My name is Jingjing. I am a Chinese girl in love with Chinese traditional culture. 10 years of living abroad makes me even more proud of the uniqueness of my culture and my root. I have always wanted to do something dedicating to my roots, but for a while I did not find a way.
Back in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, I lost my job and had been living on my saving while stuck in the US. And like the Chinese word "危机" goes, whenever there is a crisis, there is an opportunity. I accidentally met a friend online and with us together, we decided to give E-commerce a try despite the fact that neither of us has any experience in this industry.
Qipaomood was born in 2020, we first decided to sell Qipao on Etsy. After 6 months, our shop was attracting decent traffics due to the happy customers and the review we have accumulated, as a result of my mom's excellent craft skills. And together with the prevail of online shopping during Covid, slowly it became a steady source of income for me. I run this business with my dearest mom. My mom has been in the textile business for more than 30 years and she is doing all the alterations. It was the best thing ever to be able to work with my mom side by side as I would not find another employ who would be more hardworking and dedicated than her.
Things seemed going well until the Jan of 2022, my mother was diagnosed of terminal lung cancer out of blue. She went through a very dangerous surgery and survived, at the same time, my aunt decided to help me prepare all the dresses. My sister decided to stay at home taking care of my mom full-time so that I can work on this business. Now my mother is living like a normal person thanks to the targeted therapy she is taking. Year 2022 is a year of challenges and this business provided with us all the means to survive and I am really grateful for that and I cant thank enough to all the customers who supported us without knowing the storms going in my life.
About 2 months ago, my journey with Etsy comes to an end, without providing me with a notice nor explanation, Etsy suspended my shop. I appealed but with no avail. I was confused and distressed for a while but in the end, I decided to be positive and not giving up. Quickly, I set up this site , and determined to learn how to do everything by myself. I also understand that everything is a journey, nothing will last forever. Nothings endures but change.
I don't know what is ahead for me but I know that no one will be able to shut my store anymore, and I am no longer at the mercy of Etsy and it gave me a sense of power and independence. I realize that I am feeling happy even though I don't have the traffic that I used to have on Etsy. Whenever I received an order on my site, I am thrilled as if I just started my business.
Despite everything, I am extremely grateful for this journey with Etsy. Our small business helped us go through the most difficult time. I am particularly grateful to all my customers who supported me and worked with me. My business won’t grow to what it is today without them and I have learned tremendous from working with each one of them.
Wish you a prosperous 2024 ahead!
Jingjing from Qipaomood