What's your 'House Personality' type?

Which answer best describes you:

a) I don't think about how my home looks. It's just a place for me to live.

b) I consult with an interior designer every time I make a home-wares, furniture or redecorating decision.

c) I can envision my perfect, dream home, but the reality is a little different.

Most people are probably a c).

We lust after what we see in interior design magazines; we trawl Pinterest with a longing eye or keep "For My Dream Home" files of magazine tear-outs. Everything we'd love our perfect, future home to be.

But the reality is a little different. We work with what we've got and what we can afford. We do actually love our real homes; we create them to be comfortable, practical and hope they reflect an element of taste and style.

Over the years I have been fortunate enough to be invited into many homes through my work as an artist and designer. From Geneva to Sydney and everywhere in between, the one thread which links all of my clients is their pride in the 'personal stuff'. How they helped design the master suit layout, or the story behind treasures collected on world trips, or how they met the artist behind their favourite painting, or what they created with their own hands.

And when people design their own chairs online with My Bespoke Chair, there is always a reason why. For the nursery, to celebrate a milestone birthday, a new home-office chair for a new business venture...

Everyone has a story to tell.

And stories are what give our homes personality. And personality is very important when making your house a home. Your home should tell the story of you.

So this year, I have declared 2014 The Year of You & Your Beautiful Home.

What does this mean in terms of my plans for marketing and growing My Bespoke Chair?

It means that every piece of content I create in 2014, from my newsletter to my social media, will have the underlying theme of helping people make their homes personal, creative and beautiful - whatever their individual perception of beautiful is.

And I am launching a new range of cushions, all made from the fabrics I designed for My Bespoke Chair and all made-to-order in Australia. A custom cushion at a high street price. The launch is also part of The Year of You & Your Beautiful Home theme - something special, hand-made and made-to-order but at a lower price point.

Whether redecorating, renovating, moving, starting a new phase in life or simply indulging, I want to show that creating a personal, interesting and beautiful home is perfectly possible. Hunting, collecting, fossiking, making, creating and co-designing are all great ways to add personality to your home.




Want to be part of our growing VIP newsletter and get useful interior design tips, special offers and behind-the-scenes insights? Or be the first to find out when our new cushions are for sale? Sign up here

My Top 5 List of Stuff

I have started this blog post many times, only to abandon one topic for another. Brain chaos!

I think, "Ooh, yes, a blog post on Google Analytics - good for understanding site traffic data."

Then I think, "But no, explaining what an Elevator Pitch is might be more useful."

And then I remember my excitement at the record number of people who signed up for my newsletter today.

Plus, I received a really lovely email that I wanted to share with you. Not forgetting how I smashed it up at the gym this morning too - the endorphin rush was magical.

Focus. This is what I am lacking today. Generally I am very good at focusing. I have a plan. Tasks lined up to get me from A to B and onwards to Z.

So, I will harness the chaos and turn it into order. Here are my micro-blog posts:

1. Google Analytics
Numbers and I do not get on. I'm a words and pictures girl. But understanding the traffic flow to your site is crucial. You've got to know what's going on 'under the hood'. So here's some key points for My Bespoke Chair:

75% of visitors are new, 25% returning
Visitor Location - Australia 80.85%, UK 5.39%, USA 4.92%
Sales Location - Australia 100%
Traffic Sources - Direct 44.9%, Search 25.4%, Referral 29.7%
Homepage Bounce Rate - 31.5% (industry average is 20-40%, so we're doing OK)
Average pages per visit - 3.62
Best referral sites - Pinterest (averaging 8:36 minutes on site) Facebook (46.53% of all referral visitors)
Ranking on Google for 'chairs' - 3rd (behind Ikea, Ebay)
Ranking on Google for 'custom chairs' - 1st and 2nd

 Conclusions - as a school report card, it says "Good effort, some nice results but could do better."
   
2. Elevator Pitches
Imagine you have 1 minute to tell someone what you do. What do you say? How can you possibly convey your passion, knowledge and the complexities of your business in just 60 seconds?

This is called the Elevator Pitch - simulating the short time alone with someone in a lift before they reach their floor. The door opens half way through your fascinating, long-winded explanation and Ciao, they're gone. Opportunity missed.

You will need an Elevator Pitch when speaking to a) potential investors b) potential customers c) key influencers

My elevator pitch:
Design your perfect chair online. At My Bespoke Chair the customer is the designer. We are part of a growing, global retail trend called Mass Customisation or Co-Designing. Using our intuitive and simple design tool, you can choose the chair style, wood finish, trim and fabric combinations. Spin your design 360 degrees and view it from 8 angles. You design it - we create it and deliver it to your door. Feel the joy of designing something yourself. We want you to say "I designed this."

3. The Importance and Joy of Newsletters
Growing your online business means growing your list. Not everyone who visits your site is ready to buy; sometimes it takes months for someone to be ready, if ever. But they love your product. You want your product to be top of mind, tip of tongue. So you invite them to subscribe to your company newsletter. You offer an ethical bribe in exchange for their email address; a free e-book or gift voucher etc.

Now you can communicate directly with them. They have invited you into their private email in-box and it's your duty to deliver value. Special offers, company news, product information, competitions and related topics of interest.

Yesterday was a booming day for us in the media; interview with Women Love Tech, articles on Babyology and in Real Weddings magazine. Site traffic surged, newsletter subscriptions rocketed. I felt such joy knowing that people loved My Bespoke Chair and felt inspired to discover more and be part of our community.

4. The lovely email
Getting emails and feedback from customers and people who follow us, our community, is always brilliant. Recently, we ran a 'Win a Cushion' competition on social media and through the newsletter. A winner was drawn and emailed the good news.

Here is our winner's response:

Thank you! I'm looking forward to receiving it! 

I've just been reading your blog and I just wanted to say I've really enjoyed what I've read so far, particularly the 'How to Get Media Coverage' post.  I've just moved to Sydney from the UK and I'm interning for an interior design company and it's been really interesting to find out about My Bespoke Chair.  I love how you personalise everything, it really does feel like a community! 

Thanks again for the cushion, 

5. Gym Bunnies
By now, you probably know that I love, love, love spin classes. But....

Have you ever rowed 200m in 46 seconds? Three times. That is what I did at the gym this morning. Fi, my fabulous personal trainer, was impressed. After the PTS nausea subsided (which Fi didn't see after I staggered out!) the rush of endorphins was amazing. Bring on Friday's double spin, I say!


So there you have it - a comprehensive brain dump. Next time I promise to be more focused!




Like what you just read? Sign up for our newsletter and get $300 off your perfect chair. Plus plenty of free interior design tips, special offers and behind-the-scenes photos.