Topics of this newsletter will include-
*Any new additions to The Crafts Fair Online.
*Crafts web site development and maintenance, with thoughts, tips and suggestions about selling crafts on the web.
*In each issue I plan to offer a brief "How to" about a different craft with a suggested project and links to more information and materials.
*Our web site reviewer, Anne (AKA Fluffy), will offer a review of her pick of the best craft site from our recent submissions to The Crafts Fair Online.
*Links to fun, interesting and informative places on the web and, who knows, maybe even recipes!
Hope you will enjoy!
Steve
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In this issue-
DRESSING *DOWN* YOUR WEB SITE
THE ART OF BATIK
ANNE'S PICK
FUN STUFF
NEW AT THE CRAFTS FAIR
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THE CRAFTY WEB MASTER
In this series of articles I will be talking about what goes into making a successful crafts web site and hopefully helping you through some of the pitfalls of running a web site. If you don't have a web site to show your crafts yet, you'll find lots of free help to set up your own *independent* site in the Crafter's Web Development Center of The Crafts Fair Online.
http://www.craftsfaironline.com/CWDC
DRESSING *DOWN* YOUR WEB SITE
So, you finally got your home page set up. You picked out a flashy background, you have some neat animated gifs, you have lots of banners to other interesting sites, some cute crafty looking drawings and maybe you even figured out how to add music to your page. You should be proud!
But now, after all that work I have the nerve to come along and ask, "Why?"
Do you really need all that stuff?
One of the biggest mistakes I see crafter's make in setting up a web site is that they get caught up in all the flash that can be done on the web and they don't stop to ask "Why am I doing this." Stop and ask yourself, what is the purpose of my web site? Chances are that when you started out the answer was, "To show and sell my works of craft." Not, "To show what a flashy web site I have."
If you think of your web site like a display table at a real world crafts fair, how would you display your crafts? Would you fill up your table with interesting things that have nothing to do with your craft? Would you make it difficult for people to see your works by placing them on a flashy table cloth that is hard on the eyes? Would you play loud music that may turn off some of your shoppers?
The truth is that people browse the web very much like they would browse a real world craft show, they stroll through, giving sites a glance to see if they are interested and then move on. It would be nice to think that if you create a welcoming "store" environment for your web site shoppers will take their time and slowly browse through your whole site. Unfortunately, you run a very big risk that shoppers will simply leave if they don't see what they want right away. Web surfers are very impatient.
So, here is my humble advice-
Have a pleasing title graphic and then show a sample picture of your crafts right away. People have come to see your work, don't make them work to find it.
Use thumbnail pictures that people can click on to see larger versions on another page. Don't load up your main page with too many pictures that will slow it down, people may just leave.
Give viewers easy navigation to all your site offers. Let them chose what they want to look at and how. (I saw one site that made you click "next" on each page with no way to jump around. Very few people are going to take the time to look at each item you offer one by one.)
Be sure background images don't make you text hard to read. The background image that looks pretty to you may be hard on the eyes to someone who has been looking at a computer screen for a few hours.
If you want to offer links and banners to other sites, put them on a separate "Links" page. If you have them on your main page they will only distract people from the crafts you are trying to show.
Keep animated gifs to a minimum, Again, do they really contribute to what you are trying to do? Is someone more likely to buy your craft because you have a cute little animation or will it only distract them?
If you want your site to play music, don't force it on your visitors, give then the option of turning it on if they want to hear it. There are many, many people who just don't like having music forced on them and will leave your site as soon as they see the music loading.
Don't use flashing text. If you are relatively new to the web you may not know it, but flashing text has long been viewed as a no-no among web designers.
Keep file sizes of pictures small as you can, if your page doesn't load in 10 to 30 seconds many people may just move on. You can get help to reduce GIF and JPEG file sizes with GIF Wizard (http://uswest.gifwizard.com/). You just put in the URL of the page you want to test and GIF Wizard returns some suggested reductions, you can then save the ones you think are best to your hard drive and upload them to your web directory.
The bottom line, keep your purpose in mind. Anything on your page that doesn't have to do with showing and selling your work may be working against you.
Well, I hope I haven't spoiled all your fun.
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This months craft-
Batik is a wonderful and relatively easy way to decorate cloth. Whether you are making simple scarves or wall hangings, creating cloth for clothing or for use in other crafts, you may find batik the way to go. With variations on the basic techniques you can create a wide variety of effects and styles.
In it's simplest form, batik is "painting" melted wax onto cloth so it acts as a resist to dyes. The word Batik is Malay and means "writing with wax". Starting with the white fabric that is stretched on a frame, you draw out the areas of your design that you wish to remain white. Then dye the fabric in your lightest color, dry, then draw out the parts of the design you wish to retain that color and so on.
Traditionally, batik is done on silk or cotton since these natural fibers will retain bright colors when using cold dyes. (OK, also, because they didn't have *unnatural* fibers when the traditions were started.
The wax used is a combination of beeswax and paraffin. Beeswax is flexible and so won't crack during the dyeing process but is a little too soft and can smear so a little paraffin is added. Larger amounts of paraffin can be used to give a crackly effect, by cooling the wax and then scrunching the fabric allowing the dye into the little cracks.
Wax can be applied with a brush but traditionally a Tjanting is used to create fine lines. A Tjanting is a small copper bowl with a little spout, attached to a wooden handle. The bowl is dipped in molten wax and then the tip of the spout is applied to the fabric.
Another method I have used to create repetitive patterns is to take a piece of sheet copper and cut out the desired shape with a jewelers saw, then epoxy a small wooden dowel to it for use as a handle. (You can also find pre-cut copper shapes in craft stores, normally used for enameling.) Then I just dip the copper shape into the wax and stamp it on the fabric.
Once you have finished all your dying and fully rinsed the fabric and allowed it to dry, you can remove the bulk of the wax by laying the fabric between several sheets of newspaper and then ironing, the wax will be soaked up by the newspaper. Do be careful though that you use enough paper that it won't soak through to the iron. Repeat this process until no more wax is absorbed by the paper. Then, if you wish, you can dry clean the cloth to remove the last of the wax.
You can get Tjantings, dyes, fabric and other supplies for batik at
The Dharma Trading Co.
Or to see some great works of Batik see-
AN UNUSUAL BATIK PROJECT
I had a tradition over several years of giving lingerie (day wear) to my lady love on special occasions. After a while it became difficult to find anything that was different, but was still elegant and designed for a mature woman. So, being the do it yourself type, I decided to try and create my own designs by applying Batik. I think the results were quite elegant and unusual.
I bought some plain white nylon Vanity Fair bras and briefs with lace trim. First I dyed them with a light color. I discovered that since the lace was polyester which does not take any dye at all it created an interesting contrast. Then for the designs, I made some stamps out of sheet copper as described above, musical notes, angel fish and seahorses, stars and moons, leaves. I had to figure out some way to stretch the fabric to apply the wax. I finally figured out that if I cut a cardboard box so it was just a couple of inches deep I could stretch the briefs over it and that worked pretty well. The bras were a little more difficult, the best I could do was just to stretch the fabric with one hand while applying the wax with the other. Then I redyed the pieces in a slightly darker complimentary color. I found that with using cool dyes, the nylon would not take any more than two dyings. And, since Nylon doesn't take the cool dyes the way cotton or silk would the effect was much softer and more pastel.
I also experimented a bit with using rubber bands to bunch and bind the fabric and use hot dyes for a tie-dye effect that gave some very nice blendings of colors. Again a much softer and more elegant look than traditional tie-dye.
You can see some samples of the results I got from these techniques at- http://www.craftsfaironline.com/IntimateArt/
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FLUFFY'S PICK
Our site reviewer Anne Beal (AKA Fluffy) shares her favorite web site of the recent submissions to the Crafts Fair-
First a little background. I started working with the Crafts Fair links back in the spring of 1996. Two years ago we might have had twenty requests a month, and all the requests came as email. Since that time we've added various categories, changed the way link requests are made, and add about a hundred new sites each month.
I spend about twenty hours a month checking the new sites, coding them into the HTML of the various categories and eliminating links to sites which have poofed. It's a little bit tedious, but mostly it's a lot of fun! Fun to see the Crafts Fair growing, fun working with Steve, and fun to see all the different crafts and the creative ways in which they're presented.
There are so many really interesting craft sites to see! Although I go to each site just to make sure we have the correct URL, and to make sure it's a suitable site, lots of times there will be such pretty crafts, or such a well done site that I find myself wandering around it much longer than I intended. I've ordered crafts from a couple of our linked sites, and been so impressed with the talent and creativity of the crafts people.
So, for some time now, I've been thinking it would be fun to have a "pick of the month." It's impossible to say one is better than the rest, and certainly it's a matter of personal taste. But many times I've been so impressed, with either the way a craft is presented, or with the craft itself. This, then, is my opportunity to share with others my personal favorites.
One of our requests, this past month, was from a fellow named Stephen Charnock, who is s a designer based in the North West of England. He has specialized in making mosaics, tiles and architectural features for public spaces, local community groups and private commissions. His web site is nicely laid out and uncluttered, but what I'm most impressed with is his work. It's just beautiful! It makes me want to learn how to do mosaic, and express my own creativity. The URL is http://www.cybase.co.uk/charnock/, or you can go to our Glass & Ceramics page and find him right at the top of the list as "Architectural Ceramics." It's well worth a visit, and is the "Fluffy's Pick" for August!
Why Fluffy? Well, that's a nickname given me by a group of online friends. Several of us had met in a Macintosh user forum on America OnLine. We'd gotten to know each other online, and decided to get together in the real world. That was in September of 1995. It was a wonderful and fun experience, but just before the meeting, one of the ladies asked me, "How am I going to recognize you in a crowd?" I said, "I'll be wearing a pink shirt, and I'm a little bit fluffy." Oh dear, I've been stuck with "Fluffy" ever since.
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FUN STUFF
Want to see what your favorite web site looks like in French, German or Italian?
http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/translate?
Or, what if it was written by Elmer Fud?
http://www.rinkworks.com/dialect/
Want to see your name in Egyptian Hieroglyphics?
http://www-ceg.ceg.uiuc.edu/~haggag/hiero.html
Or what about Morse Code?
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~scp93ch/refer/morseform.html
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NEW AT THE CRAFTS FAIR!
Ever wished there was an easy way that friends and family across the country could have easy access to your favorite recipes? Now you can have them available to anyone on-line with a free recipe page of your own. Just come to the Crafts Fair Food Booth and create your own free Cookbook page!
http://www.craftsfaironline.com/cookbook/
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HELP THE CRAFTS FAIR!
The Crafts Fair Online is a cooperative effort! I do my best to promote the Crafts Fair in all the ways I can, but since this is a free service I don't have the funds to do much real world advertising. So, we need your help to get the word out! Tell your friends about all the Crafts Fair has to offer. Or, perhaps you or someone you know works in the media and might be interested in doing an article or news story about us? Anything you can do to help bring more visitors to the Fair helps all the Individual crafts people we list.
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Special thanks to our sponsor, The Linit Starch n Crafts Idea Book
<http://www.linit.com
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Well, that's it for our first newsletter, I hope you have enjoyed. Please feel free to write with any comments or suggestions you might have.
TTYL,
Steve Robinson
Welcome to the first issue of the Friends of The Crafts Fair Online Newsletter. I will be sending out issues periodically, on no particular schedule, just when I figure I have enough fun, interesting or informative material to be worthwhile.
THE ART OF BATIK
http://www.dharmatrading.com
The Thai Batik Gallery
http://members.tripod.com/~sanya/gallery.html
In other words...
The Crafts Fair Online
http://www.craftsfaironline.com
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