Sunday 5 August 2012

Countdown to launching my new handmade handbags website....go!

Here it is at last...my new website. Today's the official launch and who better to share it with than all the lovely regulars from Handmade Monday. And to make it a bit more special I'm also having a give-away - more of that later!
If you've got a few minutes to spare please drop by and let me know what you think. If you like what you see then please share with your friends. If you have any thoughts, suggestions for improvements, or it just looks rubbish on your PC then let me know and I'll see if my technical support team (aka Mr HbyH) can make it better.

My ribbon labels have finally arrived too.

Now, enough of this computery stuff...back to the sewing machine. Hurrah!

BUT FIRST.....My handbag giveaway. Please go check out my website and leave some feedback or your comments here. When I get to 50 comments then all posters will be put into a draw to receive one of four selected bags. You can choose your favourite from these four. Hope there's enough variety there for you to find one you like?



74 comments:

  1. Your website is looking lovely. Very clean and easy to navigate. I will say the only real issue I can see if the photos themselves. Due to the size of the photos some on the bags aren't displayed to their best. I know they are only mini snaps to get the customer interested however it may be beneficial in the long run to do a wide shot, crop it down and square it up so you don't lose any of the detailing. Other than that, very well done!

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    1. thanks Kat for your useful comments. I'll see what i can do with the pictures - i'm not the most technologically competent person so i may need to shout hubby for help with the resizing stuff. But i'm sure you're right and they will look better when i've done.

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  2. Well done with your website Helen - I am sure it will be very successful. I do like our labels - the handbag for the letter a is brilliant. Hope you have a good week.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comments. The labels do seem to have been popular so hopefully the person in France who made them might get a bit more business.

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  3. So pleased for you that you are up and running. Here's to a huge success in your venture.

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  4. Ooh, lovely bags. My favourite is the bottom left, although they're all lovely x

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    1. I think that ones one of my favourites too. Be over on Sunday to announce the winner.

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  5. Congratulations on your new shop. I love the fabric gallery - a lovely touch with a great range too. Good luck with it all. :)

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  6. Congratulations on your shop. I love the touch of the fabric gallery - a really nice touch and with a great choice of fabrics too. I wish you well with it.

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  7. I do love your logo too. Your site is looking good, it is easy to navigate, and I like the fact that you have a gallery of past orders as it may give people inspiration for bespoke orders.

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  8. Congratulations on the website. I popped over and had a walk around your shop. It's really user friendly and I really liked the addition of the fabric gallery. I can't wait to see the Hobo bags. Good luck.

    Ali x

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  9. Congrats on launching the website... I know what hard work will have gone into that. I think that the bag on the top right is nicest, the fabric is just gorgeous :)

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  10. Helen...a great site!! I've noticed tho you haven't got a physical address and tel no. which you need for distance selling regulations. Other than that....the very best of luck, with your beautiful bags I'm sure you'll do well xx

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    1. thanks Sarah. I'm doing a bit of refining today so i'll add that on to my to-do list (husband thinks i should be doing his accounts instead of sitting her tinkering with my website!!)

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  11. Exciting times! good luck with the new site your handbags are lovely, hope I win! :)

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  12. yay! well done for getting your website up and running, it looks superb :) i love the little details like those fab social media icons and your pretty 'free shipping' announcement on the homepage. Your bags all look beautiful as always with great photos. The product descriptions are great too - nice a and friendly and personal which is just what you want and expect from a small handmade business.

    the only thing i found slightly confusing was the number of different links to 'shop' and shop sections on the homepage - i'm probably guilty of this myself but i think less is more when it comes to link options - perhaps removing the footer ones would help to simplify a little? just a thought :)

    good luck with it all! x

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  13. I love the website, especially how you show your fabric available and your custom work gallery. I love how you've laid it all out. Very easy to navigate and to view... Well done! I'll share your giveaway on my blog, Helen! Janelle

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    1. Thanks Janelle for all the support, as always. You're a star!

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  14. Welcome, Helen. It's always fun to find a new blog to follow, and being about Handbags, well that makes you a winner in my book! I love bags! Love your bags in the photo. Your page looks great, and as time goes on I'm sure it will get even better. GOOD LUCK! :) :) I'll be following, and have added you to my RSS feeds.

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  15. I really like the simple and clean layout of the website. Your labels are very cute too!

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  16. Your website looks great! Congratulations to you, and thanks for this chance to win! I really think all of the bags are precious; however, the bottom two are definitely my favorites! I'm in my learning stage with sewing and cannot imagine, at this point, sewing an actual bag, with lining and a zipper....SCARY! :-)

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  17. Love your new website, I hope you hsve a lot of sucess.

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  18. i love all the bags, if I had to be pushed to say I would say the bottom left one is my favorite, but not by much. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  19. Congratulations on your new website. The purses all look lovely but I am partial to the one on the lower left.

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  20. Your website is great, so easy to navigate. Your little pyramid purses are so cute too. I also like that we have free postage in the U.K., as this is always an incentive as sometimes the cost on top just pushes things over the o.k. range in total cost.Good luck with it all. Have you thought about adding a Pinterest button? I love Pinterest myself and bags are very popular on there. It is extra publicity for free.
    ks(dot)eyles(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

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    1. Thanks Kay. I hadn't thought about a Pinterest button - i'll see if i can work out how to add one. Good idea.

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  21. I like your website, it's clean and easy to follow, you don't need any more to add, in this way it's pretty professional.
    P.S. your Pink Union Jack messenger bag is adorable and perfect during these olimpics!
    .... I love this Large 'art deco' themed messenger bag too =)
    can't wait to see next coming soon bags!!!

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  22. Nice easy to navigate website, love it!
    Damasa

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  23. Love your Purses. You will excel. Hope to receive one of them.I like the color of your website and it looks so neat.
    Sincerely

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  24. You have a great website with great bags! It's simple to use and well laid out!

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    1. Hi Gill
      Thanks for commenting on my blog. You were the name drawn out of the hat to win one of my bags. If you could drop me a line at handbagsbyhelen@gmail.com with your address and which of the 4 bags you would prefer?

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  25. Very easy to navigate, nice job! I'm liking the one on the bottom left also.

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  26. I think your new website is fab. I love your logo and the professional look of the whole site. It's good to see you've provided a clear returns policy. Jolly good job, well done - I hope it brings you lots of sales :-)

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  27. Great website, gorgeous bags and lovely photos, all very easy to navigate around. I'm particularly loving your cosmetic bags, and the pyramid purses, great to have such a variety of items. Good luck hope the sales come flooding in and thanks for such a fab giveaway! Hope you get to 50 comments very soon:)

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  28. Ooh so exciting, off to have a look. good luck on your relaunch

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  29. Love the website. I had no problem viewing or navigating. Good Luck!

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  30. Love all your bags and purses, good luck with the launch :)

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  31. Congratulations on the launch, how exciting! I look forward to keeping up-to-date, I do love bags!

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  32. Hi just found your blog through "Reloved remnants" (which I also stumbled upon!).

    I love the website - looks really clean and professional, the logo is also fab! The only thing I found was that I would prefer to see the whole bag in the thumbnail rather than a pic which seems to crop the edges.

    I also love the gallery section - great inspiration to give an idea for the bespoke possibilities.

    I'm definitely coming back!

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  33. Your website looks fab, I love the social media icons, very different. Your bags are great, I really like the owl cosmetic bag.

    Good Luck with your new website :0)

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  34. The website looks awesome. But I am so taken with the ribbon label! Very professional. And of course the bags. I am always impressed by your sewing skill. Anyway congrats on the new home on the web, very nicely done.

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  35. Great bags! Love the Tree of Life fabric especially. Good luck with your website! CarolB in SB

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    1. Thanks CarolB. I only have a small amount of the tree of life fabric - so i'm being veeeeeery careful about when i use it. Think i may have to keep a bit for myself though!

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  36. Great bags! Love your sense of style and choice of fabrics! All the best! Cheers!
    Shannon

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    1. Thanks for dropping by Shannon and your lovely comments about my bags.

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  37. Great looking site, very professional looking! Hope you have many sales!

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    1. thanks Stephanie. Am keeping my fingers crossed it might help with my profile a bit. Have just been over your blog - what an amazing quilt! I really want to start quilting but am not sure I know where to start. But i have just seen a quilted bathmat on someone elses blog - maybe i should start small!

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  38. Great website Helen, the bags look stunning! I would love to see an 'About me' page....
    Good luck!

    Linda

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    1. Thanks Linda. Completely forgot about an 'about me' page. Will try and get something sorted today. Really appreciate a fellow 'bag lady' stopping by.

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  39. YRour website displays wonderfully on my iPad! I would like to add that I really like the social networking buttons!

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    1. thanks Lindsey. I spent ages mooching around the internet to try and find something which would look OK and still keep to the handmade theme.

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  40. Congratulations on your website. It is easy to navigate and looks great. Your pictures and descriptions are good, but I would also like to see the inside of the bag. Good luck in your endeavor.

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    1. Hi Cecilia
      thanks for commenting. I keep trying to get some pictures of the inside but my photos don't turn out that well. I think i need to do a bit more research on how to improve my photos!

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  41. Helen, your new site and logo are fresh and fun. I wish you much success!

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  42. Love the website - your new labels are great where did you get them from ?

    Andrea

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    1. Hi Andrea. Thanks for commenting. I got the labels from Etsy. You can find them here:
      http://www.etsy.com/shop/hobbytime?ref=seller_info

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  43. The website looks good and is easy to navigate.

    I'd agree that having an 'about' page would be good, it creates trust in you which should help with sales. Interestingly I found the social networking buttons a bit dark but others like them, so you can probably ignore my opinion on this!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Annabel. I completely forgot about doing and 'about' page! I'll sort that today 'cos i think you're right - it adds a bit of a personal touch doesn't it

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  44. I love your bags and havr you on my birthday prezzie list. Website is looking great.

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    1. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. Nice to know that you like my bags. Hope you get lots of lovely things off your birthday list when the time arrives. I have a ridiculously long list of handmade items i'm coveting for my birthday - at least it will make hubbies job easier.

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  45. oh helen! this is super :o)

    congratulations :o)

    sophie
    x

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    1. Aw, thanks Sophie. Nice to see you over here. You make amaaaaaazing stuff so sending the appreciation right back atcha!

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  46. Congratulations on your new venture - I am sure you will do really well. I know bags are time consuming things to make! Looking lovley - website is easy to use too x

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  47. I really like the clean fresh look of the website - having a white background and unfussy icons makes it very professional-looking and easy to navigate. The uncluttered layout is the perfect combination with your beautiful bags.

    I don't like the picture on the home page as the two bags in the centre look lost with their bases chopped off. It spoils what would otherwise be a great picture. Unfortunately the photography does seem to let the site down as only part of each bag is visible when you see the list of bags.

    I'm so sorry to sound so picky. The bags are gorgeous, I love the clean layout and I wish you every success in your exciting venture.

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    1. Not picky at all. I appreciate you taking the time to have a look and comment. A couple of other people have commented on the thumbprint pics. I'll work on that today and see if I can get it to look better. thanks again for commenting.

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    2. PS You have the coolest blog list. Have just got very distracted visiting some of the cool blogs you follow - and i'm s'posed to be updating my images!

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  48. you must be so excited having a new website :) I too would like to see inside of bags (possibly with some bright lining) and so I can see if they have zips etc.
    Love the luggage labels - they are ace.
    Are you going to be putting any bag making tutorials up? I always love a quick basic project inspired by someone else.
    Good luck with it all

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    1. Thanks for taking a look. Tutorial sounds like a good idea. I'll have a think and see if I can co-erce the hubby into helping with photos.

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  49. The website is great, I am sure you will have lots of sucess with it. I've viewed it on my phone and everything is easy to navigate. I love the fabric gallery idea.
    Good Luck!

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  50. Your handbags are lovely! Wish I had the skills to sew! ;)
    Wish you all the best with your new website!

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