Setting up Shop on Coriandr

Warning, you might want to make a cup of tea before starting reading today's blog.

I've been on Coriandr for a while and I'm just about getting settled in. It is a beautiful, fresh, uncluttered looking site, which makes it easy to navigate and use as both a buyer and a seller. I like it a lot. Many people have been asking me about the site and asking about selling there, so I thought I'd write up a quick step by step of what an online shop needs, so that if you are thinking about joining us at Coriandr, you can get it all ready before hand, to make the actual signing up and setting up of your shop run quickly and smoothly.

1. Branding
First and foremost you need to decide how you want your shop to look and how you want to brand your products. Branding is very important so take time to get this right. Coriandr allows you to load up an avatar and a banner to give your shop a branded look of your very own. If you already sell elsewhere you will probably already have a design in mind and all you will need to do is resize/redesign your banner to fit the 930 pixels wide and 160 pixels high that is allocated for it and 150 x150 for your avatar on Coriandr. If this is your first shop you have the fun of deciding how you want to brand your business. Remember clean, simple designs and logos usually make the best impact. The most common thing I see wrong with banners is that the name of the shop is either not on the banner or very hard to read because it is either too small or blends in with the background colours. Design a logo you can use on everything - banners, avatars, emails, invoices, letterheads, business cards, packaging... everything. If you don't know how to do this you could enrol the services of someone to help you. Remember Coriandr, as with most sell through sites has a forum where you can ask fellow sellers for help. We are friendly bunch so feel free to ask away.

2. Welcome your customers
The introduction/welcome in your shop needs to be short, to the point, but also within your branding concept. Concisely sum up what your shop has in it whilst welcoming your customers in. Most people are eager to see what you sell and won't take the time to read a huge long introduction. It can even put people off looking at your shop if when they open the shop page they cannot see at least one row of photographs of your goods. They may just click on to the next person, so keep that introduction to the point.

3. Bio
In the "Edit your profile" section of your account you can add a bio about yourself. I would seriously urge you to fill this out as it gives customers the feeling they know you a little better and gives them confidence to buy from you. Online selling can unnerve some people, especially buying from small businesses, as they know nothing about the seller. Don't write an epic all about yourself from birth to now, just give them an over all feel of who you are and what led you to your craft. Enthusiasm is very catching. Use it to your advantage and write in an upbeat way about yourself. People like to know the person behind the shop. When you go into a bricks and mortar store you get to meet the person you are buying from and you get to assess a bit about them. On-line the buyer can't do this so the bio helps to let them feel like they know you a bit better before they hand over their cash.

4. Terms and conditions of sale
It is very important to fill out the "Shop Policies" page for your business. When someone buys goods from your shop, you and they are entering into a legally binding contract with each other. You must display what that contract is. Remember that there are laws in most countries about distant selling (i.e. selling via catalogue or online etc) that you must stick to. Look up the laws for your country and stick within those laws when you write your terms and conditions. It is pointless saying "I am not responsible for goods lost in the post" when the law of your country says you are.

Having law abiding terms and conditions of sale written out and on display may seem like hard work and a daunting task, but once it is done it means both you and your customers know where they stand when a transaction is made. Once you have written the policies, stick to them. Don't promise to ship within 3 days if you can't always do it. It will just reflect badly on you and your business. Bad word of mouth travels much faster than good.

5. Photographs
Your photographs are all the customer can see of the item you are selling. It is very important that they are clear, in focus, well lit and represent the colours of the item as best you can. For a consistent look it your shop it is best to take the photographs on similar backgrounds with the same light set up each time. Most people agree that natural light is the best, but if you live, like I do, in a place where for 6 months of the year it is pretty much guaranteed to be dark and overcast it might be worth building or buying a light box to take you photographs in. If you have large items this may not be possible, but do try to stick with the same kind of light from the same angle for you shots. Don't use backgrounds or settings that fight for attention with your goods, because it will only confuse the customer about what is for sale.

Take photos of your goods from every angle. If you think of all the ways you look at an item when you go into a bricks and mortar shop and try to think of all the bits you look at in detail this will give you a good idea of what to take shots of. Backs, fronts, stitching, clasps, earring post solders, feature details, etc. The more you show them the more they have to go on. In one photo try to show the scale of the item. If the item is very small put a ruler with both inches and centimetres into the shot. If it is a large item have a person in shot or a hand. This gives people an idea of the size of the goods.

6. Descriptions
When you write your description try to do it so that if there were no pictures, the person would get a minds eye view of what you are selling. Mention materials used, colours, size (in both cm and inches), uses, special features or details, shape etc. Also enthuse a bit about what lead you to create the piece or what you love about it. Enthusiasm is catching and if a potential customer starts to feel enthusiastic about your goods you stand more chance of them buying them.

7. Shop Categories
Break your shop listings up into categories. This helps a shopper to navigate around your shop quickly to find what they want to purchase. In Coriandr you can set up the categories by going to "Add custom categories" under the Shop Management Header in your account. Do this before you start listing goods.

8.Tags and site categories
When you list your goods you will be asked to add tags and to choose a top category for your listing. Tags are very important as they are the key words the search engine on the site pick up on when someone is looking for goods on the site. Likewise top categories for the site allocate which of the main site categories your item appears in. There is a skill to getting these right and it just takes time and testing to find the right combination for your goods. Adding colours, materials, and your location and shop name in the tags can be helpful. Some people search for goods by colour, some by materials. If a person wants something fast they may search for people local to them to buy from, hence adding location. Just try to think about how people would search for you goods, and what words they would use and then add those as tags to your items.

Do not tag abuse! Don't tag earrings as a necklace just to appear in more searches. Don't tag an item a colour it is not just because that colour is fashionable right now. There is very little point in tagging to get into more searches if what you are selling isn't what the buyer wants. It is more likely to put them off looking through pages of unwanted things than it is to get them to buy.

9. Stock levels
Keeping your shop well stocked is a must. Shops that have only a few items in don't usually grab buyers attention, but equally having 30 pages of stock can also be a turn off. Most people will not flick through that many pages. Keep a sensible balance and if you do have more that 5 pages worth of goods remember to use your shop categories well to break down the pages into set groups.

10. Shipping
There is a whole big wide world out there and when selling on the internet you can access customers from all over the world. If you have a product that is of a size and is allowed to be shipped overseas then I say, go for it! By not shipping overseas you will be limiting your market place and losing sales. Some goods are not allowed to be shipped to some countries or your government may have rules that ban certain items being shipped out of your country. Check out the rules that apply to your goods being imported to other countries. Any goods that you can ship and are willing to ship overseas must have a shipping price put into your listings for the countries you are willing to ship to. Many customers are put off by you having the statement "I will ship overseas. Contact me to find out the price". They want to be able to shop right here, right now, without having to wait for you to reply with a shipping fee. If you are willing to ship, put a price in your listing. Don't risk losing out on a sale.

Well that is my basic guide to setting up a shop on Coriandr. There are probably hundreds of other hints and tips people can give you and ones that you will find and learn along the way. I learn something new about selling handmade goods on-line all the time. It's always a learning curve. Never be afraid to ask questions. The next thing you need to do once you have a shop is promote it, so people know it's there.... but that's a whole other topic for another day. Thanks for reading!

Written by Lynne of the PiratePixieCrew and Hyperloop Hoops

Photography Tutorials: Photographing with a Light Box

For those crafters and artisans out there who aren’t home during daylight hours or who prefer to shoot in a controlled light environment, a light box is a fantastic option. This week I sought the help of the very talented Kim Turley, a photographer who has, in my opinion, mastered the art of photographing with a light box.

As you can see in the photo above, the light box provides a clear, consistent light source perfect for displaying the true color and detail of your work. Kim has kindly shared her fabulous (and affordable) light box set-up:

She purchased the tent above (called the “Square Perfect”) for $35 online, but also recommends this tutorial from the Digital Photography School for folks who want to build their own for just a few pennies.

Kim’s favorite sources of artificial light are her metal clamp work lights with reflective dishes that she purchased at Home Depot. These lights come in three sizes: she currently uses two medium-sized lamps and plans on purchasing one large lamp to complete her set. Kim recommends the n:vision CFL 100 watt “daylight” bulb of at least 100 watts. The clamp lights allow you to position and accurately direct the light, and the lights do not overheat (Kim has tried using fluorescent lighting and warns that these lights get super hot!)

Photographing your products doesn’t have to cost a lot of money – Kim estimates that her lights (including reflective dishes and bulbs) cost $13, a small investment that will certainly enhance your wares and hopefully boost views and sales.

After you photograph your products, go have a little fun with your lights, as Kim has done here:

(I thought this shot of hers would make you smile!)

Please feel free to visit Kim’s Etsy shop and her blog for more great tips!

Written by Michelle of MKC Photography

Do you offer Custom made goods?

Lately I have been hearing a lot of mutterings around the hand made market place about custom orders that have gone wrong or from people saying they don't do any custom orders because they find them too stressful. This saddens me greatly, because I adore ordering custom goods for myself and family and I also love to make custom goods for other people. Yes custom orders do have an added risk of not turning out exactly as you expected, but I've often found that the results far out strip my wildest dreams and the results are way better than I had expected. Just because there is a little extra work involved for both buyer and seller, don't be put off. Receiving goods especially made for you is such a huge buzz and very exciting, and creating new items for someone following their design wishes is a challenge and it fun.

The key thing to custom orders is good honest communication.

Mommayaya custom made these beautiful slippers for me.

As a buyer:-
I like to write down my ideas for what I'm looking to get made so I am clear in my mind what I need the item to look like, what functionality it must have and how soon I need the item by. I then go looking for someone I feel will have the skills to make the item. I will give that person my ideas and ask them if it is possible. If they come back to me and say yes, then Yippeee it's time to get down to specific details of materials used, colours etc discuss time scales for the making and the all important costs.

If they say "No, that's not possible" it is time to talk modifications or to see if someone else can do it. Remember the reason you are asking this other person to make the goods is because they have a skill you don't and they know what will and won't work using the skills they have, so be guided by their experience, ask them questions and really listen to the answers they give you. Having unrealistic expectation of what the goods will be like when they are finished will only result in disappointment for you and frustration for the maker.

When you have found your maker, and have negotiated with them price and payment methods, time scale and design, remember that is not the end of your input. Ask the person for regular updates and ask to see photos of the work as it progresses. That way you will be able to save them and yourself money if things start to go in a different direction to the one you thought you had agreed to.

Pouch custom made this fantastic Dilly bag for me.

Keep communicating throughout the process and you will find at the end of it you will end up with goods that are just what you wanted and in some cases are beyond your wildest dreams.



As a seller:-
The most important thing as a seller of custom made goods is to be frank and honest about what a buyer can or cannot expect from the process of ordering something from you. That way there will be no big surprises for the buyer which could result in them refusing to pay for the finished goods. If you can't make exactly what they have asked for say so. Don't just make something slightly different, that you can make, and hope they won't notice. They will!

A bag I custom made for a customer.

Have discussions about what is going to be made. Get clear written details of what the buyer wants. Any changes that need to be made need to be negotiated and again written down and agreed by both parties. Usually, for me, this takes the form of emails back and forth. Remember to always listen to what your customer is saying. Do not rail road them into having something made your way just because it is easier for you. There is a good chance that they will be disappointed with the end results if you do. If at any point it seems that they want something you cannot make, be honest and end the contract before it begins. Wish them well and if you know someone that can do the work, recommend them. Contrary to popular belief, this will not lose you sales in the long run, it will gain you more, because you will get a reputation for being helpful and trustworthy.

If you are able to make the goods and you agree the design, price and materials etc, it then comes to the question of money. When you make custom orders remember it is a contract for both you and the buyer. To that end the buyer needs to show that they are entering into the contract with the intent of paying in full for the goods at the end. I always ask for a 50% deposit at the start. In receiving this money I am agreeing to keep within the brief agreed with the buyer and agreeing to keep them up to date on their order and agreeing to complete the goods within a given time scale. If I break any of those terms the buyer is entitled to their money back. The rest of the moneys will be owed on completion of the work, to the buyers satisfaction. In taking a deposit you are covering the costs of materials in the event of the buyer backing out half way through the contract and you are also gauging the buyers intent to see the contract through.

The detail of a train on a custom made hat.

Keep in contact with the buyer through out the process of making the goods. Send them updates on the work including photographs. If you encounter any delays, such as materials not being delivered, or you fall ill and have to stop working on the project, tell your customer immediately. Keep them in the loop so that they know what is going on at all time. This way you will rarely have problems and the transaction should run smoothly and to the satisfaction of both people.

In doing all of this I have found that very rarely do custom orders go wrong.

Written by Lynne of PiratePixieCrew and Hyperloop Hoops

Craft Market Hints and Tips

Are you going to be attending any craft markets or festivals this year to sell your gorgeous handmade goodies? If you are and it's your first time of doing it, you can get a little bit daunted about it and panic that you won't have enough stock or you'll forget to bring all the things you could need. Don't worry. You're not alone in feeling that way. At the beginning of festival season I feel exactly the same way. I wonder where I put my banner and if I need to replace it. I sort through boxes of goods and try to remember where I put the hat stand after last years final craft market. So today I thought I'd write myself out a check list of things needed to be taken and write out a few hints and tips I've picked up along the way to share with you.

This is us creating a buzz about our stall by teaching people to hula hoop outside the stall

The first tip is fore-warned is fore-armed. By this I mean that if you contact the organisers of the event you will be selling at and ask them what the venue is like, what will be provided by them and what you are and are not allowed to sell at the event. The more information you have in advance the better prepared you can be. It is terrible to turn up to an event that is miles away from home only to find that they won't be providing you with a table and you haven't brought one with you. Ask if there will be internet access, so that you can use a laptop to allow people to pay via paypal.

Ask what other stalls will be there. If you make and sell a range of goods it is always wise to try and bring more of something that no one else is selling that have a stall full of pretty much the same as the person next to you has. Diversity of types of stalls is what the buyers want to see and it will make them look more closely at each stall than a whole row of stalls selling the same things.

Research who will be at the event to make sure the goods you are taking with you are ones that will appeal to the target audience. It is pointless turning up to an event, that will mainly be attended by nuns, with a stall packed with naughty underwear and corsets. Tailor your goods to the potential customers. Take a few of your other items along as well, because you can never be certain who will turn up, but in the main stick with the goods aimed at the majority rather than the minority.

Be ready and prepared. Do a few trial runs of setting out your stall if it is your first ever market. This will help you to work out how to lay out your table/stall to be appealing, you will get a good idea of all the things you need to take with you and it will remind you of things you have forgotten to get, such as a banner or display units. Once you have done this, make a check list of all the things you used. Get large clear plastic storage boxes to put all your stock in. It is easier than cardboard boxes as you can see what's in each of them without having to rummage. Have a separate box for all the rest of your things, like your table cloth and display units. Be organised. When I first started out, I had a laminated check list. I kept it in a file with all the other paperwork needed to run a stall and before I left the house I would go through it and tick off everything as it was loaded into the van. I do it from memory now, but it really helped at the beginning.

Attempt to be one of the first people to arrive at the venue. This will give you a chance to scope out the event and if stalls are not already allocated in advance you will be able to snaffle up one that is a prime position, before anyone else shows up. Position can be everything in a craft fair. Try not to end up being the stall that is squeezed in at the back corner because you arrived late.

So what are the small things people regularly forget to take with them to craft markets?

Receipt book - Yes some people do want a receipt at craft fairs.
Pens and an order pad - people will ask "Can you make me that in a different colour and will you email me when it is ready?"
Business cards, compliment slips and flyers for your next event - Put one in every bag of goods you sell and hand one to anyone that browses your stall.
Scissors - they are the one thing I get most asked to borrow by other stall holders.
Duct/gaffa tape - When something breaks heavy duty gaffa/duct tape are your friend. From tent poles and table legs to putting up banners. You may need it so take it.
Money pockets/safety box - You need somewhere to store all that lovely money people will hand over to become the own your beautiful goods. Have somewhere safe to keep it. I like money pockets best because you can keep them with you at all times.
Change - Remeber to take plenty of small coins so you can give change, or round all your prices up to bank note sized figures.
Table cloth and display units - Without these your display is going to look a bit more like a jumble sale than a high quality craft market stall.
String and pegs - Pegging a table cloth to the table at a market where the wind has picket up can save you a lot of grief. String comes in handy to attach banners to poles, or to attach your gazebo to something that is not going to fly away. Tent pegs can also be helpful if you are outdoors.
Mirror - if you sell clothing or jewellery you need to take a mirror with you so customers can see what the items look like on them.
A large bottle of water/flask of tea and snack foods - Being trapped on a stall with nothing to eat or drink can be a big pain. Take food and drink that isn't sticky or messy. There is nothing worse than spilling a fizzy drink and having a swarm of wasps hanging around your stall for the rest of the day.
Price tickets - Clear and easy to read price tickets are a good idea. It helps shy customers as they don't feel they have to chat to you to find anything out. They can just pick an item out and pay.
Bags, tissue paper and gift wrap - Offering a gift wrapping service can make you a little added money. I suggest using paper bags rather than plastic, or if you sell small items maybe make up a few small fabric tote bags with your shop name and web address printed or embroidered on the side. It will make them stand out in the crowds and may bring you more customers.
Tools of your trade - If you can take them with you, you can work in the slacker times of the day. I've found knitting and crocheting on the stall attracts people to see what you are doing. If you are a blacksmith or someone that uses large tools in their work you might find this harder to do, but sometimes it's not impossible.
Refuse bin - a small rubbish/trash bin to put waste in.

I'm sure there are many more but my brain has fogged over now. If you think of something leave a message in the feedback and I'll add it to the list later.

My last tip is dress appropriately to the situation you will be in. If it is a cold day and you will be outside put on lots of layers and always take extra clothing to put on. If you end up sitting still for a long time you will get colder than you could ever imagine was possible. If it is summer remember to put on sunscreen, even if it is a cloudy day and re-apply it through out the day. It is very easy to get sunburned without realising it when you are working on a stall. A hat is a good idea too if you do not have any shade to stand/sit in. If your stall has a theme, as mine does, it can be fun to dress up and become a character for the day. I become Captain Skulduggery Dug. It just makes your stall more fun and gives customers a starting line to open up a conversation with you. Yes, by the end of the day you will probably be sick about talking about why you are dressed the way you are and some of the silly comments people make, but remember it has opened up a conversation with a potential customer and gives you something to build on.

The most important thing you must wear all day is a SMILE! Always smile at everyone that approaches your stall and say hello. Break the ice so they feel you are approachable.

Good luck and have fun. Make friends with your fellow stall holders and help each other out. You'll have a fabulous and hopefully profitable day!

Written by Lynne of Hyperloop Hoops and PiratePixieCrew