Name of your website?The Art of Stitch
Your name?
Ida Gul
Your Location (city, etc)
Singapore
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Providing the most beautiful selection of cross stitch designs, accessories, needlepoint and all crafts for kids & adults! From fine art patterns to gorgeous landscape kits, it's a great place to choose your next project! Shipping within Singapore is free!
What inspired you to launch your own website?
My love for cross stitching. It's a wonderful and very therapeutic hobby.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
October 2006.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
It went from The Art of Cross Stitch, to The Art of Stitch, when I decided to experiment on other forms of crafts like needlepoint etc.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
The artistic view of crafts. I choose the most designer looking designs from all over the world. My products are shipped directly from US, the Netherlands, Germany and UK. I try to find tasteful looking work of arts that are stitchable.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
My goal is to have this online business a success while trying to be a stay at home mom to take care of my kid 100%.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would like to venture into opening a retail shop for my site. A mix of art & crafts with a corner for kids.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Yup I can.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Perhaps the exchange rate fluctuating so fast, as I deal with US dollars and Pounds with my suppliers.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Learning PHP for my site design :) took me a month to migrate from html to full PHP but it was worth learning. Also I changed my domain recently to reflect my new shop name, and it felt like I was starting from scratch in getting new visitors etc.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Probably my intensive quest for link exchanges with fellow crafter sites and always trying to get my site added to as many relevant directories as possible.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It's met my expectations pretty well.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
It's been 1.5 yrs but due to some site and domain changes, certain aspects of it had to be redone. I'll continue as long as I can as this is as much a hobby as well as a source of income.
What is your website address?
The Art of Stitch
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