Web Designer

Day 13 at work, day 5 blog.

One thing in which I've learnt about working in the industry, is that, YOU MUST give your manager potential options, even when you know that only one solution works.

In the past 10 or so days, other than deciding upon which items I want in my e-boutique, chasing merchandisers and figuring out how the logistics system will work... I've also been debating on whether or not to create an ecommerce website myself, or get a professional web designer to do it for me.

As you all know, time is exteremely tight. I now have in total two months to literally launch a business, have it up and running, and allow the cash flow in... (fingers crossed si tu plait... merci). For me to physically make a website myself, although with given template, is pretty... um, you know, stressful...

Regardless of how stressful it may have appeared in my head, I had to do some research, in terms of how to create websites with these so called templates. I googled "top 10 ecommerce site builder" and found the following link:

http://ecommerce-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

It's actually quite useful... and the top review for ecommerce website building is...............

http://www.bigcommerce.com/

Their lowest monthly rate is $24.95 per month, which is not bad. They also have very instructive videos that tells you how to do things step by step- it actually is as easy as 123.

They offer a 15 day trial, which was actually quite fun to play around with........but I found that I'm really not that techy and when faced with a massive scroll of html and style sheets, I was a bit... blanked.

For those who are trying to set up an ecommerce webshop, this isn't a bad option to go with, as long as your requirements are not too high. The templates provide you with pretty much everything you need, and their inventory control system is A++++ Absolutely spot on.

BUT and a big BUT, my e-boutique is aiming to last quite a while and do not really fancy paying monthly for something in which I (well, my manger) will not own in the future... therefore, I hunted for webdesigners at the same time when I began this project.

I'm not going to go into details as to which designers I found, but-> here's the vendor I'm going with: http://www.pulsegarden.com/ They created the website for my previous workplace, and they have quite a pretty website themselves =)
The cost of the webbuilding was a little....um.... pricey (this was actually the only reason why I had to propose to my manager a plan B, template option). My quote was $25K HKD, which I don't think it's too bad actually. Some people may think it's pricey for making a webpage, but, don't forget, an ecommerce webshop has to come with a database system that stores your client's details, how much stock you have, shipping prices, etc etc.

So... the decision of my manager was- to go with the webdesigner YAY! Because it offers a tailored made webpage and system, things are far more flexible, and can be changed afterwards (e.g. add new languages), and lets face it, a tailored made anything (pretty much), is so much better than a template!

Contract, signed. Well done me.

The world does not revolve around you.

Day 12 at work, day 4 blog.

Ah. It's so easy to say out loud how "the world does not revolve around you" rather than actually realizing it for yourself. Maybe for some of you, it's always been clear- not for me I guess!

Today, I held a meeting with my collegues who deals with the merchandising sides of things. So far, I've not mentioned what I'm trying to order and put into "my" boutique... so here goes: I intend to deliver a minimum of 4 different designs of tableware, a few tea sets and some gorgeous lasercut wooly textured placemats. Not too many designs, but they're all very pretty. =) "My" boutique is all about quality, not quantity.

Since I decided not to have too many different types of designs, I thought to myself, yeh!- it's going to be easy to put in orders. COMPLETELY WRONG. I never thought how ordering is so time consuming!! Those who do not know so much about ceramics, let me teach (with my few days of knowlege- ha!). Well, they have to find the base, what the chinese call "bat toy"-> which is white base. This base has a minimum ordering quantity, starting at probably hundreds, if not thousands. With my boutique being technically a boutique... what on earth am I going to do with 1000 base plates?! Surely, I won't be selling that many straight away? This is a boutique, not John Lewis!!
Ok, now if you have found the white base, e.g. white fine bone china (beaut stuff!), hopefully not in quantities that are in 4 digit figures... you then need to find the graphical sheets to print your designs ontop.... e.g. if you want a Easter Bunny Rabbit on your plate, it does not come that way out of the oven.......... you need to burn and press these graphical sheets ontop of the white base, to give you those pretty graphics on your pretty plate. Lost yet?

So. All this quoting and chasing has taken so much longer than I thought, and my early launch in May seems rather... tight! Even if I want all these cups and saucers infront of me right now, I can't because factories can't get back to me on my minimum ordering quantity. =( mega sad. I want to know exactly what I can order so I can start sharing with you guys the products!! =)

As for the shop name.............................. It's still undecided!! =( Note- never use the obvious names like heima (german) , la casa (spanish), jia (chinese), etc... the domain names are allllllllll gone!!! help anyone?

Earth Day

Day 11 at work, Day 3 blogging.

Dear Readers,

I was going to pass and not write today, but I cannot give up, especially on day three! lol... It is now 10.30pm, crazy time to still be semi working- don't worry, I'm at home =)

So did everyone know it was Earth day on Saturday? As an act to raise awareness towards global warming-> those who voted for Mother Earth switched their lights off at 8.30pm local time. Me, being situated in the city of lights, was absolutely stunned to see Hong Kong switch their lights off. It was so moving to see how there's still hope that people actually care about the habitat we live in.

Here is my snapshot of where I was: Outside Kowloon, Elements, HK. Lights> Off... no, it's not just a blank picture of a black sky... you can kind of see a skyline there with little dim lights. Great job Hong Kong =)

I was so moved by this whole act because I'm actually quite obsessed with the idea of creating a more sustainable world. Those who know me through my MA would know how much I brag on about CSR (Corporate Social Responsibilities).

I think this world is so precious and is in great need to be looked after- I'm sure those of you from HK would agree for sure... like, really- how much pollution do you really want to breath in everyday?!

Well, back to my ecommerce mission-> From square one, I wanted to integrate Sustainable Developments into the structure of the supply chain. I thought to myself that it'll be awesome if this boutique had some sort of ethical thinking behind it...

I'm looking to start with small things such as use ecofriendlier packaging, recycled cardpaper to produce gift cards, etcetc. No biggy action, but I think all small starts help. =)

Small note to all> WELL DONE to all those who participated in Earth Hour. =)

Day 10 at work, day 2 blog. Domain name

Hello fellow cake, dinner and food lovers,

Thank you for those who have read my last entry! I never thought people would actually read it. This whole blogging thing is starting to feel like that woman on Julie and Julia- GREAT film by the way, full of yumminess, crazy fake french accent, and another almost impossible task.

Today did not as go as breezy as yesterday- (it was so slow that I found time to start a blog...). Just to fill you in, in the past 10 days, I have been trying to order a few collections of tea and dinnerware. Some contemporary collections, some classical, some (i call) displayish, and some fun collections. Anyhow. After summing up the company's catalogue, I decided upon how many cups, how many plates, etc, I wanted to order in. I'm telling you- being a buyer is not easy! Predicting wrong numbers can set you back thousands of dollars.

So when I finally finished this list of what I want to order (in excel.......which was a mission, as I've not touched this programme since A-levels)... I had to send it to ther merchandisers to get quotes for me. This. I thought would be easy. But no.......... Note- never underestimate merchandisers- they are god send people who are like walking dictionaries. They know everything from beginnings to end, as essentially, they are coordinators for whole processes.

Anyhow, I got a phonecall from the merch today, and found out how some of the collections may not be available for my quantity. Stress! Since I only booked in a handful of collections, having half of them not available is.... just a tad worrying. Thankfully, my merch is very helpful and is figuring out some possibilities for me... but dealing with uncertainty is giving me endless headaches. Imagine for 1 second- you invest into building an ecommerce webshop. You draw in potential customers. You have no stock. Yey-.

So, moving on. Another problem propped up. The search for our web domain name has been absolutely brain digging. Ok. So our company is called- heimaconcept. This is way long for a website name. For example, I was to buy clothes, I'd go to ASOS. Asos is great- it's the highest leading online clothing retailer and they do everything right- including their domain name. Its SO short and sweet.

There are so many heima.co.something's out there, just not .com

So readers- basically, Heima comes from a German word, meaning At home. Now, I've brainstormed the endless possibilities in my head of how I can change this to something short and sweet. So far- I have nothing. I've even switched the letters back and forth, side to side, searched for same word in italian, spanish, chinese, etc. Nothing sounds great. So far, I kind of only like Tinner (tea and dinner)... I think it's quite catchy, but damn... the .com is also gone.

Any suggestions? Short and Sweet- Tea and Dinner. High end, luxurious and boutiquey =)

Follow me to catch the decision I decide. Ciao for now, it's happy hour time!

Day 9 at work. Day one of blog

Hello kitchen, dinner, tea and cake lovers!

I have just been assigned to a task- to launching an ecommerce website within the time of under 3 months.
Now, it may sound easy- "yeh, she's just launching a website, even my 10 yr old brother can do it". And that is what I thought too, but after 9 days of learning about this business, I thought to my self "AHHH!".

Let me tell you a bit about myself- I am a big tea and cake fanatic (British of course), and those who have met me in person (back in the time where I lived in the tea and cake land), would remember how much I love high tea and cooking for my close friends. I loved making Sunday roasts, baking cakes, and serving them in a pretty manner. My friends and I would sit and indulge in my beautiful apartment pretty much all weekend- The living room has the nicest drop down balcony window, that overlooks the entire city of Nottingham.
Oh, how I miss that apartment!

About a year or so ago, I challenged myself to move to Hong Kong, and work in the buzzing city.. and Just over a week ago, I was landed with the opportunity to LAUNCH AN E-SHOP!
The company I am currently working for is called- Heima Concept. They have the most stunning, elegant and luxurious tea sets and dinnerware and bathroom accessories... as soon as I was introduced to their products, I thought- wow, if only I can get my hands on one of these teasets! One set I had (still have) my eye on, is called Efflorescence- it's a set that would wow anybody who comes over for a Sunday brunch. Very pretty.

Now- this project I have been assigned to sell these beautiful, (very) limited products (mainly tableware and teasets), from Hong Kong to the UK (actually, rest of the world!) through an online boutique. Now, this online boutique does not exist. Nor are the goods ready. Nor has the packaging been thought about. Nor has the shipping method been decided. These are just a couple of Nors- trusts me, there are millions more... Actually, one frightening matter at the minute is- how on earth do I ship fragile stuff, and ensure it stays beautifully packaged? Safety or Aesthetics first....?

Having had summed up everything I'm dealing with after day two at work- I thought to myself- "I'm really working on a blank canvas aren't I?". What a great (but stressful) opportunity!

So here goes- this is a blog in which I plan to update everyday. If you follow me, you be able to see my entire journey. You'll see how I proceed in completing this mission (I wouldn't say impossible)- under the time frame of LESS THAN THREE MONTHS!

Do you think I can do it? We'll see...

Follow me =)