Our Powers Combined

This week we are proud to be featuring the husband and wife duo of the geeked out business, With Our Powers Combined on Etsy.com!  Not only were we able to get an awesome interview with this couple, but we were also able to review one of their top selling products! Read on to learn about This shop’s origin and be sure to check out their very own blog HERE!

Building Bridges: Tell us a little bit about you, your family, and what you like to do for fun!

Jamie and Alli: We are a married couple who live in Kansas City, which is a great place for being into the arts and crafting. Jamie works in the theatre industry and Alli works in higher education, so the blog and related Etsy shop are our hobby and passion outside of work. We are also gamers (role playing and board gaming) and avid TV and movie watchers, all of which comes out in our projects

Building Bridges: Why did you choose the name of your business? Is there a special meaning behind it?

Jamie and Alli: We had been wanting to start a blog about the things we make for some time, but hadn't gotten it off the ground. Then one day, Jamie suggested the name With Our Powers Combined and it was too great an idea to let go. We have always had two different sets of skills, but work together really well, so it fit our process and style. We also grew up in the 90's, so the reference to Captain Planet is a signal to nerds of a certain age.

Building Bridges: Why did you decide to open your shop and why sell on Etsy.com?

Jamie and Alli: The shop was an afterthought from the blog. We had been making so many things, we needed somewhere for them to go. Alli had been an Etsy seller in the past, under the name OccasionOwl, and was familiar with the Etsy marketplace, so it seemed like the obvious choice.

Building Bridges: Did someone encourage you to start a business?

Jamie and Alli: Not exactly. We started out making projects as gifts and received enough positive feedback we thought we could give it a shot. We're also of an age where entrepreneurial spirit is really high, and we have many friends who are also undertaking their own business endeavors, so it was on our mind.

Building Bridges: When did your shop officially open?

Jamie and Alli: December 6, 2012

Building Bridges: Do you remember your first product that sold, what was it?

Jamie and Alli: It was a set of Avengers Coasters made from comic book pages and tile. We still make comic book coasters regularly and they are one of our top sellers.

Building Bridges: Do you take custom orders?

Jamie and Alli: We do; however, we haven't had many customers take us up on it. Alli has made a few custom tea wreaths, but our nerd products tend to sell well as is.

Building Bridges: Why make handmade products? If applicable

Jamie and Alli: We're makers. Our blog slogan is "Crafting a Lifestyle" and it is something we try to do whenever possible. We enjoy creating, working with our hands, and being able to put original things into the world. We are also relatively frugal and see making as a way to enjoy a custom, yet inexpensive, lifestyle.

Building Bridges: What do you love or hate about selling?

Jamie and Alli: We hate having to go to the post office all the time. Because we work full time and our products are often fragile or of a strange size, each is a unique shipping challenge. We spend a lot of our lunch breaks standing in line.

Building Bridges: Do you have a product that you prefer to design/create over others?

Jamie and Alli: Our favorite projects are often not replicable, which means they never make it to the shop. Our primary purpose is to blog about our experience as crafters and, when possible, give DIY advice to others on how to re-create our items. Personally our two favorites are our Supernatural Hunter's Kit and our TARDIS Tree Topper - both of which are featured on the blog but have not been produced for the shop.

Building Bridges: Do you have any advice for other crafters who would like to start selling their creations?

Jamie and Alli: Don't think too long or hard about, just do it. Etsy is a great place for both small hobbyists and full-time artisans. If you make something someone else will love, it will sell. Just make sure you like making it as much as people like getting it. You never know when one of your products will start flying off the "shelf."

Building Bridges: Did you always see yourself becoming an entrepreneur?

Jamie and Alli: We have always been in the planning stages for one venture or another. Our lifelong dream has been to own and operate our own theatre company. In some ways, we see our Etsy shop as a learning experience for how to manage the backside of a business. Alli has even looked into taking additional business courses in the hope that we can expand in the future.

Building Bridges: What is a typical day like when you are crafting?

Jamie and Alli: If we had an entire day to craft, that would be atypical. Our crafting often occurs in short bursts when we can find the time. We tend to give ourselves deadlines just to make sure we make time for it. Although we enjoy crafting more than most things, it is one of the first things to get pushed aside when life gets busy. As for the time we do have, we have a brand new (to us) shared studio in our home so that we can work on separate projects in a shared space. Our projects truly live up to the name With Our Powers Combined.

Building Bridges: What is your most popular product on the market right now?

Jamie and Alli: Our Zelda Pop-up Card keeps us busier than any product we have ever made. Two-thirds of all orders from our shop come from that card. We started by marketing it as a Valentine, and it went over so well that we pulled it from the shop for a while to give ourselves a vacation. Surprisingly enough, it continues to sell year round. This summer we have sold approximately one a week.

                                                           Featured product for review  

                                                                             “Legend of Zelda” popup card

This review is for all you (us) big kids out there who are still Zelda fans after all 

these years! If Mario can do it – so can Zelda! Hehe Receiving this card in the mail made our week! The quality is fantastic, and that is no joke. The shop photo displaying this card doesn’t begin to give justice that it is a nice crisp stock paper, instead of everyday flimsy paper that has been printed on. So the thickness of the paper is an A++ on our rating scale. 

On to the print quality – perfect! There were defiantly no “cheaping out” occurring with the amount of black ink it took to cover the front of the card or the red heart inside.  

Popup card capability – So we have had our crafty little hands in making our own popup cards for friends….yea we won’t ever do that again! Jamie & Alli have nothing short of perfected how the heart comes up and out of the card. For handmade it looks professionally (machine) made. 

Overall this card is top notch and is great for any geek loving fan! We recommend for Valentine’s Day, Birthday, Get Well Soon (we reluctantly are going to send this little baby to a friend going to have surgery), or a Just Because card! Be sure to head on over to their shop and get yourself one, the next time you need to send a card!

Jamie and Alli are a husband and wife craft team providing quirky step-by-step instructions of fun DIY projects. She's an art-trained papercrafter, he's a theatre-trained modelmaker. With their powers combined, it's geek-inspired props, decorations, and housewares with a unique tone.

 Thank you both so much for combining your powers and creating a duo team that is beyond amazing! We are just fascinated by the “geeky” work you all are doing and will definitely be keeping up with your blog & Facebook, & Etsy shop! Readers be sure to check them out and show them some extra love by following them! You won’t be sorry! Jamie & Allie can best be reached via email at wopcblog@gmail.com. Thanks again for sending us The Legend of Zelda card! It has been our pleasure.

                      All photos have been used with permission from Jamie & Alli from their Etsy shop & blog.