Flourish with Sarah

Home
United States
Apex, NC
Flourish with Sarah

Boosting small business success through strategic sales training and e-commerce consulting .

06/06/2026

I’m obsessed with Anthropologies summer windows.

The brand strategist in me is tipping my hat to the Anthro team because this is an incredible example of trend driven visual merchandising.

The vintage boutique owner in me is especially here for these Delft-inspired ice cream cones. 😍

Blue and white ceramics, chinoiserie, cottagecore, vintage revival, grandmillennial style… all of it is having a major moment right now, and Anthropologie clearly understands what their customer is drawn to.

They may be known primarily for clothing and lifestyle products, but these displays instantly capture attention. They’re nostalgic, whimsical, unexpected, and completely aligned with the aesthetic trends shoppers are loving right now.

A good reminder that some of the strongest visual merchandising comes from creating a world your customer wants to step into.🍦😍

05/29/2026

Attention Flourish members:

Event reminder: Join me today at 2:00pm est for a live conversation with Zuly McKim of LuluFoxPhotography and our Team Flourish Product Photography Advisor! 📸✨

Zuly has spent years helping makers and small business owners create stronger product photos, and today we’re going beyond photography to talk about her journey, the lessons she’s learned along the way, and why she is so passionate about supporting the creative community.

We’ll also be diving into a conversation that feels especially relevant right now: AI and its impact on the arts.

As makers, photographers, designers, writers, and creative business owners, many of us are trying to figure out where we stand. AI is creating some incredible opportunities, but it’s also raising important questions about creativity, ethics, and the future of creative work.

I don’t think there are easy answers, but I do think conversations like this matter. The more we’re willing to talk through both sides with honesty and curiosity, the better equipped we are to move forward thoughtfully.

If you’re already a Flourish member, the link is posted in the event inside the main Flourish group.

If you haven’t joined Flourish yet and would like to, you can do that here:

https://sarahsewell.substack.com

Hope to see you there! 🥰

05/28/2026

Retail is going THROUGH it lately.

Prices are up. Quality is down. Customer service is non existent. Stores feel understaffed. Websites and Apps are constantly nudging us, tracking us, upselling us, and somehow we are all still spending. So… what is actually going on?

I wrote about why consumers are tired, why we are still buying anyway, and why small independent businesses might be the ones who can save us and make the shopping experience feel good again.

New article up on the Flourish with Sarah Substack 🫶🏻

https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahsewell/p/has-retail-lost-its-magic?r=2a9vl7&utm_medium=ios

05/13/2026

Good news for Faire sellers 👏🏼

I already felt like Faire’s shipping rates were fairly competitive compared to a lot of what we’ve been seeing lately, so hearing they’re lowering rates even further feels like we are getting at least a little breathing room.

Right now online product based businesses are trying to navigate rising costs on what feels like… well… everything. 😝 Packaging, supplies, materials, shipping, labor, fees. It adds up fast. So it’s feels really good to see a platform make a move that could actually help sellers a bit instead of adding more pressure.

Small wins are worth celebrating, especially in this economy. 😅

05/11/2026

Etsy sellers, this is one of the more exciting updates we’ve seen in a while.

Etsy is rolling out expanded personalization fields, which means sellers can now add up to 5 personalization fields to a listing, including text boxes, selectable options, and file uploads.

For anyone selling personalized gifts, engraved items, embroidered products, printed designs, pet portraits, logo items, monograms, custom signs, wedding items, or other various made-to-order products, this will make both the customer experience and order management process much cleaner and more efficient.

Instead of trying to force every custom detail into one small personalization area, sellers now have a better way to collect the right information upfront. That means fewer missing details, less back and forth, and a smoother order process from the beginning.

I wrote a full breakdown of what changed, why it matters, and how sellers can use this update to improve their listings, increase conversion, and make custom orders easier to manage.

Read the article here:

https://sarahsewell.substack.com/p/etsy-personalization-fields-update

05/08/2026

One of the really special parts of building an online community is the people you meet along the way… and today was one of those full circle moments. ❤️

After knowing each other online for over 10 years, I finally got to meet OG Flourish Pioneer Amanda Gerard in person here at H+H Americas in Chicago! Amanda has been part of this community since the very beginning and we’ve watched each other grow through so many seasons of life and business over the years. From behind screens and Facebook posts to finally getting to hug in real life… it was just really special.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that these online spaces and connections are made up of real people, real friendships, real support, and real stories. So thankful for this community and the incredible people it has brought into my life over the years. ❤️

04/29/2026

Etsy sellers… categories and attributes are doing more work than you think.

Many sellers rush through categories and attributes when creating listings… and it quietly hurts their visibility. 👀

Etsy uses these sections to understand what your product is, who it’s for, and when it should show up. They act like extra keyword signals behind the scenes.

When they’re skipped or filled out quickly just to move on, you’re limiting how often your listings can surface.

I get it… when you’re listing a lot of products, it’s easy to rush. But this is one of those small details that can make a real difference.

If you’ve been rushing through them, this might be a good one to revisit today. 🙌🏼

04/23/2026

Etsy Sellers: Your “almost working” listings are your biggest opportunity

Before you go creating 10 new listings, go look at what’s already happening.

If something is getting:

impressions

a few clicks

Favorites ♥️

That’s not a dead listing… that’s a close listing.

Those are the ones worth refining.

Small changes there can push something from “kind of working” to consistently selling.

04/21/2026

Your product photo is doing more work than your title

When someone is scrolling Etsy, they’re not reading first… they’re reacting visually.

That first image is your hook.

If it’s dark, unclear, cluttered, or confusing, they keep scrolling. If it’s obvious, bright, and easy to understand, they pause.

That pause turns into a click. That click turns into data Etsy uses to decide if your listing deserves more visibility.

Simple, clear, product-forward images are where winning starts. 📸🫶🏻🥇

Address

Apex, NC
27539

Website

http://www.sarahsewell.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Flourish with Sarah posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Flourish with Sarah:

Shortcuts

Want your business to be the top-listed Business in Apex?