I feel I am among friends!

anati · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 122 Location: massachusetts

wow, your jewelry is so pretty! and i love your site layout, too:)
_________________
shoot for the moon.
even if you miss, you will land among the stars.

ColeenaBobeena · Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 7

acebeader · Joined: 15 Apr 2004 Posts: 227 Location: Wisconsin

I really liked the layout of your site, and loved the jewelry. As a fellow beader, I am very impressed by your work! Good luck!

anati · Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 122 Location: massachusetts

aww, thanks:) i just made another pompom bracelet today, i will post pictures of it soon. i don't have a digital camera, so i always have to wait until i can borrow one from someone=/
_________________
shoot for the moon.
even if you miss, you will land among the stars.

lagata77 · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 21 Location: dallas

Hello Coleena,

I have nice things to say but I also have some critiques for your site. And to break that old rule about not saying anything if it's not nice...here you go!

First about the functionality: I like the bright flower on the left, and I'm glad it stays in place while I scroll down your pages. It's very appropriate for the girly stuff you sell. One of the benefits of using frames is that you can make your navigation static on the page. On your site, however, only the flower stays put, and the navigation scrolls up with your content. I'd change this so that only the content scrolls, and the flower and navigation stay in place. This way the user doesn't have to scroll up everytime they want to choose a new section. Same goes with the What's New link, it disappears as you scroll down. Keep it visible.

I like how the top navigation is broken down into main sections (earlobe gems, necklaces, wrist wares etc), but I don't like how the home page breaks down those sections even more. Keep the home page as clean as possible, giving the user just a few options to begin with. Then expand the categories once within a section (as you're already doing).

As for the design: I like the look of the "NEW" image you use. It's sorta classic and 20's feeling. I think that idea (flapper girlesque) could be perfect on your website, since it seems your product is slightly nostaligic of that era. You could make a great vintage home page to entice your visitors to come in and look around. Add some color and pizazz. As it is, it's a little no-nonsense with the homepage on a plain white background and perfectly lined up rows and columns. Fluff it up a bit!

I also think you could forgoe the center-aligned text. Centered text is difficult to read in multiple lines because the start of each line is in a different position that the line above it. It doesn't flow as well as left or full justified.

Another thing I noticed is that there isn't one main focus on the subpages. It's good to use a small, medium, and large element on your page so that the viewer knows where to look first, second, and finally. For example, on the Cluster Earrings page, there is a page title at top beneath your site title in all caps and black font and there is another title below the navigation that is larger than the page title, lowercase letters, and blue font. It's difficult to tell what is most important about the page. And going back to that vintage point I was making, use some pretty font and if you must, use images as page titles.

And...I think you could do something really creative with the quotes you pepper throughout your site. Rather than little pink text beneath the nav, make some decorative boxes and splash them around your page.

In the end, I think you could really do something great. I can tell that simplicity is your style and you could go a long way with this idea. Keep tweaking! Make a couple comps and browse other jewelry sites to get your juices flowing. Good luck! And I love your jewels! By the way, I was only inspired with the idea of a vintage look and feel. If this isn't your style, choose a theme and take it all the way. Or you can just tell me to shove it! But I only want to help! :)

~Sara
_________________
www.limajellybean.com
when you're green you're growing, when you're ripe you rot

lizzymahoney · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 804

Mmmm, Sara, I like how you think. Great commentary. Good suggestions.

And Colleenabobeena, surely you got lots of hits after posting here, eh? I browsed a bit, but can't afford to buy anything. Plus I have more jewelry than is sane. A little OC, I am. I laugh at the idea of A jewelry box. I have many boxes. One is just for my silver pins. One is just for my peridot anything. Etc.

Anyhow, I liked your stuff. I liked the way you displayed the neckware especially.

smachel · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Posts: 305 Location: kentucky

your stuff is beautiful.

ColeenaBobeena · Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 7

c_zimmerman724 · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 36 Location: waynesboro pa

I don't really like jewelry usually, but your stuff is really nice. Very creative.

ColeenaBobeena · Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 7

lagata77 · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 21 Location: dallas

c_zimmerman724 · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 36 Location: waynesboro pa

I am allergic to most metals, so I pretty much gave up on wearing any type of jewelry (except for plastic!!) I am even allergic to the alluminum in deodorant!

ColeenaBobeena · Joined: 10 Aug 2004 Posts: 7

lagata77 · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 21 Location: dallas

Well hey now! I have to say that what you've done really made a difference. The elements on your pages don't seem to be fighting for attention anymore and there seems to be more order. You must be so pleased! I'm so glad you found my input helpful...that makes me smile! I can't wait to see what you do in the future with a vintage theme...it'll be sooo pretty!

take care!
~sara
_________________
www.limajellybean.com
when you're green you're growing, when you're ripe you rot