How Van Lifer Kae Orlando Runs An Etsy Shop While Traveling

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That’s certainly what Kae Orlando, 25, did: she turned homelessness into the opportunity of a lifetime.

“We were always enamored by the idea of living tiny. Our dream was to live in a tiny tree house in the Pacific Northwest.” 

So when the couple faced housing insecurities six years ago, they saved up and bought an ex-San Mateo County, California, shuttle bus and converted it into a treehouse-inspired home on wheels. As soon as they could, they drove to Oregon and started living their dream lives.

Kae now works as a full-time artist – something she couldn’t pursue while staying in the rat race. She sells nature-inspired jewelry and miniatures on her Etsy shop, Nomadic Novelties Co.

Read on to find out how Kae runs an Etsy shop from a bus, discover her nomadic shop set-up, and hear her tips for anyone wanting to start an online shop while living on the road.

Please give us a little background on yourself. What prompted you to move onto the bus?

I started my bus journey a bit unconventionally: I found myself homeless. My family had to sell Dad’s house to pay for his medical care, and soon after, the apartment Alex and I were renting from a friend was foreclosed. We struggled to find new accommodation because we live with two 100lbs rescue pit bulls. So we moved our belongings into the back of my pickup truck and slept in a tent. 

We worked in restaurants to save up enough to purchase an old shuttle bus on Craigslist. We moved in the day we bought it with sleeping bags, slept on the rubber floor, and slowly turned it into a treehouse. 

If you like the look of Kae and Alex’s bus, Tree, check out this article, which is all about what’s on board and how the guys converted it.

What sort of jobs did you do before moving into Tree?

Over the years, I’ve worked as a hostess, waitress, bartender, camp host, gemstone store assistant, and more. While I’ve loved all of these jobs, nothing compares to being my own boss and working remotely from home.

I don’t have a degree; college wasn’t an option because I had to care for my dad, who was sick, during my senior year. To make ends meet, I worked in restaurants and babysat. My mum took me on Big Sur road trips in the summer, inspiring my creativity. In my spare time, I created art and nature photography. 

Tell us about your Etsy shop, Nomadic Novelties Co.

I create polymer clay 3D miniatures inspired by the Sears & Roebuck Merry Mushroom ceramic kitchenware from the 1970s. 

I take pride in the quality of my artwork and have tested the durability of my pieces. All earring hooks are hypoallergenic, and the pendants come with adjustable vegan hypoallergenic chording.

Everything is hand-sculpted to order (I don’t use any molds or cutters), and many of my items are one-of-a-kind, functional art pieces. 

In the beginning, I only made earrings. Over the years, I have expanded to different types of jewelry and accessories, like essential oil bottles and lighter cases. 

How did you go about starting the shop?

Making my shop profitable took some time. I opened a private domain website in 2017 while living at the apartment and hardly made any sales. In 2019, I shut the site down and opened an Etsy shop, hoping to get better exposure.

For about three years, my art was just a ‘hobby’ – I sold one-of-a-kind pieces to friends and family. It wasn’t until the Covid lockdowns in 2020 that my pieces started getting recognized across several social media platforms. Thanks to the help of this wonderful community, the shop has been my full-time job for nearly 5 years now. 

What does managing the shop involve?

Running the shop can be overwhelming, especially during the holidays. Everything is hands-on – I sculpt, paint, glaze, and assemble the jewelry. Then, I photograph each item, package it, and ship it. I also look after my storefront, promote the shop on Instagram, take care of the inventory, order supplies, deal with customer service, and more. There are no days off, and every day is different, just how I like it! 

I order supplies in bulk, so the storage under the bed is dedicated to extra clay, crystals, tools, and packing supplies. Then I purchase postage online and print the labels on the bus. I commute to the nearest post office to ship my products once a week. 

Do you enjoy managing the shop? What aspect of it do you find most rewarding?

I love running my small business; it gives me a sense of purpose. Knowing my creations bring joy to others means the world to me, especially because I was always discouraged from pursuing art professionally. 

It’s so rewarding to love what I do and connect with others with similar interests in the process.

The shop account has over 26,000 followers on Instagram. Tell me about the community you built on the platform.

Many people cherish the vintage Sears & Roebuck Merry Mushroom line of ceramic ware and share their passion online. It’s the nostalgia that brings them together. So I started an Instagram account. I have some of the sweetest people cheering me on and sharing their love and support for my art over the years. 

Many folks find my shop through my bus’ social media pages and wonder how I create in such a tiny space. The answer is very cluttered counters! 

I’m so grateful to have built such a loving and encouraging community around my art. They keep me going, and I’m unsure where I’d be in my art journey without them.

Where did the passion for Merry Mushrooms and nature minis come from?

Over the years, Alex and I have been collecting Merry Mushrooms on our travels. We spend a lot of time checking out thrift shops in new towns; it’s like mushroom hunting but indoors.

Nature has been a constant in our relationship since the day we met, so my creations being inspired by nature was no surprise. But I guess it took us living tiny for me to start creating tiny things, mostly out of lack of storage space. I also genuinely love the cuteness that comes with minis.

What challenges do you face running an Etsy shop from the road? 

I face many. They’re mostly due to things out of my control like a package not arriving on time and having to schedule a stay in town longer for its arrival. 

Also, the signal can be spotty, so I often have to drive to get service to reply to emails and post advertising on my social media. 

Sometimes, the weather keeps us indoors for ten or more days, and a tiny space feels extra cluttered when countertops are overwhelmed with supplies. Staying organized helps, so I clean up after every step of my process. 

What does your partner Alex do?

Alex works random fun jobs along the way. When we met, he was a server and bartender in a fine-dining restaurant. Over the years, he’s continued serving, camp hosting, property caretaking, doing light carpentry, and more. 

During the holidays, when my business is extra busy, Alex becomes my personal assistant, helping with my packaging and taking orders to the post office. 

Sometimes, it can be tough to find a job in new areas. It’s not always a sure thing, and we often rely on the shop as our sole income. We’re frugal with our spending, cooking mostly from scratch and living within our means. We don’t make much, but we are happy living simply and are so grateful to be in this blessed position of having everything we need and each other. 

Do you ever face issues matching Alex’s jobs to the shop’s demand?

Sometimes, Alex gets a job far from a post office. Thankfully, we have my old 4×4 pickup truck as our follow vehicle, so we can drive to the nearest town or post office to drop off packages. We take the opportunity to stock up on supplies and fuel. 

What did your family think when you told them you would move onto a bus and make a living from it?

When we first said we were building and moving into a bus, our families were not particularly enthused. Over the years, they’ve warmed up to the idea as they’ve seen our dream come to life.

The only person on my side of the family that was (and still is) supportive from the beginning is my 86-year-old grandpa. He showed me how to take pictures as a kid on his camera, gifted me my first-ever digital camera when I was 8, and ignited my passion for art and photography. I still have a penpal relationship with him, and I send him photos via snail mail from our bus adventures. 

How do you guys keep a work-life balance on the road?

It seems to occur naturally for us. The pups keep us active and hiking daily, and we are avid wild mushroom foragers, so hunting for dinner together is a favorite activity! When the day’s work is done, we cook a homemade meal and enjoy it while watching a movie snuggled up with the pups. 

Plus, traveling to different towns to run errands and ship orders takes us to the cutest local coffee shops, breweries, thrift stores, and hiking trails. 

What about having a social life? 

Depending on how long we stay in certain places, we meet people along the way. We’ve made some great friends – nomadic and stationary – all of whom we stay in contact with regularly through social media. 

We are pretty introverted, though, and we’re happy being tucked away in the woods with just each other’s company. 

Do you have any tips for van lifers looking to open an Etsy shop while living nomadically?

Dedicate storage to your craft and stay organized, stay consistent with posting on socials to promote your business (and when it’s difficult due to lack of signal, be prepared to drive to find it), and have an online storefront with plenty of options and quality photography to showcase your work. 

I treat my Etsy shop as a full-time job, often working late into the night. Hard work will pay off, even if it takes years to come to fruition.