Search engine improvements
Posted by onWith a prod, a kick and the occassional fortifying cup of tea, the latest Coriandr update went live in the wee hours of yesterday morning. Mainly concerned with improving site speed, nothing much will appear to have changed unless you look at the web address bar whilst browsing the site…
Can you see what it is yet?! Essentially we’ve gone through the entire site and updated all the ugly, old links with search engine friendly new ones;
old: http://www.coriandr.com/item?item=4791
new: http://www.coriandr.com/item/4791/mohair-cuff-gloves
Although modern search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc) can figure out what is going on in either situation, the new links are much kinder for us humans. Search engines have got some amazingly clever algorithms for calculating a link’s ranking, and anything that improves human readability is seen as a very good thing.
Item pages aren’t the only ones benefiting from this small, but significant change; shops, profiles and categories have all received a link makeover. Any old links floating around the internet will still work of course, but who wants browse http://www.coriandr.com/results?cat=10 when the listings are probably so much nicer in http://www.coriandr.com/category/jewellery/rings?
The upshot of all this is that our search rankings for both on- and off-site links will improve, and better rankings means more exposure, and more sales for everyone!
Free promotional flyers!
Posted by onAfter a small delay (damn you UK postal service!) our promotional flyers have finally arrived! Woohoo! :)
Love Handmade Promo Flyers
These flyers are meant as completely free promotional material, available to all, so if you want to grab yourself a pack or two head over to my Coriandr shop and put an order in, we’ll even cover the postage costs. There are two designs to choose from, sorted into packs of 20 and 50. The “www” prefix has even been left off of the coriandr.com link so that sellers can write their shop url in there. :)
Love Handmade
Buy Handmade Or...
During the course of designing these flyers, we came up with a few alternatives that didn’t make it to the printers for various reasons. We’ll be making those extra designs (plus the two above) available for download soon in our Promotional Materials section.
Trick or Treat!
Posted by onThe pumpkin is lit, the door is locked and you’re watching your second scary movie from behind a cushion.. There’s only two weeks until Halloween, and still enough time to stock up on fantastically spooky handmade goodies here on Coriandr.
This week I’ve picked my favourite ghoulish treats for one of my favourite times of year, as usual, just click on any of the photos for more info!
Trick or Treat Bag by Nicsknots
Immense by Lady Twiglet
Horror Monster Movie Bag by Uniquely Different
Scary Spider Wall Decals by Jolyon Yates
Halloween Horror Cherries by Rocky The Zombie
Om Nom Nom by Tiny Pretty Things
An Accident by Eye Love
Sugar Skull by Random Granny
Small Organic Felt Pumpkin Head by Snowdrops and Daisies
That’s all from me for this week, I’ve got some pumpkin carving to do! Happy Hallowe’en!
Billing system update
Posted by onI’m pleased to announce that the billing / invoice system update went off smoothly during the (far too) early hours of this morning! :)
In an effort to simplify the billing process, we no longer allow under- or over-payments, and now associate each payment with a specific invoice. Whilst this does mean the system is slightly less flexible than before, the end result is that everyone’s billing summary and account standings are much simpler to understand and consequently far more useful.
Billing summary screen
At the end of each month we’ll gather up the fees displayed in the upper box, then generate and “issue” an invoice. Once issued you’ll have 14 days to pay an invoice before it becomes “overdue”. To settle an invoice, click on the “make payment” link and you’ll be taken to the invoice summary page. From there, it’s simply a case of clicking on the Paypal symbol and following their instructions.
Happy 1st Birthday Coriandr
Posted by onI can’t believe that only 12 months have passed since Coriandr opened it’s doors! It’s been a fantastic year watching the community grow, things take shape, and sales steadily build. Since our launch in Oct 2008, our 220,000 visitors (from all corners of the globe) have viewed over 1.3 million pages, and those numbers are growing (in bigger leaps) each day!
It’s been great fun designing, building and running the site, and getting to know everyone (I’ve learnt so much that I must have gone up at least 2 hat sizes!). For a bit of birthday fun I’ve stitched together a “quilt” made up of a selection of our 1st year’s worth of listings, hope you like it! :)
Listings Quilt 2008
Finally, a big thank you goes out to all the crafters, bloggers, friends and family that have supported and helped grow Coriandr over the last year; it wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. Don’t think we won’t be calling on you for another year running though, we’re all set to make some big waves during our “terrible twos”, and we’ll certainly need your help to do it!
Twittering Tweeps!
Posted by onTwitter is everywhere these days and rapidly on the increase. The question asked now is, who do you know that doesn’t tweet? Even 10 Downing Street does it!
To celebrate everything Twitter, here are my favourite tweety items from Coriandr this week!
Flowery Bird Wooden Brooch by Pickled Weasel
Liberty Birds – Hand Drawn Buttons by Spare Button
Little Birdie Key Ring by Tomato Tea
Woodland Feast by Sweet Art
The Lovebird in the Gilded Cage by Jemima Lumley
Song of the Morning by Tiny Pretty Things
These are just a few of the fantastic tweeting items you can buy on Coriandr this week. Find out more about any of the pieces shown – just click any image for a direct link to the artisans Coriandr shop.
Featured Seller – Sarabuk
Posted by onHello! My featured seller this week is a talented silversmith, who is based very close to my home patch in West Yorkshire. Beautiful buttercups and African inspired graphic shapes abound…
Sarabuk
Introduce yourself…
My name is Sara Bukumunhe and I make silver jewellery from my cellar workshop in Bradford. I am married to Andy and we have two children, Hope and Nye. I also work part time in a jewellery gallery and help out with bookkeeping for my husband.
How did it all start?
It started with an evening class over ten years ago, purely as a hobby. One of the first things I made was my wedding ring, so there was a bit of pressure to get it right and made on time! I remember I was still filing it the night before the big day. When I left my job to work with my husband and have my second child 5 years later I started making jewellery for others and started selling to friends and family, and it’s grown from there.
I spent the last 2 years completing a Foundation Degree in Art and Design Enterprise which taught me the basics of starting and running a Jewellery business. I have my jewellery in two galleries at the moment, Art Parade in Saltaire, Bradford and Divinity in the Manchester Craft and Design Centre. I’m planning to approach many more in the next few months.
Featured Seller – Creativesque
Posted by onHello! This week my featured seller is a ‘work at home mum’ from London, with a deep love of watercolours and papercraft. From handmade note books to ACEO to embellished greetings cards and tags, this Coriandr shop is packed with bold and vibrant loveliness! Take it away…
Creativesque
Introduce yourself…
Hi, my name is Stacey-Ann and I live in London with my gorgeous 6 year old son, beautiful 8 month old daughter and my hard working and wonderful other half. I work part-time and spend the rest of my time looking after my baby and my family. Oh and in between those things, I manage to do a bit of art and craft!
How did it all start?
My story is similar to a lot of crafters in that I started to rediscover my creativity after the birth of my first child. It was rewarding to be able to stay at home raising him but like every mother I needed something to do that was just for myself so I started watercolour painting as a hobby. Fast forward several years and I now sell my paintings online and offer other items alongside them like handmade gift tags, bookmarks and greeting cards.
Have you always sold online?
Yes, when I decided to try selling my work I only ever tried online. However, talking to other crafters online has made me aware that craft fairs and events are a good way to help promote my shop, so I will be trying that in the future.
Featured Seller – Jolyon Yates
Posted by onHappy Monday! My Featured Seller this week has many strings to his bow. I first discovered his work when I stumbled across one of his incredibly beautiful chairs to feature on my blog. Then I realised he also ran a Coriandr shop selling very charming and fun vinyl wall decals. Read on to find out more about…
Jolyon Yates
Introduce yourself…
My name is Jolyon Yates and I have a company called ODE. The main focus of my work is furniture, but I also do various accessories, all in a craft vein. The chairs can be seen at www.odechair.com and www.jolyonyates.com. Of my other work, I also make book ends, wooden bowls, cards, hanging mobiles and decorative and charming wall decals. The decals are the items I offer for sale on Coriandr.
How did it all start?
I have worked freelance as a designer for 5 years or more and was keen to work on ‘my’ projects rather than other people’s. I had become quite frustrated as I felt I had more to offer.Have you always sold online?
I do sell some wooden objects at a local gallery called ‘The Biscuit Factory’…but other than that all my sales are through various web portals.
What inspires you?
The wonders of nature mostly. I love the sea and cats for example. I’m a big fan of design generally and love the clean crisp lines of a beautifully considered drawing or sculpture. A winning design must contain just a hint of magic.
Featured Seller – Mia Belle Jewellery
Posted by onHello! This week my Featured Seller is the very fantastic Belinda from Mia Belle Jewellery. She creates simple, elegant and affordable pieces and her shop is crammed full of Swarovski crystal and gemstones in all kinds of beautiful colours. There really is something for everyone!
Mia Belle Jewellery
Introduce yourself…
Hi, I’m Belinda, wife to Simon & mother to Josh, nine, I’m originally from Australia and have been living in the UK for seven years.
How did it all start?
General crafting and making started when I was about ten years old. I would make fabric lavender sachets and sell them on consignment at a local craft & gift shop. My mother has always been a crafty person so it just rubbed off on me and crafting was something we always did. My dad & brother just got used to the mess we’d make. In my teens my mother became involved in millinery and bridal wear which is where my love of Swarovski crystals comes from. Unfortunately crafting and making took a backseat to work, marriage & travel. It was only about nine years ago after my son was born that I revisited jewellery making as a creative outlet.