Shop Critique: Divine3Designs

To much ado, the first shop critique is here! I had some difficulty in selecting the first shop to review. I thought at first to go in order of requests, but then one shop stuck in my head: Divine 3 Designs, a jewelry shop located in central Virginia.

Divine3Designs understands the basics of branding. Her shop name, banner, and avatar are consistent. She has a graphic theme that runs throughout her site; plus, she puts her logo on her gift certificates. Immediately, stepping into her shop, I know what she sells, what she stands for, and I start to have a brand experience. Plus, I can connect to her through her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and her all-encompassing website. I admire her for drawing me in - something is working if she can get into an advertiser's head!

My primary concern with her shop is the shop announcement. Immediately we are hit with a "my product is one-of-a-kind" announcement. I find this a bit redundant, because if we're on Etsy, I hope we are paying for one-of-a-kind! What I want to know is her story. She's started to tell me the beginning of a story with her brand visuals, but then stopped. In order to help with a brand story, I asked Divine3Designs to tell me about her target audience.

Divine3Designs describes her target market as:

Professional women who want distinctive, simple, timeless, versatile, handmade jewelry to help them accessorize without settling for the trendy. They would say: "I'm a busy woman who doesn't have time to constantly keep up with what is "in" today - I want jewelry that is comfortable and goes with many of my clothes. It shouldn't say "trendy" but whispers distinctive style that will last for years."

Excellent! She nailed that one. Right away, I know she is speaking to an aged 25 - 55 group of women who dress in classic, timeless pieces.

We now need to translate her thoughts into an opening line for her shop. Some of my thoughts travel to:

• I don’t want to look like I shop at Claire’s. I want to be real.
• There is jewelry that visits your jewelry box briefly; it comes and goes; and there are pieces that stay around forever.
• There are everyday pieces and there are pieces that make a statement.

With those thoughts in mind, I’d suggest an opening message like this:

“I create classic, timeless pieces meant to take up permanent residence in your jewelry box. They’ll become your reliables - the pieces that travel with you to work, to weddings, and through wonderful memories.

My fine artisan jewelry is made with versatile materials: Gold, Silver, Copper, Brass Gemstones, and Dichroic Glass.”

Now we have a brand experience and we’ve managed to include the key search terms. Design3Designs excels at bringing this brand experience throughout her listings. Read her listings – she tells you a story about each of the products. You learn how the product is made or you imagine wearing the jewelry. Boom, congratulations, you have just had a brand experience!

Divine3Designs should make sure this brand experience translates to all of her external Etsy sites – I’d like to see the same brand story appear on her website homepage, in her Twitter bio, and on Facebook. Her promotions should also stay consistent across all of the websites, as to not confuse her customers. When she has a sale, the package that arrives in the mail should remind the customer of the online experience; the package should include a business card with the shop logo and packaging that is timeless and classic.

Overall, I give Divine3Design an A.