A tentative step into a new venture, so be gentle :)
http://kellascreativewishes.blogspot.com/ (http://kellascreativewishes.blogspot.com/)
constructive criticism/ suggestions welcomed.
Quote from: thifasmom on October 01, 2009, 11:55:48
A tentative step into a new venture, so be gentle :)
http://kellascreativewishes.blogspot.com/ (http://kellascreativewishes.blogspot.com/)
constructive criticism/ suggestions welcomed.
You are really talented! Nice website, the photos are lovely. The only criticism I have, and it is probably only me with my weird eyesight, I found the introduction a bit hard to read with the purple background. But it might be just me. :)
Good luck, I hope your business does well.
Would you like me to add a link on my allotment website?
Squash64 no it's not your weird eyesight black print on a purple background is hard to read!
Thifasmom that apart well done and good luck!
First up, good luck with your new enterprise. :)
As has been said, the contrast between text & the background image could be stronger, especially in the header/blog description & article/entry titles; I suspect these are areas of the template where you have tweaked the text colour, in which case it's easily modified. I think some people will have a problem reading the purple and brown text too, however I can read it just fine. (There are on-line tools that can be used to check contrast between colours).
Are you comfortable making minor (very, very minor) edits to the HTML of your posts? I have a suggestion that will help search engines index your pages and assist those who browse with images disabled.
Thanks for the comments guys, I will take your suggestions on board and aim to make the colour contrasts kinder to all eyes.
Sholls I would be pleased to take up your offer on how to improve the HTML(s) so search engines will find me easier. i'll PM you.
I looked at the site before I read the other comments - mine is the same! The 'look' is beautiful but I have poorish sight and found the background rather dark. I also am a dabbler in jewellery making, like you from bits and bobs and cannibalized old stuff, and I think your stuff is lovely. How are you going to advertise? I got into my jewellery interest via ebay.
Beautiful.. good luck with your venture XX Jeannine
They are beautiful pieces.... and very reasonably priced.
Maybe put the prices a bit bigger though?
I like the "ivy" earrings... :)
Lovely pieces thifasmom, my favourite was the Tree of Life.
Ninny
QuoteSquash64 no it's not your weird eyesight black print on a purple background is hard to read!
There is a very good reason why nearly all text based software defaults to black ink on pale paper colours. It gets read.
Congratulations on your new site thifasmom, really lovely products and I'm
sure you will be a big success, liked so many I can't choose a fav. ! ;)
Have you changed it cos it looked ok to me and my eyesite is rather *rap. Nice stuff though
Like the pictures of your jewellry it looks great and the web site is eye catching. But I also find the pink difficult to read.
Also perhaps a little too much information on the top of the screen. When I reach a website I only want to spend a few seconds deciding whether to stay or not, so five words max and a nice picture would catch me better.
'Kella's individual handmade jewellry' If I want more I will click on something to get it.
Wow thanks for all your lovely comments and helpful suggestions.
Its good to know that my pieces are liked as I'm never sure how others will take to my creations.
Quote from: small on October 01, 2009, 20:36:51
I also am a dabbler in jewellery making, like you from bits and bobs and cannibalized old stuff, and I think your stuff is lovely. How are you going to advertise? I got into my jewellery interest via ebay.
I'm not quite sure how I'm going to advertise my stuff at this exact moment online but for the time being I'm doing so through my other blog which has a good reader base and other bloggers have offered to link to my site, also by word of mouth and emails to friends and family asking them to spread the word. by dropping the odd post on a few of the forums i am on, with the hope it will be viewed by interested people.
i do plan to print a few fliers/ business size cards which i will leave at the GP, dentist, library, supermarket and corner store display windows. there is also a local hairdressers not to far from me, and i am thinking of creating some 'mood boards' with the hope she will allow me to either rent window space or better yet give me window space to display it, so it will be seen by passersby and by her customers.
Quote from: shirlton on October 02, 2009, 08:59:57
Have you changed it cos it looked ok to me and my eyesite is rather *rap. Nice stuff though
re the coloring of the site, i am working on that. originally it was mainly very dark purple on a lighter purple which it seems isn't contrasting enough for some. i am at the moment trying a lighter text colour such as a light teal or sand colour but have found that it is making my eyes dazzle slightly, so bear with me while i remedy the situation.
Quote from: coznbob on October 01, 2009, 22:45:09
They are beautiful pieces.... and very reasonably priced.
Maybe put the prices a bit bigger though?
i have read advice out there that says handmade items should reflect that in the pricing and though i understand the ethos behind that i also wanted to sell my items at a price that is achievable to spend on oneself or for others as a gift especially during these trying times, so thanks for finding the prices agreeable. I'll do as you suggest and make the prices text bigger.
Quote from: Digeroo on October 02, 2009, 09:17:50
Also perhaps a little too much information on the top of the screen. When I reach a website I only want to spend a few seconds deciding whether to stay or not, so five words max and a nice picture would catch me better.
'Kella's individual handmade jewellry' If I want more I will click on something to get it.
yes this has been niggerling at me too and will follow your advice and amend it, thanks.
thanks again everyone for your words of encouragement :).
Some lovely jewellery there - I've bookmarked the site and will be back to order, I'm sure. Well done! :) :) :)
thanks Asbean for your lovely compliments.
hey looking good, i also make jewellery but more simple things to be honest, www.jjewellery.co.uk if you have any q's just ask :) oh and very good luck to you !!!!
You do have some lovely jewellery there. You mention papercraft but I couldn't see any! Also there is a lot of text down the side with blank space to the left. I guess you may be planning to add more photos there but for now it would be easier to read if it was across the page. Good luck with it all!
Lovely jewellry thisafmom. I have forwarded details of your site to some friends who may be interested in purchasing some.
You talented lady Thifa, lovely jewellry..........good luck with your venture :D
Quote from: johnny on October 02, 2009, 21:11:52
hey looking good, i also make jewellery but more simple things to be honest, www.jjewellery.co.uk if you have any q's just ask :) oh and very good luck to you !!!!
thanks for the well wishes :). your pieces are beautifully colour coordinated. do you make then sell or do you make to a specific idea which has been put to you by your customers?
Quote from: caroline7758 on October 03, 2009, 10:07:18
You do have some lovely jewellery there. You mention papercraft but I couldn't see any! Also there is a lot of text down the side with blank space to the left. I guess you may be planning to add more photos there but for now it would be easier to read if it was across the page. Good luck with it all!
thanks for the lovely compliment :). the page layout is I'm afraid dictated by the blog's template, so there isn't much i can do about that at the moment. i do hope to sell my stuff through another site called ETSY at some time in the future, just waiting to see how much interest i generate through this avenue first.
re the paper craft i hope to have some available by the end of this week coming so be sure to pop back and check them out, when you can.
Quote from: Paulines7 on October 03, 2009, 10:44:14
Lovely jewellry thisafmom. I have forwarded details of your site to some friends who may be interested in purchasing some.
how very lovely of you. i am still ever so nervous :-[ about what others think, so its pleasing to know that you think they are good enough to recommend, thanks again.
Quote from: star on October 03, 2009, 13:24:16
You talented lady Thifa, lovely jewellry..........good luck with your venture :D
thanks for the well wishes star :-*
don't bother with etsy nor ebay! waste of time, stick to craft fairs and car-boot (make sure they allow new goods, they may also charge extra for trade...) i just make them, if some asks for something i'll do my best, i love working with copper and i've got about 100m in my cupboard!!!! make sure you are insured too! some nasty people out there.
Quote from: johnny on October 03, 2009, 22:02:40
don't bother with etsy nor ebay! waste of time, stick to craft fairs and car-boot (make sure they allow new goods, they may also charge extra for trade...) i just make them, if some asks for something I'll do my best, i love working with copper and i've got about 100m in my cupboard!!!! make sure you are insured too! some nasty people out there.
no ebay isn't for me but etsy is an avenue i may look into more why are you not for them, have you had a bad experience, I'm still researching them so your input would be much appreciated.
i can't go the craft fair/ carboot fair route at the moment as i have no vehicle so travel is a bit a bummer at the moment.
i would love to find out more about the craft fairs though.
do they normally want you to rent booth space, how do you get into that avenue with breaking the bank?
thanks in advance for you helpful replies.
p.s what strength/ gauge copper wire do you work with?? and is it pure copper or is it copper coated??
Just to say good luck with your new venture Thifasmom. I like the names you've given the pieces too :D
Thifasmom my local craft fair is held monthly, in a church hall, and the notices for it are to be seen in shop windows, the library and so on. I'm sure that you'll be able to find yours easily enough and then contact the organiser for details.
Hi, Thifasmom, lovely jewellry :)
when I used to make jewellry, I bought some stands, sweet talked my local garages and post offices into taking a stand, they sold my pieces and took a commission, I collected the money weekly, mine weren't as individual as yours but I di ok ..I'm now doing this with my home made cards at the post office, pays my hospice lottery :)
They're lovely Kella 8) and very good luck with your venture. :-*
Just to throw something into the pot perhaps. A few years ago I went to a Christmas Craft Fair here in Birmingham & saw some lovely dangly beaded earrings made by a lady in Malvern. Loved the design so much I 'commissioned' a pair, using colours which would co-ordinate with clothes I wanted to wear and changing the ear fixing to post-and-butterfly back. I was really happy to pay upfront and wait a few weeks for them to be made and posted to me. Result = one pair of individualized earrings at just a slightly higher premium + postage, which I treasure...
Again, all the very best good luck in your new venture,
Lish X
Quote from: Flighty on October 05, 2009, 11:02:32
Thifasmom my local craft fair is held monthly, in a church hall, and the notices for it are to be seen in shop windows, the library and so on. I'm sure that you'll be able to find yours easily enough and then contact the organiser for details.
i followed your lead and luckily came up with two in my area which will be ready in the next 6 - 8 weeks. one is fully booked with jewellery and papercrafters. i haven't heard from the other as yet, so next year I'll be sure to check this out earlier in the season, to get my foot in.
Quote from: manicscousers on October 05, 2009, 19:06:04
Hi, Thifasmom, lovely jewellery :)
when I used to make jewellery, I bought some stands, sweet talked my local garages and post offices into taking a stand, they sold my pieces and took a commission, I collected the money weekly, mine weren't as individual as yours but I di ok ..I'm now doing this with my home made cards at the post office, pays my hospice lottery :)
thanks for this suggestion i didn't think of this except for my local hairdresser but I'm yet to approach her. hopefully I'll have enough stock to approach her by the month's end.
Quote from: Hyacinth on October 06, 2009, 18:38:20
They're lovely Kella 8) and very good luck with your venture. :-*
Just to throw something into the pot perhaps. A few years ago I went to a Christmas Craft Fair here in Birmingham & saw some lovely dangly beaded earrings made by a lady in Malvern. Loved the design so much I 'commissioned' a pair, using colours which would co-ordinate with clothes I wanted to wear and changing the ear fixing to post-and-butterfly back. I was really happy to pay upfront and wait a few weeks for them to be made and posted to me. Result = one pair of individualized earrings at just a slightly higher premium + postage, which I treasure...
Again, all the very best good luck in your new venture,
Lish X
thanks for the well wishes Lish. although I'm not yet ready to do commissioned pieces i haven't ruled it out for the future.