It’s 3:30 am in Greenland, New Hampshire; a quaint, small New England community of a little over 4,000 folks. Greenland is located just off I-95 near the shores of the 6,000+ acre Great Bay tidal estuary, about five miles southwest of Portsmouth and only a short eight-mile drive to nearby Wallis Sands Beach on the New Hampshire coast.

At 3:30 am most “Greenlanders” are tucked in bed and able to enjoy another few more hours of sleep before the alarm goes off. But not at the home of Roula and Pete Rallis. There you’re likely to see lights on in the guest bedroom, the kitchen and even the dining room. That’s because the Rallis home is also the home of Sewcialite, an online Etsy store featuring a beautiful collection of Roula’s hand-made, artisanal designs that her growing community of customers can’t seem to get enough of.

And Roula? Well, in those wee hours of the morning while her husband and two young daughters are still asleep, she’s usually busy back and forth between those rooms designing, creating, marketing, posting new product photos on her Etsy site and social media as well as fulfilling customer orders.

So why 3:30 am? “I work full time as a Senior Project Manager in Information Technology with another firm. Sewcialite is really a sideline business. It’s my passion”, says Roula. So, I’m up long before dawn and work on Sewcialite until around 6:30 am. Then I put on my “mom” hat to help my girls get ready for their day before putting on my full time corporate hat. Fortunately, my husband is my biggest supporter in this enterprise. And my daughters are happy to join in when I need extra help.”

And why the name Sewcialite for her Etsy business? “I love to sew and I love to be social. I also love puns,” she admits. “Sewcialite actually began as a hobby that turned into a business. I first used the name briefly back in 2009 but had to put it on hold while taking a creative break to start my family. Sewcialite—as you see it today on my Etsy store—became a real online business in 2017.” “You could say that Sewcialite is my creative outlet,” Roula continues. “My corporate job is very structured and analytical with several management layers. But, with Sewcialite, it’s amazing to be my own boss and create things that I love, that make my customers feel good and feel beautiful.”

OK, so Sewcialite is technically just a sideline boutique business. But, to look at Roula’s Etsy store site (www.etsy.com/shop/sewcialite) and peruse her 83 hand-crafted products within a dozen distinctive product categories, you have to marvel that she continuously keeps her line fresh, innovative and “made to order”. Yes…much of what Roula sells are custom, made-to-order items. And we’re talking about everything from handbags, to earrings, wall art, coasters, table settings, towels, bowls, planters, stationary and more.

Consequently, customer satisfaction seems to be the consistent hallmark of Sewcialite. As her own brand ambassador, the name, Roula, (of Greek origin and pronounced Roo-La) has become synonymous with her Etsy, Instagram and TikTok followers. And, with nearly 1900 online followers and a steady 5-star Etsy customer rating, it’s no wonder she receives customer reviews like this, “Love the item…exactly as pictured. However, the picture does no justice…it is even more beautiful in person! Item arrived pretty quick as well!”

By marrying her love affair with seashells, sewing, hand-painting, beading, fashion, home decor and artistic design, Roula has managed to turn her “hobby” into an impressive small business that has attracted media attention, major brand exposure and celebrity customers. “I was excited to be featured in Yankee Magazine in July 2020. I even had an actress on an NBC program start following me on social media. As a show of gratitude, I sent her a custom tote bag with a hand beaded lighthouse. And she was gracious enough to share it in her stories,” Roula notes.

“Draper James featured one of my designs on their Instagram page last year which resulted in 100 orders. That was totally unexpected. Then, this past summer, I had a friend of a celebrity reach out to me to have me design something custom for their bridal shower. The design I created was 120 hand painted seashells for the table setting. I also made the bride-to-be a hand beaded pair of white knot earrings as a special gift gesture. In addition, my friend also ordered my seashell note cards as gifts for the guests,” Roula adds.

“Brand recognition is ALWAYS a ‘pinch me’ moment”, she confesses when realizing that the public at large has become familiar with her name and line. “This past summer I had a customer purchase a custom beaded bag for a bride who was having a black-tie wedding in Newport, Road Island. The customer also sent me a picture of the bride opening the bag at her bridal shower. And the bride was so excited with the gift that, after the wedding, she sent me pictures of herself wearing and using the bag.”

“I’ve even had customers send me pictures of zoom calls, where they see a fellow co-worker wearing my earrings,” she continues. And I have other customers who will be out somewhere and see someone carrying one of my designs and will send me a message or picture. Honestly, I’m always humbled and grateful for my community each time I see that they’ve shared my creations and my story on social media.”

To have reached this level of Etsy sales success and brand recognition, you’d think that Roula has a strong marketing background with experience in branding as well as training in photography and social media. But actually, this was a whole new venture for her. “I do have a business background and an MBA degree, but I had no real experience in sales or marketing. There were many lessons I learned along the way on how best to use social media and Etsy to market myself. I guess you could call it ‘gorilla marketing’. When I first started and didn't have many sales under my belt, it was very challenging to get my name out there. There was quite a bit of rejection. I was also learning product photography and editing plus building my brand esthetic,” Roula notes.

Learning how to photograph and showcase her line for Etsy and social media presentation seems to have come as natural for Roula as her creative design talents. And one of her favorite backdrops for photography has been her Westminster Teak outdoor dining pieces. “This past summer Pete and I completed a major backyard renovation. We had two patios, a pergola, stone walls and a standing fireplace installed. We especially wanted to purchase teak furnishings for those areas. So, my husband got busy researching different sources for teak. He’s the researcher. He researches everything,” she emphasizes.

“We didn’t want to buy cheap, off-the-shelf retail chain store products that were poorly made and wouldn’t last. We wanted something that was quality, that could handle our harsh, New England winters and that would stand the test of time. So, when Pete found Westminster Teak, he said, ‘Wow, this company is amazing. We have to buy from them!’ So, we ended up purchasing patio and dining table sets from Westminster Teak. Their products are beautiful and very well made. They’re also totally coastal looking. So, they fit both our lifestyle and my business setting. And I like taking various product shots using their tables as the photo setting,” she adds.

So, where do all of her design ideas come from? Mostly, it’s her own imagination and her passion for creating beautiful things. But she is the first to acknowledge that her customers, social media followers and other artists are a great source for new designs. She considers all input as part of a larger collaboration with her community. “For example, I had one customer ask if I’d ever tried beading my sea shells on handbags. I said, ‘No. But I will.’ So, I got 100 shells to start with. But then I thought that they looked sorta plain. So, I decided to paint them; something I’d never tried before. Well, they turned out beautifully. And that led to me putting painted shells into various art prints, towels, spreads and so on.” Roula says.

To put her entrepreneurial leap of faith into perspective, Roula wasn’t just fresh out of college and beginning to blaze a trail in business when she began Sewcialite. She was already working full time in the corporate world, in the midst of helping to raise a young family with her husband, Pete, and just turning age 37. That was five years ago and she’s going stronger than ever.

Apparently, that spirit of “going for it” is the result of a strong genetic trait, as Roula explains, “I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My family has always only owned small businesses. So I’ve seen both the upside and the downside of owning and running your own business. It can sometimes be feast or famine.”

Given that upbringing, Roula is also keenly aware of the risks inherent in running a small, cottage industry. So, she’s well-grounded in appreciating the security provided by her corporate position while also indulging her creative passion for growing Sewcialite and her community of customers. “It’s quite a balancing act. And I’m always mindful of trying to maintain that balance,” she adds.

Looking ahead, Roula plans to keep Sewcialite a small, intimate creative business inspired by both her followers and the next idea. “One day I hope to be able to collaborate with a national brand where I can combine my art with their products. And, of course, I would also love to be featured in another major magazine,” she admits. “But I don’t want to lose the authenticity of my line being artisanal, handmade-in-New England designs. My customers return because of the quality of my pieces. Plus, they love that I try new mediums and I am always creating new designs.”

As for her ‘life message’ to her daughters and other women with that entrepreneurial spirit, “It’s never too late to invest your time and energy into what inspires you. And it’s never too late to learn. It only takes one idea. You can start small, be small and be very successful. Many people don't ever start because they are afraid of failing. But honestly, it is by working through failure that I have found success. For me, it’s always been…Find something that fills your cup…and then do it!”

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-Story by Steve York, York & Company