heima boutique

ho yes!

2010-06-01T04:31:00.001-07:00

89 pages of administration "how to" manual done.

Big day happened today. presented. "handed over". Only few few minor minor bugs but it's all good.
HO YES! (Hung out with a Frenchie last night, lol). Well, here's a pretty bad print screen of my instruction "how to" slides. Lengthy, but it's DONE! =) I may now happily sleep.

By the way. ! ! !

New News. Guess what? We'll be opening our first retail store in Hong Kong Soon! =) We'll keep you guys updated as much as possible on it's progress. WATCH THIS SPACE!

Work Overload!

2010-05-28T03:03:00.000-07:00

Because the construction of the website, and the running of the store is pretty much planned out & brushed up... it's almost time for me to train + work with the rest of the company on how "my" Online webstore works.

In the past few days, I've been preparing myself for "handing over" the webshop to the rest of my colleagues. Although I'll still be a part of it, there needs be many other people to RUN the entire business.

Having had never (maybe I shouldn't be saying it out loud) planned an entire business before for another company other than for my own small businessy dealings... I've been stressing out big time in terms of how I'd "hand" this over.

Luckly, I did study ICT (Information Communication Technology- where I produced a 500page user manual for a database system...and got an A grade hehe), as well as Supply Chain Management/ Logistics (which I believe I'm not so bad at) back at school... so constructing a lengthy "idiot prove" user manual was not so scary.

Yesturday, I produced a 70something Power Point (zzzzzZZZ) slide Manual for the Administration Data Base system. This was to teach how people how to upload photos, change product titles, e.g. "Pink Mug", it's price, description, etc... As much of a pain it was, I guess there are many other worse things you could be doing. e.g. walk another trade fair... I swear my feet still ache from March!

Today, I contructed (in a better manner- I've done it before, just not so tidy...) the logistics/ flow chart as to what happens once the customer puts in the orders and pays. I guess it may be fairly "logical" for some to imagine what happens... you pack it and ship it right? It still has to be written/ drawn out in a "formal" manner when doing it for a business (sadly).

Here's a print screen of a part of my work today.

Click on the image to view a larger version on flickr. =)

I shall be presenting everything from logistics flow, how to deal with customer data, how insert new products/ update products/ edit web content, etcetc next Tuesday.... God help me and Wish me luck!

P.S. I know. Boring stuff, but it's gotta be done!

Dear Blog...

2010-05-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Long time not paid proper attention to you!....uh.

Ok, I must admit, I've been pretty bad at keeping up with the blog lately. I guess I've put it a side a little as I have been obsessing over the look and feel of the website. Over and over again, I've been changing aspects of the webpage's outlook... For what? Well, simply put- chasing satisfaction (that doesn't really exist!).

Actually, one reason why I moved on from being a designer, to a much more businessy/ marketing personalle is due to the fact that I can never be satisfied with any designs (ESPECIALLY my own). The reason for so? Well, it revolves around 7 little words.

I deeply remember this one day, where I was having a one to one feedback tutorial with my fashion design professor. This tutorial was at the very beginning of my time at design school, and I surely was very unfamiliar with everything in terms of what was expected of me, what was generally required and which level of work I should have been producing. During the tutorial, I began talking through my concepts, idea and sketches to my professor. I remember stressing half way through because I could see in her eyes and body language that she wanted to squeeze more out of me. I definitely could feel that she was disappointed with what she hears and saw.

Having had actually been excited about my work before the tutorial, and how I though what I did within that week of work was pretty good- seeing the disappointment on her face deeply saddened me. I was then fairly frustrated...but since I wanted to learn, and despite the fact that I HATE criticism, I eventually bought myself to ask her "How much more would I have had to do?".

She simply replied "How long is a piece of string...?"

Perhaps those words are not so powerful to you, but they sure made a big impact in terms of how I now work, live and function as a person. To this day, those 7 little words still play over and over again in my thoughts whenever I come across any work that involves creativity. I very obviously developed this perspective how nothings EVER good enough. Which isn't healthy at all... but it sure pushes you!

So my explanation for not blogging so often lately, is because I'm STILL not happy with the front page of the website and have been on Photoshop pretty much nonstop (almost not eating lunch!), everyday, even on Friday's no work day (national holiday here). I think I have OCD. Thanks Prof -__- and yes, this is why I've "put aside" (can't really say quit...) fashion design. Bring on Supply Chain Management!

Over the hills and far away...

2010-05-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

When you picture Hong Kong, what do you see?

Black, with the world's most beautiful skyline, flashing lights and extremely metropolitan.

Although much of it is exciting, busy and colourful----> the noise, clutter, construction and too much of interaction does eventually get to you sometime or another.

I went to visit some friends in the new territories (where there's GRASS!) in Hong Kong on Sunday. Although they live so far away (wayyy out from the skyscrapers), their surroundings are beautiful. We went for a walk near their place, and came across the most beautiful lavender garden.

Gorgeous Huh?

You can smell the lavender even when from far away. Too bad there are so many mosquitoes in Hong Kong...I would have loved to stay for quite a while.

Back to a Noisier Note. Something happened in Hong Kong in which really reminded me of being in London. Live Band Playing at a flagship store (So Topshop on Oxford Street!).

H&M is currently selling their "Fashion Against Aids" lines again (the collections were quite cool last year, and are even cooler this year!).
"This year's festival collection will raise money to create awareness about HIV/AIDS amongst youth while also offering our customers stylish clothes for music festivals. The collection has a distinct bohemian, rock feel and includes everything you need this music festival season, from clothes and accessories to tents and sleeping bags."
There was such a great atmosphere, definitely grabbed a lot of attention! Well done guys!

Keyword Analysis

2010-05-19T18:21:00.001-07:00

Not much time to do a proper post right now... but, I thought I'd share with you this blog's keyword analysis.

Made me laugh in the morning. haha.

Maybe if anything, it's the fishbone story that's going to pull in more readers........

Supply Chain Lesson and a French 招き猫 (Maneki Neko Cat)

2010-05-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers. I know. It feels like a million years since I blogged too... As you may have guessed- its been busy busy around here.

It's been about 2 months and a bit now, and I guess time's pretty much up and I still don't have a real launch date. It's a little (actually, very) sad, and I guess I feel a little (a lot) disappointed with it not "all happening" right now. Regardless, the boutique will launch within the next two or so months.
The reason for the delay is actually due to getting the perfect stock for our first ecommerce launch. We want it to be perfect- not just stuffed with random
(emergency) stock that we could instantly get hold of.
(I mean, if we were to sell anything we could get hold of, then I guess the 3 months deadline would have probably been possible... actually, we wouldn't even need 3 months... you just need to set up an e-bay account, and you're good to go!)

Now I don't know if you've read in a previous post- but I explained how we have our own design team who creates our own product ranges. Having our own custom designs makes everything so much more difficult (actually, just slower). But. We're not here to just trade other people's products, we're here to share our concepts and fun designs.

Why are custom designs slower?

Let me explain.

As a consumer, you probably wouldn't think about where your product came from, it's supply chain, and how it got to your favourite retail store.

Well. There are a million steps & Here's a fairly broken down breakdown.

Design> Modification> Approal> Merchandiser and Factory Commmunicates> Sample> Approval> Production> Packaging> Distribution> Retailer> Distribution> Consumer

Depending on the satisfaction of each stage, there may be A LOT of repeats at some stages- e.g. Sample. (Sampling always takes a long time).

From the above breakdown- you'll can see how I highlighted the stages in two colours.
The beginning of the strip in pink, the later strip in purple.
If your business were to TRADE (i.e. buy ready to go products directly from wholesalers), then you'll be able to skip the first pink stage, and start directly at the production stage. That's a lot of stages (time) saved.

So as for the delay of the shop launch. I hope I've explained.
In simpler words. Which can you get hold of faster? A Tailored shirt? Or a shirt off the shelf from Zara? Both not bad, but which fits you better?
Customized goods takes longer- but they will be exactly what you want, not an averge of what everybody else wants.

Voila.

To those who aren't so psyched with supply chain management...
here's what a French 招き猫 (Maneki Neko Cat) looks like.

I found him at Monsieur Chatte, now my favourite lunch hang out.
They sell lovely French Teas in Stoneware pots.

I loved my Honey flavoured yoghurt in this cute pot (this was a couple of days ago).

On the even more Frenchy side. I went to Agnes B (initially to get more inspiration and check out their packaging idea...but ended up sitting down for a coffee and lasagne).
Check out their pretty flowers!

Have a nice evening!

Pret a manger

2010-05-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Goodmorning/evening, where ever in the world you are!

Last night was pretty long... I didn't have time to have dinner until 10pm... but dispite the long day, and not being able to blog (applogies), I did come across something that made me dislike the world a little less.

Have you ever been in a Pret a Manger? They are well known for their fresh sarnies (sandwiches, for those who aren't Brit)... and lovely soups.

I remember going to a Pret in the city of Nottingham (UK) a few years back. I ordered my food, sat down by the window and began my people watching moment (in other words- day dreaming). After a few minutes, I eventually "woke up", and noticed a little white booklet infront of me.
Pret a manger produces little white booklets to inform/ almost educate their customers about Pret. Having had their illustrations being pretty cute, I began flicking. One thing I remember reading, which stuck on my mind, was how at Pret, they do not throw away their food. At the end of each shift of everyday, the staff at Pret would collect all un bought food, and deliver them to homeless people/ chosen charities.

I admired them for that, but unsure of how true this was. Untill last night. I saw a pret man delivering at 9 something pm.

And no, he wasn't just doing an ordinary delivery... I could tell, because some boxes were a bit crushed, and you wouldn't do that if a customer paid for the food.

So Voila, Pret saves some starving people everyday.

Annnthropologasticcccc

2010-05-11T03:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Happy Tuesday!

A few days ago, my friend Sam suggested me to go check out Anthropologie. I finally found the time today, and here goes. Everyone, meet Anthropologie . Sam was right, I love their homeware! (Not so keen on their fashion...a little too pretty for my liking).
Their latest home ware collection is based around the idea of a "summer house". Sea blue, breezy colours, and some vibrant highlights of firey orange, exotic reds...

Loving the plates. I also love how they've combined random objects (purchasable) with the main items.

So cute. So European!

This 1/2 teaspoon measurer is my favourite!!!! Love love

Gorgeous Colours, exotic, indian spicy colours.

Love Love. I highly rate it. Any thoughts?

http://www.anthropologie.com/

They delivery pretty much everywhere, worldwide =)

Not just any old masking tape

2010-05-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

My oh My. Bon Lundi!...
It's time to share again!

Dear Readers. Not so much talk on Dinnerware today...
I came across a Japanese website that sells nothing but Masking Tape. Literally.

Now Thinking back to the days when I used to be at design school... I would have LOVED to get my hands on rolls of these. I adore layers and I adore colours. This combination is exactly why I'm so psyched about these babies.

Meet: mt masking tape by Kamoi Kakoshi. You can find masking tape in so many colours, patterns, and there are so many ideas as to how you can use these wonderful coloured tapes. The tapes are supposedly just like ordinary masking tape, but made of rice backed paper.

Definitely not your ordinary masking tape huh? I wonder if any one has use them to protect edges of walls when painting. Surely not.
Buy them here at Esty

Some pictures from their Gallery:

Oh. And I'd like to say "Thank you World" once again.
Thanks all new readers, coming from Twitter. I hope you enjoy the posts!
(New Plotted Map of viewers from statcounter)

Mug Press

2010-05-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

Having had been in this business for several months, I built up a rough knowledge of how much minimum ordering quantities are for most dinnerware products. Unlike at retail (e.g. Marks and Spencer), where you are allowed to buy 1 or 2 plates/ cups/ mugs... wholesale sells masses of products with a minimum ordering quantity. The reason for so, is that wholesale/ factories, sells to trading companies/ direct to retailers, at a very low price. Obviously, for them to make money, they have to sell in big bulk- it's a bit like how Costco works in the US... except on a even larger scale.

For you to understand in a bigger picture- to order something like Mugs, from an outsourced factory, you usually have to order at least 3,000 pieces.

Sadly, to the big boys like Walmart/ Ikea, who I believe sells millions of mugs everyday... Ordering 3,000 is like a speckle of dust...

In fact, they probably order something like 40 containers (below is an img of a container) worth of the same mug every month.

Let me just tell you that for 1 container, you can fit around 30,000- 35,000 mugs. Now thats a lot of mugs of tea!

If you can see on this blog title right now, this buisness is only a boutique, and often times, it's pretty difficult to order anything at small quantities... because frankly, factories would rather pay attention to people like Walmart.

As mentioned in our recent post, we may be heading towards the direction of pushing mug designs.

And since finding out how each mug design needs to be produced at the quantity of at least 1,000 (if you're lucky)... eyebrows started to raise. Not in a good way.

In reaction to so, I went on to search how little companies go on to produce mugs. Surely there's a way with a smaller quantity.

I turned to my old friend YOUTUBE. Turned out. A little kid in Australia is already making personalized mugs with his little machine. How cute.

In love with Mr Smith

2010-05-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Whilst waiting for my web designer to process some final configurations, I have been researching on the latest trends for future designs.

Once upon ago, I had a memebership at http://www.blogger.com/www.stylesight.com . It is like a trend preditor/website of competitive intelligence that keeps you up to date with the artsy designer world. Although my membership has been cancelled (because I no longer work at the previous company who provided it), I still get the privilage of recieving daily newsletters from stylesight.
One trend in which caught my eye in the newsletter today, was the evolving use of roses in the fashion world- namley by Paul Smith.

I've always loved Paul Smith. I fell in love with his eye to detail ever since I came to know his designs. His suit linings are my favourite.

Anyway, having had been reminded of his work, I went on to his website to check out his latest collections... Now I never knew this until today- Mr Smith sells collections of Tableware on his website! =)

Pretty Cute Designs. I like the rough-ish messy paint idea.

I then went onto his blog... and found this post where he talked about his friend, Thomas Heatherwick's creation that is currently being exhibited at the Shanghai Expo.

From What I understand- the piece was inspired by the idea of linking nature with cities. I just love the spikeyness.

New Developments

2010-05-03T03:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

On Thursday, my manager, designers and I sat down to talk about some new tableware ideas. It seems like the plan is now to move more towards pushing fun mug designs in the near the future. I guess the reason for so is that mugs are much easier to manage in terms of it's supply chain (from raw materials>>> to end consumer) in comparison to a complete dinnerware set. There's always something irritatingly wrong when trying to put together a dinnerware set. I'm not going to go into details why. There are just basically too many bits and bobs in one set.

Moving on. As my manager was in Italy for quite a while two weeks ago, he ended up browsing around Milan, hoping to catch some great finds. And he did.

Meet Taitu: by Emilo Bergamin
(from itlaly)
He is a conceptual tableware designer who believes in a concept that allows consumers to mix and match his collections. They're really fun, well detailed designs. If you look at the below image like a table (chart), then you can see how each design collides with each other.

I love this Tea for Two (my fave in Chilli)

Another Fave: Check out the ladybird!

Watersplashing concept is pretty nice too.

I'd love to have a couple just to hang on the wall!

What do you think? Shall I have them in our boutique? Maybe check out rest of photos in my flickr album.

Entertaining at Home: Easy Outdoor Entertaining

2010-05-02T21:24:00.001-07:00

Entertaining at Home: Easy Outdoor Entertaining

Posted using ShareThis

Design Direction

2010-04-30T02:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Happy Friday!

Some of you may remember when I blogged about working on the look and feel of the website a couple of days ago. Where I complained about my eyes going blurry, etc, and I showed a really stingy thumbnail screen print of the look and feel so far:

Well, after looking at it for quite a while, I decided the colours were not happy enough. I origionally tried to stick with the company's colour scheme but whilst restricting myself, I think my design direction got a little lost. I think everything started becoming too drained, dusty and gray. In reaction to this, I decided to play around with the scheme of things again to uplift the mood.

Obviously, not going overboard with colours and making it looking like a disco... I inserted some sunny orange highlights, abstract sky blue background patterns and little hints of vibrant pinks here and there.
Here's a new stingy thumbnail =) Much fresher?

Anyway. I came across my friend's new illustrations today and I found them really stunning. They made me miss designing! By Sarah McLeod:

Check out her other prints: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Nanukk6?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

I love colours!

2010-04-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

Imagine if you only saw the world in black and white. Although it'd probably feel a bit artistic for a while, I'd personally feel really sad.

Dear Readers,
As some of you may have read in the last post, I suffered from having a fish bone stuck down my throat for the past 2 days. Actually, I think it's still down there.
I went to the A&E (hospital) twice and the doctors still could not find it. Lets not go into the details of procedures as it's pretty depressing! I think I'm a lot better now... less painful than I was on Tuesday! Maybe it's dissolving. Grose.

Anyway. When I got home today, I decided to paint my nails yellow. I desperately needed something to cheer me up! Why yellow? It's such a happy colour! don't you think?

Here are my favorite 3 happy nail colours of the year: Mellow Yellow, Orange Red, Smarties Blue. Ladies, if I was to review brands for nail varnish... O.P.I. is ultimately the best. Nicest colours and longest lasting!

In terms of news for the boutique... the webhosting and domain name http://www.heimaboutique.com/ has finally been bought!! I've been so worried about it because my manager has been away in Milan for quite a while (he couldn't come back in time due to volcanic ash cancelling flights).
In order for me to process things like buying a domain name, it is always best for him review the contracts for the final time before things get paid for (cheques get sent out). And since I have been talking about the idea of launching "heimaboutique.com" on this blog, which is open for the public to read... I was essentially taking a risk (every minute of it not being bought) where someone could have just bought the domain name before we sign for it (basically, if you were really mean... you could have bought the domain name, and we would have either had to buy it off you for millions of dollars, or... think of another shop name).
Thankfully that didn't happen, and heimaboutique.com is now ours =) =) =)

Ugh- Sardines are evil

2010-04-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Just after speaking about "must-stick-to-it"... i.e. not giving up on writing a consistant blog... I decided to gave it a miss the following day (yesturday).

Reason for so, was because I ended up with a fish bone stuck down my throat, causing serious irretation- making me cough over and over. Once I got home from dinner, I decided just to sleep it off to "forget" about the irretation. Sadly, the bone's still in my throat. =(

Here's a picture of the evil creatures (4 of them on the right). Actually, they were quite yummy...

Ok, that's all for this morning. I might go to the Hospital later. Emergency Room. Yey

Must-stick-to-it

2010-04-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Hello Monday. (night) Little late in posting this entry today, but I'm making my way through!!

I finally found my way back to the office today to process more terms and conditions, legal notes, policies, delivery info, etc. As dull it may seem, I actually didn't mind doing that today- having had experienced walking around 3 straight days to search for houseware at trade fairs, I can honestly say that I'd rather write another 10 pages of legal notes. My legs were so incredibly tired after walking the fairs that I could barely walk around at the weekend!

...I salute our company's merchandiser who had to walk for 2 additional days (Sat/Sun) at Gongzhou's- Canton fair (it's the biggest trade fair in China... trust me, I passed by it during the weekend not for walking the fair's purpose... and it's HUGE! It's like a few football stadiums put together....) He then had to travel back down south, nearer Hong Kong to attend a another trade fair at Shenzhen today (another city in China). All I can say is... my 3 straight days of walking around HK fairs is- nothing.

Whilst writing the "About Us" page for the heimaboutique website today, I thought back to the start of this blog and how I wanted to document my journey of sculpting this online business just like Julie's documentation of cooking all 500something recipes in 365 days in the movie Julie and Julia. Like Julie, I liked the idea of reaching an "impossible mission" with a tight deadline.
I have to admit that even if this impossible deadline was not to be met as an end result, and that the online shop is not to be launched in time... just the documentation of my progress it's self will be a great achievement.
I don't know if any of you are familiar with blogging, but to do it everyday, and sometimes after work... it's 99% of the time the last thing you'd want to do. This time being one of them, as it's now 9.51pm, and all I want to do is sleep! Actually, I read on another blog today and there's something I totally agreed on- one of the hardest challenges of keeping a good blog is to stick-to-it and make it consistent. It takes SO MUCH WILL POWER!- a bit like going to the gym actually- you know it has positive outcomes, but the hardest part is making your way over there.

I'd like to say a big thank you once again to all my readers who keeps coming back to read my journey. Without seeing your clicks that my stat counter collects, I would have given up a long time ago! (I really do not have a lot of paitence for a lot of things)

The end note is- although blogging takes a lot of time and effort... I sure do encourage people to do it. I feel like it's a lot more meaningful than other social networking tools such as facebook and twitter.

Yay. Another post finished.
Sleep time!
Sorry, no prove reading today... apologies for spelling/ stuipd errors!

First my eyes, now my legs...

2010-04-23T07:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers,

It's been a "while". I've been struggling with time a little the past few days... it's been excessively exhausting.

As said in previous post, I went off to the homeware trade show at HKTDC. Our parent company Wigwigcreation Int Ltd held a booth there, so I went to check it out. Turns out, our stuff's really not too bad compared to a lot of other booths. There was so much cheap/ tacky stock out at the fair it was unreal. Definitely not the kind of stock I'd like in our online boutique!

I then went over to another trade fair at the Airport China Expo yesterday. There was a lot more stuff to check out there. My colleague from Wigwig and I went over together and he taught me a lot in terms of product differences, supplier differences- e.g. where in China specializes in Brass, or Bone China...etc. It was great just listening to how he deals with suppliers. I sure learnt a lot from following him around!

Today, I spent another half a day at HKTDC to further browse some vendors who were from Vietnam, Thailand, India, and many other countries from S.E.Asia. Tip: They're great vendors if you're looking for extra low ordering quantities- they do not do a lot of mass produced stuff, therefore their MOQ (Minimal ordering quantities) are never too high. Businesses as such from those countries are also mainly family owned. They only have limited pairs of hands to make their products! Today, I asked about the MOQ for this BEAUTIFUL cushion. Pop print with some really nice trims- he replied to me- 25 pieces minimal order, and at the rate of $3 USD each. I was like- WHAT! This "wholesale" price made me regret everything I've bought at Monsoon/Accessorize, who have charged me something like 20GBP for a pillowcase= $30USD . Damn.

So yes. 3 straight days of Fair Walking, being a buyer... My legs need a little break.

But... Although it's weekend... no sleeping in for me tomorrow. Off to Guangzhou to spend time with the Daddy.

Collapse time. Ciao for now xoxo

Twitter Challenge & Off to the Trade Fair I go!

2010-04-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

After sleeping for quite a while yesterday, I'm pretty much recovered =)

Today's task is to go to the HK Houseware Trade fair.

As some of you may remember, I have recently put in some orders from our company's catalogue. Although we have quite a few pieces of nice goodies coming in, our team thought it'll be good to expand a bit outside our own circle and sell other people's goods too.

I heard from some of my colleagues this morning (who went to set up our company's booth yesterday) that there aren't many people at the fair- this is due to the really annoying Volcano in Iceland stopping the entire Europe from flying in and out of it... It's apparently still total chaos out at the airports. Poor people who have (GCSE/ Alevel) exams to attend!- Good luck to you all!

Well, regardless of the fair being empty, I'm still quite excited to go just to see what's out there!

This morning, I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to add a "Retweet" button to my posts. I thought it'll be a really quick simple task, and it really should be, but there are so many wrong instructions online!!

Finally, I found a post that was really helpful and enabled me to add that little button ontop of this post!

Check out: http://www.tricksdaddy.com/2009/03/add-a-retweet-button-to-your-posts-on-blogger-blog-with-tweetmeme.html

NOTE! Something that's not mentioned on his post: When using Ctrl + F to find the post header (Step 2)... you must click/check on "Expand Widget Templates" FIRST for you to find it. I only know of this because I went through SO many tweetme instructions. haha.

So why twitter? I must admit, I'm not the biggest fan of twitter myself. I just don't really understand why people would use it, but PEOPLE DO! Actually, I had the same feeling when Facebook started. Now, people cannot live without it.

Social Networking is a seriously powerful toll. I think it's incredible how fasts things can spread around using things like facebook, you tube and twitter. For the fellow entrepreneurs, social network marketing is definitely the way to go!!! ;)

Let's Tweet Awayyyyyy =D

SEO

2010-04-20T06:49:00.001-07:00

Means: Search Engine Optimization

Photo credit: (c) e-mind

Dear Readers,

It was my sick day off work today. I usually hate being sick, but I'm so glad I took it off as I felt as though my eye balls were going to pop out sooner than later. I really needed some rest.
Question. Have you ever been to the doctors in Hong Kong? Every time I go, I always feel like I come out with a big bag of "M&Ms" (=medicine, if you didn't get that). They literally give you millions of different pills of all shapes and colors! I swear it's never like that in the UK... you only get one or two types of medicine. Maybe they can't afford this kind of treatment at the NHS (UK)... And I guess I did pay $250 for my "M&M's". Uh huh- Medical care is not free in HK.

Anyway...

If you typed in "Heima Boutique" in Google/ Yahoo a few weeks ago when this blog began, you would not be able to find a link to this page.
Maybe thanks to the amount of clicks I've had onto this page by you guys, and the fact that I have so much more content on this blog... the ranking of the search result for "heima boutique" is now at the top! yey!
***Note- Sometimes my flickr album likes to take a higher ranking. I don't really understand why, so anybody who knows, I'd love to hear from you!

I know with SEO- search engine optimization, you can do things to make your site/ blog boost much higher rankings and traffic. Does any of you know how to specifically do this? As far as I know, there are things like keywords that you can put under Meta Codes? I probably sound like a complete air head right now! Please help!

Oh and readers- when "googling" please do not get confused a shop called Heima Store THIS IS NOT OUR BOUTIQUE! This store always crops up when I search for "Heima". Another website that always pops up is Sigur Ros's Heima Video. This has nothing to do with us either... but it seems pretty famous! Our boutique has not launched yet. And you'll sure be the first to know when it does =)

It's official. The Search Engine war is ON!

Monday. Again.

2010-04-19T03:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Weekend's over and it's indeed Monday. How are you all? I'm pretty dead.

I am finally defeated by HK pollution- very bad air and caught the cold. My head is so clogged up and I'm speaking like "sexy" Pheobe in Friends when she had the sniffles.

Today, I have been working all day on legal notes, terms and conditions, and private policies. Yey!!! Well exciting. haha. I'm telling you, I've never read so many "terms and conditions" in my life. I don't think I've ever read one properly! You usually click "NEXT" yourself don't you? I know I do. Who reads that stuff? Anyway, read or not read. You got to have it when scupting a business.

On the brighter side. I found a cheeseshop near my work today. I do have an obsession with European delicates. The shop is called Monsieur Chatte. It smelt so strong when I stepped in, it was amazing. Too bad I had already had lunch before I entered. Their website is down at the moment or I'd get you all to visit. I'll blog about it next time when I have a picnic near the sea =) www.mrchatte.com.hk

Another brighter side, I took my family out to the Marco Polo Hotel the other day to celebrate my pay cheque =) We had lovely high tea. Scones were too good.

Here's a picture to make you jealous. (It's actually making me quite hungry!)

Off to see the doctors I go. =( ewww

I'm becoming a pro at using powerpoint!

2010-04-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

It's Friday!!! That means I get to not blog for 2 days! =P

OK. Like yesterday, day before, day before that and endlessly before that, I have been working alongside the web designer to "Craft" the web! Guess how I've been doing it?.... without the help of dreamweaver, photoshop, illustrator, or frankly, anything that allows you to physically construct a web.

I have been having to deal with web constructing, illustrating my needs and exactly what I want using PAINT and POWERPOINT (extremely frustrating as I come from a design background. Not having photoshop is like not having an arm..). Making do with what I have... I made numerous amounts of slides instructing the web designer. She vise versa sent me numerous screen prints back. She's been very helpful actually, as me being me, I have been fairly picky with my corrections. I'm surprised she's not quit on me yet. (I'm sometimes a little too instructive. French people would know that about me).
Here's a screenshot of my screenshots. (Talk about complaining about my eyes going blurry the other day... They're Defiantly blurry now!!!)

I think I need new prescriptions on my contact lenses.
BTW- Starbucks in a Sachet is the BEST invention for ever!

Have a fun weekend everybody!!!!!!!! XOXOX

Thank you, Ng goi, Xie Xie, Merci, Grazias, Danke!!... =) That's all I know

2010-04-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

I just want to say a BIG Thank you to all of you today, for reading my blog. Thank you Helina for being the first person to write on my facebook page telling me that you love it =). Nobody said that before you, and after you did so, my rankings went way up! (I also have a bar chart telling me how many hits I have that are unique, returning, etc). Thanks darl!

I'd like to share with you all my statcounter in global form. It's pretty amazing how many of you across the world have actually clicked onto my blog! =)

Do you know what, I really never have thought that people would actually come to read the junk I put on this page. First of all, I write too much (I'm sure you'll agree). I think I should really take classes on how to cut my words down! and 2nd of all... I just don't understand why people would want to drag their mouse all the way across their screen to physically click on my link. Well. Thank you =)

Today has not been as busy. Just few more corrections with the web designer. I have a feeling that the database system might be a pain to overlook.- Yes- besides the actual website, there needs be a database system to back up all your product info, imgs, etcetc. You also need a system that stores all your client's names, address, etc... Everything must be in a tidy, orderly manner, or else, when your customers really do come in to buy the stuff, and you have no idea where the info is stored...........you're pretty doomed.

Um, talking about editing a database system is pretty boring. Lets move on.

There is this mug design that I absolutely love by Peter Ibruegger

It can be found at: http://www.supermarketsarah.com/
(actually, supermarketsarah.com it's self is pretty amusing... it's like walking into an actual boutique and selecting the items off the wall. Unlike the typical ecommerce types who sell in grid formats- Definatly worth checking out... Maybe I'll launch this type of e-commerce shop in the future)

I adore the moustache idea. Simple, yet so much fun! If only I can get my hands on some of these at wholesale price!!....

Below is Peter's wall at http://www.supermarketsarah.com/

Here's another one of supermarket sarah's page:

You literally hover over the items and check if you can buy or whether it's sold out. Most things are actually sold out as they're one off pieces, but it's fun just seeing what she has on each wall. Their actual store is located in London (cannot think ontop of my head where it is... near Nottinghill..........).........Fun thing: they serve tea and cake to all their customers who walks in. Yum

My eyes are going blurry

2010-04-14T03:29:00.001-07:00

Dear Readers,

I'm wearing my glasses today.

I have been so tired lately that I finally could not physically open my eyes this morning. I didn't even bother trying to put my contact lenses on!- The weekend really killed me- having had no break what so ever (due to photoshooting) drained the life out of me!

During the past few days, there has been constant back and forth work and feedback with the web designer. It's finally getting nearer the stage of what I want the final "product" to look like. It's pretty nice at the moment (Manager approves, so it's all good good to go!) Here's a very extremely stingy preview of the look of the web:
(It looks pretty ugly in this thumb nail, but that's on purpose!)

I'm pretty glad things are finally getting places. Well done webdesigner, designers and well done me!

Today's next task was to look for additional stock to dump into the boutique. I went onto Alibaba.com to look for new potential suppliers.
After looking for about 2- 3 hrs, my eyesight is officially heading towards blindness.
Here are a few screenshots of what I have been dealing with:

The above only shows three types of products, mainly mugs. There are absolutely MILLIONS of pages to go through. This website is basically created for buyers who want to do overseas business. They obviously have an English version, but I was told the Chinese one has more stock- which I think is very stupid.

My head started spinning after forcing myself to "read" Chinese for 3 hours. (My Chinese reading IQ is probably equivalent to a 5yr old born and raised in HK/China child)

I think I'm starting to see things.... Defiantly time to get off work!

Storage is expensiveeeee in Hong Kong!

2010-04-12T02:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers!

It's Monday again, therefore another long day at work... As soon as I arrived this morning, I had so many web layouts to revise, give comments, etcetc... I am SO glad I found a designer, and am not doing the corrections myself! (I think I'd cry).

The photoshoot went pretty well yesterday- 2nd time round. It was so dark, gloomy and RAINING that it was pretty much impossible to take pictures. Two of our designers came all the way to my house (located at the furthest point away from anywhere convienant imaginable in HK- I commute an hr and half everyday to work!), and left after 10minutes because the weather was just too bad. I stressed out as usual, and as it was still only 7am, I was pretty grouchy.

Since the weather report said it will be sunny in the afternoon, I firmly believed it will happen- and it did! (thank god!) We then shot more photos at 3pm and they turned out fantastic. Sorry readers, cannot show you until the shop launches!

So- today's task was to look for storage space in Hong Kong (HK). As I am buying quite a few thousands of plates, cups and saucers, I kind of need a little warehouse. Now HK has always had a great reputation in being a convienant spot for businesses to trade and use as a port- but when it comes to leasing a space, its extremely expensive!!

Regarless of how expensive it is, it's got to be done.

A few interesting websites show how small storage spaces can be leased out- mainly for families who basically have too much things in their houses. For those who have never been to HK- everyone lives in a matchbox. There's never any room for anything!

***For an intersting artical on how this man in HK- transformed his 300something sq feet (thats probably the size of your kitchen in UK), into a multiusable home:
http://www.architonic.com/ntsht/box-of-tricks/7000267

Anyway, back to storage space... Here's a website= store-friendly
http://www.store-friendly.com/

The above illustrates how for $1288 per month (about 107GBP- sorry, there's no pound sign on my keyboard!) you may rent a room that potentially fits that many boxes, that many chairs, bed, wardrobe, tv and a couch. Hmm... This is already one of the cheapest options- it's located in the middle of nowhere too (near factory sites in HK).

I may look up how much it compares to UK tomorrow- but I bet you any money, it'll be much cheaper in the UK to rent a matchbox storage space!

Planning my Photoshoot

2010-04-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

Pardon for not posting on Friday! It was a mega busy busy day. Just to let all you guys know- "It's all happening!"- My prof back at uni would always shout this phrase while we're stressing out, doing our deadlines...

The web development so far seems to be pretty smooth, I received the outlook of my web from my designer on Friday (Pulsegarden seems pretty ontime with their schedules!), and to be honest, it wasn't as great as I thought it would be... Non the less, I gave my feedback and am working hard on making sure it comes out pretty!

(first- top one is their version...and the 2nd one is mine. I like things simple and clean... ignore the macaroons, that was just my fave pic of the day- yum!)

I also received confirmations in terms of what is possible to be ordered in time for my e-boutique launch on Thursday! (yey & finally!) I was so excited that started planning the photoshoot right away- the idea of being creative again got me so psyched (creativity is in my soul...).

I spent pretty much all day (Today- Saturday) buying bits and bobs to aid my photoshoot. My best buys today has to go to my birdcages- I only photographed one for a preview =)... they are second hand from this really old bird/pet store near where I live (The old man who sold me them was really nice, he told me a lot of "gwei los"- white people buy them to hang in their gardens). I took them home and spray painted them white to give it a bit of edge. I also tucked in a few cut out blocked coloured butterflies. Cute huh?

My worse buy today has to be the "Just add water and 1 egg" cupcake mixer. I thought I'd save some money by buying this "ready to go" box- it appeared to have everything in it, from cake mould, cake mix, sprinklers and icing sugar in all sorts of colours (which is great for $40 HKD- about 3GBP). Wrong! I opened the box and it only had a bag of flour mixture in it. No sprinkles, no icing =( =( I was so disappointed as I really wanted to eat the icing after the photoshoot, lol.

Furthermore- I told my little sister to make the cupcakes... She opened the packet, poured it into the bowl, and cracked an egg inside...

"ERRRRRRRRR!" she yelled- "The egg's black!!!!" she then ran out of the kitchen as though she saw a rat -__-

So of all the eggs, she picked the bad one. The "Just add water and 1 egg" cake mixture ended up down the drain. I'll next have to physically go buy some (hk-ish looking, extra creamy) cakes tomorrow at the bakery. Shame, I wanted cupcakes (it's so hard to find "homemade looking" cupcakes in HK!).

Ok, sleep time. 1.10am now- need to wake up at 6am on a Sunday!

Yey we have a boutique name and a logo!

2010-04-08T01:53:00.000-07:00

Although very obviously stated in the title previously- the boutique's name is going to be Heima Boutique. We really did try to come up with a different name to maybe replace the company's original name. But as days went by, nothing really came across sounding extrodinary. So- the end?- back to square 1, and keeping the name- Heima Boutique =)

Just so you guys know, I did think about some other options in terms of renaming our boutique... =) Here are some of them:

Tinner- This is an integration between Dinner and Tea

Le Tovia- This spells: I love tea (it's missing an extra E though...so no for this one...)

En Casa- Casa is such a used name, over and over and over.
It's very pretty as a name, but believe it or not, there are millions more out there, selling bathroom and kitchen accessories, which does not give our boutique much differentiation.

So Why Heima?I don't know if you've read previous posts, but Heima in German means- At home. (This is actually why I wanted to translate it into a different language, like Italian- En Casa, and Chinese- Jia.

A home is beyond a house- most people would say it's somewhere filled with warmth and personality. Or maybe somewhere built with love and creativity. We personally think it's built up of a lot of fun.

Our concept is to bring little delights to anyone's home- and little joys that boosts happiness to daily life. We aim to help make dinner parties that much more delightful, and high teas that much more lovely. I (personally) believe that it's always the little delicate wonders that makes small gasps of happiness in life.

Yey to the developed logo. Well done designers, who turned my scribbled into prettiness. =)

Also, I'd like to thank all of you returning readers (I have a tracker!), more and more of you are coming back everyday! I really appreciate it!

Packaging Design

2010-04-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

Today's another one of those days where I'd like to pull my hair out.

This whole launching a webshop task just gets tougher and tougher everyday... this is because every minute is ticking, and everyday I'm closer to May (the month where I plan to launch the shop!).

Anyhow, today's task was to find some packaging ideas...

Packaging makes big differences, if not all the differences. Take this example- if you were to buy tea leaves from the supermarket, and you could not find your favourite brand (e.g. Tetleys), you're likely to depend your buying decision upon the packaging of the alternative products. To me, if I see something that is prettier in packaging, I have far more confidence in consuming it than the latter products that gives you the dollar store feel.

Here are some favourites I found today (although they're kind of totally unrelated to the kind of feel I want to give to the Heima brand..., but heck, they're certainly a lot of fun!)

A Nice Eco Friendly Idea- Award winning design by the Polish... biodegrades in 60 days after disposal (yes dear, I'm obsessed with sustainability). Very cool

Not so lady like, but I love this one: "oh shit" 1st aid kit- check out the bumcream in the green one. haha (not sure if I was allowed to write that!)

Another eco one, it's made of 85% renewable resource- and research shows how boxed packaging for water/ breveges are far more eco-friendlier than plastic packaging. interesting.

Back in 2007, the cool hunter wrote a nice blog on the power of packaging:
http://www.thecoolhunter.com.au/article/detail/927/the-power-of-the-box--powerful-packaging-design
I like the birdy! =)

For bigger pictures, check out my flicker album =)

p.s. I think I'm sticking with the name: heima boutique. yey ney?

Fashion meets Living

2010-04-05T21:47:00.001-07:00

Quick Entry (before I jet off to lunch!): Meet Innermost, a very quirky style and living brand.

Style is simplistic with a little twist. Ultimately Fun.

Here's a design in which I think a lot of people may be attracted to> thanks to the Alice in the wonderland trend... Top hats as lamps. Awesome.

I also love design -White (shown at the bottom), by Winnie Lui. She is a jewellery designer turned light designer. Her concept integrats trash with bling, to essentially create beautiful treasures. The chandeliers are limited editions only- there are 50 in White and 50 in Black. Beaut.

Check them out! http://www.innermost.net/index2.html

Classified Mozzarella Bar

2010-04-03T22:18:00.001-07:00

Classified Mozzarella Bar
Originally uploaded by heimab

Dear everyone around the world... HAPPY EASTER!

Ok, so despite last thursday being a work day, I was too sick to write a blog. I don't know what I ate wrong during thursday lunch, but I felt so ill afterwards! =( Anyhow, I found out how even when I haven't written anything in the past couple of days, some of you's still go on my blog and read =) Thanks!

So, what have I been up to these couple of days? Well, pretty much stressing all throughout the holiday. I've still not had much news in terms of getting my orders in, in definate quantities... It's been over a week now, and not knowing what I can purchase to go into my boutique is driving me nuts! The reason for this, is actually because there is a Trade Fair in Hong Kong in 2 weeks time... and my collegues are working HARD in getting things done for the fair in which our company's participating. We will be show casing numerous new collections at the fair this year, therefore my collections aren't really their priority at the moment (a little frustrating, but I kind of understand their deadline too.......).

Besides stressing (I think that's why my stomach hurts lately...), I've been trying to discover new things around in Hong Kong. There's this AMAZING mozzarella bar in Wanchai/ Admiraty at a tucked away alley called Classified. The food was so good it was unbelieveable.. First course- Deep fried Mozzarella wrapped in Bacon and bedded in Fig Jam =)... then my bf and I shared a nicoise salad (tuna), and a mushroom and rocket risotto (I think it was the best I've ever had). Absolutely yummy, I'd recommend anybody who lives in HK, who misses European food to go there. I loved it so much, I've been twice in a row already! (panna cotta- yum)

http://www.classifiedfoodshops.com.hk/

I love these little finds in HK... (this one has actually been open for quite a while), especially those that are a bit hidden. Actually, that area has quite a few nice little boutiques, including a really cool fashion boutique in which Susiebubble blogged about recently, called Kapok. They're all about the European style, Craftsmanship and kookyness. Awesome: check them out:

http://ka-pok.blogs.com/

Web Designer

2010-03-31T03:17:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-03-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-26T02:38:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-25T02:23:00.000-07:00

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 =)