My New Website

Well, drum roll please….I want to reveal my new website to you!

To be fair, you’ve possibly already seen it. The thing about re-vamping an existing website is that there is only so much you can do before publishing. So, this has been a phased launch. What do I mean by that? Well, anyone who happened to be browsing last weekend would have seen my new website appearance. I haven’t actually changed the content. So, all your favourite blog posts and products are still on here.

In that case, what have I done?

The two big changes

I’ve had a lot of time to think recently. So, part of that time has been spent thinking about my website. After all, it is my sole ‘store’. Since I’m still not back to teaching, it is the only way I get to interact with all you lovely beaders!

So, I stepped back to take a more critical look. I had a little bit of help here from my beading friend and internet marketing guru, Chloe Menage (Pinkhot Jewellery)! I can’t remember how many years the old look has been in place. But it did look a little dated. I also felt it didn’t really allow the photos of my beadwork to show.

So, the first change I’ve made is in the ‘theme’ I use. I think, and I hope you will agree, this now looks clear and fresh and really quite pretty!

As you know from your beads, it’s all very well having something that looks pretty. However, if it’s a nightmare to actually use, it can turn you right off! So, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into how my website functions. By that, I mean, how do you find stuff and buy it?

With that in mind, the second big change is in the way you can use menus and find things on here. I’m going to highlight a few of the bits that I think will really help you. But, the overall idea is that everything is clear and easy to find.

Now, I’m not saying the last website was terrible, but evolution is a good thing! So, just as with my beadwork, as my web-building skills evolve, I should be able to keep improving what I can offer you.

How my new website will help you

So, here’s the important bit: how does all this help you?

Firstly: information

When you’re browsing for a beading kit, book or pattern, you need the right information. I’ve always tried to think about that over the years. So, every product has a full description. This includes essential things you need to know, so that could be about the materials you need. It could be the skills you require to complete the project. Or, it could be links to other helpful information.

So, my new website is improving those things. I still have a few products to update. But I hope that I am basically answering all your questions. So, that means you can buy with confidence. You will know just what you need, without finding any nasty surprises when the actual pattern, book or kit arrives.

Of course, if there is something that you don’t understand, or if you have more questions, you can contact me. So, I’ve now displayed the ‘terms and conditions’ and the ‘contact’ details in a more prominent place. Again, this is to give you confidence that you won’t get any nasty surprises when you buy from me!

Secondly: finding what you need

As the number of patterns, kits and books has grown, it has become more difficult to find things. Of course, there is never going to be a way in which I can show you everything all at once. So, you might be missing your perfect beading project because it’s buried on a page you’ve never seen.

Now, I know that it’s very tempting to spend all day browsing around a bead shop. However, it’s not really practical to do that, even if the shop is online! So, if you’re anything like me, there will be times when you just pop online to buy or look for something specific.

In that case, my new website can really help you. If you look down the right-hand side of the page, you will find all my shop departments laid out. I’ve sorted all my patterns, so you can look for something that suits your experience level. Or, perhaps you want something for a particular type of project, or a particular technique. It’s really easy to just browse those.

Tags

Then, I am also in the process of adding ‘tags’ to all my products. So, these will tell you the type of beads a product uses, or the theme. Let’s imagine you wake up one morning and think, ‘I want to make some beaded flowers today’. Well, pop onto the website, find the ‘beaded flowers’ tag and there you go. All my products that involve beaded flowers. So, you could try some French beading, or some bead-weaving.

On the other hand, perhaps you’re sorting through your stash. You realise you bought some Superduo Duets last week and you have no idea how to use them. No problem – just click on the ‘Superduo Duets’ tag and up pop all the projects that use these beads.

If you are viewing a product and want to see similar items, then you will see the ‘category’ and ‘tags’ options just above the full product description. These will help you to find similar projects, so it makes browsing a little easier and quicker!

Thirdly: saying thank you

I realise that I would be nowhere without all your wonderful support. So, I like to find ways to say thank you and show you how much I appreciate that. If you belong to my mailing list, you will already know this: you get some discount vouchers and free patterns that way!

My new website has just given me the chance to add another thank you. Every time you place an order, you now receive an emailed receipt. I know a few of you have been ignoring these as junk email, but you’re missing out! These receipts are more than just a guilty record of what you spent! They also give you discount vouchers.

So, if you’re very savvy about these things, you can buy a pattern. You will get your receipt, with discount voucher. Then pop back to my newest department, beading supplies, and buy the materials you need…with a discount!

What happens next?

Isn’t that a question? For you, I hope you will head off and enjoy browsing my new website. Maybe even bagging a few discounts.

I would also like to ask you to do one more thing. There is potentially a free pattern in it for you. So, what is it? Could you leave a product review. And this is how you get the free pattern.

New Projects

For me, I have more plans! I’ve just launched a couple of new projects. These use beads that I can now supply to you. You can see some photos peppering this blog. They are, my AVA Beads Sautoir necklace and my Superduo Duets Herringbone bracelet (which also comes as a kit).

If you remember me asking you to try a little survey a couple of weeks ago, thank you! I received a very important message from that. A lot of people may not know where to get beads for a project. Particularly if it uses some of the new shaped seed beads.

So, I’m going to be putting together some more kits and also adding more to the beading supplies. I have no desire (or current ability!) to become a full-scale bead shop. So, I plan to focus on the beads that are hardest to find here in the UK. Also, the materials that I use most often. This is going to take some time because I’m still struggling with poor energy, but I will get there! If there is something you would like me to source, then please leave a comment on here, or email me.

So, lastly, keep checking back to see what’s new (you can find this at the bottom of each page!). Or, sign up to the mailing list to hear about new additions and special offers. Thank you and happy beading!

Now, get shopping!