Etsy Shop Critique - Rogue Magnolia

First impressions matter a lot, and we all know this to be fact.  Even the enlightened capitalists who buy handmade on Etsy can't escape the urge to be visually stimulated and wowed by visiting our stores before spending their hard-earned dollars from being a barista or shelving books.

And, your shop makes quite an impression.  Let's examine why...

Shop Name: Rogue Magnolia is perfect for your shop.  The "rogue" suggests that it's edgy, daring, and progressively fashionable, while the "magnolia" tempers it back to a refined, feminine image.  With your products, the edgy/floral amalgam is perfect.  Kudos to that.

Banner: Your banner is perfect.  It looks like it should be on the cover of a visually striking indie film about forbidden love in South America.  I dig it.  The font, the colors, the contrast... very clean, sharp, and it matches your shop's theme.  It suggests just enough malice to be enticing without crossing the border into risque.  

Overall shop appearance:

It should be clear that your products are the focus of your shop, but it's not... and this is where you get your first WTF!? point.

Damn, that's a lot of head!

The focus of your shop is your dome, not your flowers.  Almost every picture is a picture of the top of your head.  It is overwhelming... just heads everywhere.  And why are your eyes closed?  Are you in rapture at the luxury on your head?  While some people may not mind the fact that the hairbow they are buying has been on someone's head, it certainly bothers others.  I would stick with just putting one picture of you with a hairbow on (pick a fave), and put that same picture on every listing at the bottom.  Leave a note in your item descriptions that says the last picture is an example of a similar hair flower, shown as an example.  Make your products take the spotlight, not the top half of your cranium. 

There are some shots, though that would be much better options to use if you are going with the live models for display of your products.  I think the image (above left) with the poinsettia is much more marketable than the awkward decapitated forehead shots.

The way your brooches are photographed is great.  The snazzy dress form suits your flowers.  I'm not loving the wood grain in the background, though.  Don't you have some drywall somewhere?  Drapes?  A shower curtain? 

Sometimes, though... wood isn't a bad thing [ insert jokes here ].  For example, the natural, dark grain you have as a backdrop for some of your pieces is rustic and has character while providing a brilliant contrast for your products. 

Photography:

Overall, the photography is fantastic.  You have used natural lighting, which makes for accurate color representation, an uncontrived balance of light and shadow, and simply more attractive images. 

Pricing:

I'm a little concerned about the pricing of your items, not because I don't think they are worth the price, but because the competition on Etsy has them priced generally lower.  While Etsy is a global market, the majority of Etsy shoppers and sellers are in the US.  You are already battling with them over vicinity, but then your prices are higher than the average US flower brooch/headband sellers.  You should certainly make shipping free, or lower your prices.  The second item should ship for free. 

You are just going to have to make a decision about whether you want to sell them for what they are worth to you, or whether you are going to lose business to desperate people selling them for less. 

Wrap-up:

Your products are great, and with a little tweaking to your marketing (and maybe your pricing), you should see a lot more sales come your way.  I think one major thing that will increase the volume of your sales is to simply increase the amount of products you have available.  You have a better chance of someone finding just what she was looking for on your site if you have more designs from which to choose.  Put your dress form in front of a plain wall next time you take a brooch picture, and stop chopping off your own head!

These are a few of my favorite things

Etsy is the next-door-artist supermall to get your personal, esoteric, idiosyncratic holiday gifts. I had a big, philosophical introspection about why Etsy is the great economic equalizer in dire economic blah blah blah, but a formatting error caused me to lose all of that... BAH HUMBUG, assholes. Just look at the pictures and imagine that I said something clever first.

	This bracelet from Lenokeidesigns is a gorgeous statement piece. I love the unexpected color palette, with the rich, creamy pearls, the antiqued gold, and the lush red. $54
	This is a hand-cranked wooden toy from CartoonMonster, one of Etsy's "dudes." Am I too old to want one of these for my desk? $24
	One of my favorite Etsy artists, a former school teacher and an artist, SOiNTOiT, carved and created this piece of artwork. I have one of these in my bedroom. Worth the investment, definitely, as you will smile every time you see it. $35
	This is another piece of art from one of Etsy's most creative artists, Serden of Serdomania, that is on the top of my "buy this" list. From his "I draw my dreams" collection, this ethereal and evocative work needs to be on your wall. $18
	This T-shirt from SpeakforYourself, well, speaks for itself. Because being called smart and sexy is an alliterative epic win in the gift-giving arena. $18
	These vintage-inspired old world map gift tags from FoxesandRobbers might just be the proverbial icing on your gift-giving cake. $5
	I love everything from 10eisha's Etsy shop, but this is one sexy, edgy bridal fascinator and veil. Her products are cruelty-free and customizable to your specifications. $40
	RogueMagnolia's hair accessories are a must. While this red and black handmade hair treat might be classy, it still can't live up to the sophistication and elegance of her WTF!?Etsy debut, at which point she showcased hair bacon. $24
	And for a find so inspiring that I broke my own aesthetic red theme to feature it... Sabrieth's gaming-themed hand candy, the STFU Noob ring. I will probably buy this before anyone reads this blog. Just sayin... $8

Red on Red Violence

I know that I have been incognito for a few months, but the rumors of my death have been mildly exaggerated. Much to the chagrin of amateur shopkeepers around Etsy, and hopefully much to the delight of the masochistic shopkeepers, I am back.

So, I'm introducing a portion of my Red on Red Violence collection:

I am Red

I haven't ever bought from an artist on Etsy, but I saw something I had to have from a very talented artist named Serden from Istanbul, Turkey. It's from his "I draw my dreams" collection. I would buy the original if I could.

Etsy Shop Critique - Fresh Urban Vintage

Review Foreplay: I have to admit, I was almost salivating with excitement when Vicky of FreshUrbanVintage gave me full license to be brutal with this review. After taking a very, very thorough look, I was shocked at what I found. There isn't anything to gripe about.
From the first time I saw this shop until the time came for me to do a review, it looks like a different shop altogether.

First impression: the overall visual theme is gorgeous. It's tasteful and bright without being too busy. The banner is one of the best I've seen. It's not easy to incorporate a photo into a banner with text, but you've pulled it off flawlessly. The font is clean, the image reflects what is in your shop, and the font is clean, crisp, and easy to read.

Avatar & Photography: The avatar epitomizes what an Etsy seller should be: fun, quirky, confident. The photography is phenomenal. The contrasting colors, the salient detail, the vibrant angles, the fresh backgrounds, the sharpness of the lines... your photography has exactly the artistic flair that distinguishes vintage and upcycled wares from looking thrift-store/yard-sale to boutique.

Live Models: I have to comment on the photo below (left) with the vintage frames. I want other Etsy sellers to see what I mean when I am telling people to have confidence when they appear in their photos. These are adorable. Fun, quirky, and unabashed. The three-frame image is extra cool, a perfect trio for your avatar. I wish that I had this picture as a reference to use for many of the other reviews I've done in the past to show as the epitome of how to take great live-model pics. The background, the hairstyle, the expressions... they suit the glasses frames perfectly. It makes me want to buy them! I could so pull off the sexy English teacher look in those...

Matters of the Pocket: Generally, your prices are great-- not so high that they are unreasonable or inaccessible to the masses, but not so low that they devalue your products. There are a few items that are a little puzzling in regards to the price, though. For instance, the Charlotte's Web book. Maybe because I'm an English teacher in an old middle school, but I have seen so many copies of that book and other books lying around and in used book stores (I am always there), that I don't understand how $38 is a reasonable price for it. After taking a look at the listing, though, I read this:

Please Note:*******************************************************
If you are looking for a reading copy for your children or grandchildren this isn't the best copy for you- there are many nice reading copies available on the internet for much less money. This is a copy for a collector, a book lover, an avid fan, or to give as a gift for someone like that.
*********************************************************

And even though I still think $38 is high, seeing that it came from your personal collection and that you qualified the price by saying it's good for a collector, I at least understood that you are offering something that is valuable to you, and it's hard to put a number on a special item. With vintage, it's hard to put a monetary value because the appeal and the sentiment and the history attached to it is worth more than a new version would be.

Descriptions: Your descriptions are exemplary: thoughtful, witty, informative. The clarity and organization are brilliant. The details of the process involved, the materials, dimensions, and history are fabulous. I really want the box of maps. I mostly just want the box, not the maps, lol. It's awesome, and seeing the description made me want more of your items. You offered something of yourself without oversharing by talking about the history of those maps and why you find them important. The quote in the bottom made that item seem even more special. Seeing in your shop the little quotes, the pieces of poetry, the quirky post scripts... sold me even more on how a buy from your shop would be worthy of my very limited funds. It's hard for me to even write this review for want of your box [ that's what she said ].

Shop Announcement: Your shop announcement is also perfect. It's minimalistic, not extending beyond Etsy's new layout, and not a wall of text which could detract attention from your items. It says what you have, it makes your name associated with your shop name, and it invites customers to be "spoiled" by you. And the ever-important connection: the blog link. Adding a Blogger, Facebook, or Twitter [ myspace is so 2008 ] profile to your page gives customers an occasional reminder to take a look at your shop without the annoying over-advertising of something like an email mailing list.

Announcement: Recycled, upcycled, art, accessories, & vintage.
Created & curated by Vicky Bell for Fresh Urban Vintage on Etsy.
I am customer friendly- let me spoil you.
You can also find me at vicky-bell.blogspot.com.

Wrapping up: I really wanted to have that review that I could just let loose the full extent of my acidic, bombastic wit and unload on this, but the only WTF!? moment I experienced is when I saw how much better it is since I first started doing the reviews way back in the day.

Abstract: Well done, FreshUrbanVintage. Well done.