Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
We would like to let all our readers know that we are opening up our Store Review Blog to other bloggers who write store reviews and would like to re-publish them in this blog. It's a great way for you to pick up some additional exposure. To have a store review you have done re-published, contact us of instructions on how to submit the review.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
“I give up! I can’t ever seem to find what I want.”
Although the majority of those who read our Store Review Blog are shoppers who use The Hand Made Product Shopping Directory and the Arcade to find products they are seeking, there is also a significant number of readers who are also sellers of these products. If you are like our man in the photo above, today’s post should be of interest to both these groups.
With the ever increasing growth of online selling, shoppers not only have a much wider diversity of products to shop from but they also have a much more difficult time finding that exact item they are looking for. Many shoppers actually spend much more time than they need to in their Product Quest. It is surprising to me that there are an increasing number of buyer of handmade products that haven’t realized that it is becoming very common for sellers of handmade products to have multiple online stores and to be selling on a number of different venues. In a large portion of these situations, sellers place different products in each of the different stores they have online. Unlike the Arcade where a seller can show all the products they have from all their stores, most online selling venues don’t allow a store owner on their site to promote their other stores, when a potential buyer doesn’t see what they are looking for in a specific store they assume that the seller is unable to help them. They are usually unaware that that seller could very well have exactly what they want in another one of the sellers’ stores. As a result, they quite naturally continue looking.
Some shoppers don’t know that their most effective shopping tool is actually their email account. Buyers might be surprised to hear that most store owners are very happy to receive emails from buyers looking for specific products. Those sellers with multiple stores can often save the shopper considerable time and effort if they have a product in another one of their stores that might fill that shoppers needs. Many who create and sell handmade products also take custom orders and in most instances can meet the shoppers’ requests at very reasonable prices.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone when I say the area of jewelry is without a doubt the number one category of handmade products that probably has the most crafters creating unique and distinctive pieces. This is a lucky fact for me in that I always have a wide selection of stores and crafters to write about. It’s unlucky in that it always presents me with the problem of selecting which store and crafter to write about. There are just so many good ones, it’s overwhelming at times.
Today I want to introduce the reader to one of our newer stores at the Arcade, Garden Gate Designs.I’m going to quote a small piece of Rosemary’s, Garden Gate Designs owner’s, Arcade store announcement because it tell the reader better than I could a little about this talented artisan.
“Artisan made jewelry with an emphasis on vintage-like and jewelry making supplies. All one of a kind pieces. A self taught jewelry artist for the past nine years.I enjoy creating unique jewelry for others to wear and give. I have been on Etsy.com for over 2 1/2 years and recently opened a second shop on Artfire.com to feature vintage like jewelry.”
Let me add to this some things that I’m sure Rosemary is way to shy to say her self. It takes a considerable amount of talent and skill to create, or should I say reproduce, pieces of jewelry that fall into the Vintage area. For one thing, you have to do your homework to know just how any particular vintage piece you want to create was originally created. If you don’t have a proper understanding of the techniques used, all you end up with is a piece of jewelry that may look pretty good but it won’t have that touch of authenticity like those exhibited in Garden Gate Designs.
A jewelry artisan and that is what Rosemary is, must have the creativity to blend the skills required and that understanding while still keeping in mind today’s shoppers desires. This only comes with considerable practice and self direction that only comes from a natural inborn talent.
I won’t try to describe any specific jewelry piece because this writer simply isn’t qualified nor do I think I could even do partial justice in that arena. I will say that if the reader is in quest for some really nice and distinctive pieces of jewelry that has a hint of the past and yet would still look absolutely fabulous today, check out Garden Gate Designs.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
For many, when they think of stained glass, they usually think of windows. There are however hundreds of other uses and places where stained glass is not only found but used. If you have ever had to replace a window and have to cut the glass itself, you know that there is a bit of skill required just to make a straight line break, let alone curves and angles.
Creating stained glass goes back centuries and is a very old and honored craft. In the past, a stained glass artisan was very highly valued and their skills were honed over many years of practice and training. It still takes a long time to learn the craft before one could be considered a Master in the craft.
Carrie, the hands behind Designed With Glasscertainly knows her craft. The picture above is just one example of the many different products that can be found in her store. From stained glass panels to stained glass planters and candle holders the shopper will have plenty of choices to select from.
There is a wealth of imagination at work in her creations and as she says in her store announcement, “If you or I can dream it, it can be created with glass!”. From what I can see in her store and from pictures of other items she has created, I sure can believe her statement.
You might think stained glass creations are expensive. You wouldn’t know it by the very reasonable prices of Carries’ creations. When I say “very reasonable”, I mean it. I know the amount of work that goes into stained glass creations. If anything, working with stained glass has to be one of the more labor intensive crafts simply because the more detailed the creation, the more the difficulty factor increases. Having a well made stained glass creation is something that will be cherished for many years and is something that you will not regret buying.
Do yourself a favor this holiday season and stop by and see if you don’t just fall in love with what you see in Designs with Glass.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
It’s probably because I’m as old as dirt but I really like Vintage Items. If you like vintage items, you are going to really like the GoodEyebecause they have a very large selection of some of the best vintage items I’ve seen online. With a selection of over 200 vintage women’s clothing, accessories and jewelry products to select from, shoppers better plan on spending a little time browsing through their store.
Usually the single picture we put at the top of each post fairly well represents the products found in a store, the picture above really doesn’t do justice to all the great items to be found at GoodEye. There are just so many neat pieces and items that it would take far too long to try and describe even a small portion of them. That means the reader is simply going to have to visit GoodEye and see for yourself.
Shoppers will find unique and distinctive items in the areas of Dresses ..Suits, Shoes..Boots, Jackets..Coats..Sweaters, Skirts..Tops..Pants, Purses..Hats..Scarves, Jewelry..Belts..Other, Vintage House..Garden, Lingerie..Swimwear. Stop by today for great vintage items at very reasonable prices.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
I’m one of those people whose taste in paintings runs the full gambit from the very traditional to the very abstract and most things in between. Not that I’m anything that would be classified as a critic by any sense of the word because the only thing I know about art and paintings in particular is what I like and I definitely like the work found in Jordanka's Studio Gallery. Jordanka, the talented hands behind the brushes at Jordanka's Studio Gallery creates some really nice paintings.
Working in acrylics, she is quite capable of paints pictures where the subject matter runs from the rather traditional to those on the surreal side as the example picture above attests. I’m particularly partial to the surreal trees she paints and would like to tell our readers a little about them.
There is a mysterious quality to these paintings of trees that is very difficult to articulate in words. Combining the concepts of realistic trees with an ever present mystical and haunting impression, Jordanka’s tree paintings are like no others I’ve ever seen. Using rather striking and vibrant colors, Jordanka allows her trees stand out in the painting yet feel totally natural in their setting. Some of her tree painting are on the lighter side of emotions while others impart a sinister and foreboding feeling within the viewer.
If you like paintings and are looking for something different and distinctive, you don’t want to postpone stopping by Jordanka's Studio Gallery. Not only will you find really neat paintings but you will also find that their pricing is very reasonable. Jordanka also does some commission work for those who have a special request.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
Just what are you looking for in the line of jewelry today? Whatever you answer might be, you should stop by Roseange’s. It’s a very nice store with an even nicer selection of unique and attractive pieces of jewelry for your inspection and purchase. Monique, Roseange’s owner, says that nature inspires much of her work and it shows in the pieces she creates which run from the classical to the modern.
From rings and pendants to bracelets and necklaces, Monique has assembled a selection of jewelry pieces that any jewelry shopper will enjoy browsing through and owning. Using a variety of materials, Monique has provided the shopper with so many different pieces, you may have to buy several just to make your selection process easier. As Monique says on her store, some of her favorite materials are Swarovsky crystal and semi-precious stones although I saw other material types used also.
With considerable creativity, talent and skill, Monique has designed some very distinctive pieces which I’m sure the shopper will probably not find anything like them anywhere else. From the relative simple to the quite intricate, Monique has maintained an elegant look in each piece. Stop by today and experience some very distinguishing pieces of jewelry you most likely will not be able to resist.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
It would be hard to find someone who doesn’t appreciate quality and distinctive photography. Of course likes and dislikes in relationship to photography are about as the number of people on this planet so it’s a very good thing there isn’t a shortage of subject material for photographers to work with. Nature itself has always been a favorite subject for many photographers and Joanna's Photographyis one of the better examples of how skill, technique and that special insight a great photographer needs has been interwoven to create and capture little slices of this world and people for all posterity.
The sample photo above is one of my favorites in Joanna’s store. The solitude and contemplative aspects of the photo almost jump at you. Other photographs in her store are on the other end of the emotional spectrum with examples of almost everything in between. Shoppers will be able to find something in Joanna’s store to fit whatever their need, mood and desire might be.
Joanna’s is very keen on meeting her customer’s needs because it appears that almost any piece in her store can also be customized in almost any reasonable size to fit the customer’s needs. Another very pleasing aspect of the store is it’s very reasonable pricing.
It’s obvious that Joanna isn’t an inexperienced armature photographer as can be seen from the photographs in her store. It’s nice to see however that she still has and exhibits a fresh and unique perspective to each photograph she takes. These qualities are sometimes lost when that special subject matter insight begins to fade. That certainly hasn’t happened in Joanna’s case. Each photograph I saw is very unique and special.
I probably should tell the reader to plan on spending some time in her store because you are going to have difficulty deciding on which of her photographs to buy. They are all so good. Buy several and make it easy on yourself.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
We wanted to use to use today’s post to introduce our shoppers to a new shoppers service we launched today on the Arcade. It’s called our Personal Shopper Service. We have all had difficulty at times not finding what we are looking for. Let one of our Personal Shoppers help you find what you are looking for. This new service is free of charge to shoppers. To learn more about it, check out the Personal Shopper Page at the Arcade.
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
Shopping is more fun when you find incredible quality at incredible prices!
Thousands Of Stores To Shop From
I haven’t done any kind of survey or poll about this but I feel fairly safe in saying that there is a large number of those who are interested in handmade and handcrafted products that tend to lean towards the earthy, natural, organic elements that tend to be present in so many handmade and handcrafted items. Personally, I think in my case, part of the reason is thatI’m an old desert rat who has lived a large portion of his life on the back side of the Arizona deserts and mountains. The fact that I’ve been around since just after God dropped the first cactus here in Arizona probably also has a bearing on it.
Products themselves that have that earthy, natural and organic feel and characteristics to them seem to be a popular item among shoppers also. A great example of an online store that carries products of this type is Foret. Although jewelry makes up a large portion of the items Elizabeth, Foret’s store owner, has in her store, the shopper will find many other very nice and original and distinctive items. The composite photo above will give the reader a small sample of the unique and special items Elizabeth has available for shoppers.
The use of natural elements in her pieces is a perfect example of how Elizabeth has developed a skill and technique for combining these natural elements with a simple elegance into her pieces. Although I didn’t ask her, it appears to this viewer that there is an underlying concept of functionality deliberately designed into Elizabeth’s creations also. This combination provides the shopper with being able to wear these pieces in a wide variety of situations and circumstances.
Elizabeth has taken her skills and techniques and added a nice portion of her natural creativity to make an almost endless variety of products any shopper would be hard pressed not falling in love with. Take this writers advise and stop into Foret’s and see how many item you fall in love with. By the way, there is a nice Valentine’s Day sale taking place at Foret’s that you should check out.
Celebrate Your Love Sale At Foret's
Shop for your Valentine right through February 14th!
10% discount on One Item
20% discount on Two Items
25% discount on Three or More Items
Free upgrade to Priority shipping on all purchases. All items are shipped via USPS with Delivery Confirmation and all purchases over $50 are Insured.
CONVO please with your selections and wait for a ‘Reserved For’ link with corrected price.
PLEASE NOTE: You must convo first for the sale prices to go through.
Happy shopping!
Stop by the Arcade for other great products and stores
The purpose of this blog is to impart information about The Hand Made Product Directory and the stores listed in the directory that sell Handmade and Hand Crafted products by reviewing various stores and their products.
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