evon cassier is the oh. so. clever. mind behind cleverscene.  her bags are all made out of upcycled thrift suits, and perfectly fit her motto- clever. stylish. functional.  she believes that “you’ve got to give a little to take a little” and so shops at non-profit thrift stores as a way of donating to charity as she does business.

evon believes that every garment is just waiting to begin a new life- and maybe they were always meant to be a handbag!  i love that she takes these otherwise unlucky suits, gives them little love and reconstruction, and turns them into beautiful handbags that leaves nothing to be desired.  she works in the original pockets, buttons and zippers- which not only give them character, but also allows them to tell a bit of their story. you can also visit her website here.

last week was all about seo, this week is about google base.  what is google base? google base is a place where you can easily upload all you online goodies, which will make them more searchable on google. you can describe any item you post which will help people find it when they do related searches.  based on your items’ relevance, searchers may find your items in their results for both google’s product search as well as their main web search.

autumn harvest wreath

simply put? if you schedule your items to be uploaded to google base, then google will be able to find them more easily.  if google can find them, you can bet your shoppers will be able to find them as well.  which means! google base is a great way to increase your exposure (aka increase sales, buy that new rug etc etc).

eglantine french embellished tee

here is an awesome thread on google base- but i am going to try to condense the info for you (who wants to read all 198 pages? not me!).

wire storage basket

thanks to the awesome job that etsy’s technology help blog does, my homework was made a little easier.  they have provided us with very thorough step by step instructions on how to upload all of our items to google base (thank you!).

milk white scarf

it only takes a few minutes to schedule uploads from your shop, here are the instructions (time to get your tech face on):

1. log into google base with your google account (you do have one, don’t you?).
2. click on the “settings” tab and fill in your information. when entering your website address, use the etsy address with your shop number and not your shop name.
3. click “save changes.”
4. click the “my items” tab.
5. click the “data feeds” tab.
6. click the “new data feed” button.
7. select your country.
8. for “select the type of item in your data feed,” select “products.”
9. for “select the type of the data feed you’re registering,” select “googlebase.”
10. your data feed filename is your shop name followed by .xml. example: etsylabs.xml
11. click the “register data feed” button.
12. refresh the page.
13. click the blue “edit” link right next to your xml filename.
14. change the encoding setting to UTF-8 and change the file format to XML. All other settings can be left the same.
15. go to your etsy shop and scroll down to the bottom right. click “subscribe to shop feed.” copy the address of the page.
16. back on google base, click on “create” right next to “schedule.”
17. paste the address you copied from your etsy page into “url of file.” (it will look like this, with “rss” in the url: http://www.etsy.com/rss_shop.php?user_id=5029420.) you can choose how often you would like it to upload your items. Click “schedule” and your shop items will now be fetched regularly by google and should start to appear in google product search results for the keywords in your item titles within a few hours of being processed.



tin art :: analog bird

that wasn’t so bad, was it? let me know if you have any questions!

wrap up: {etsy savoir faire} {etsy shop help} {google base} {shop owner}

visit tree of may for adorable buttons, mirrors, coasters, key chains and more (they’re even all made from upcycled neckties)! thanks for advertising with going home to roost!

wrap up: {advertising} {buttons} {etsy} {mirrors} {upcycled}

have you guys checked out ruche? they are a beautiful online vintage-inspired modern boutique based out of california.  their items are so unique and lovely!  they even include a handmade section and an eco friendly section in their shop.  best of all? you won’t break your purse shopping with them.  also, visit their  blog for loads of inspiration and eye candy.

listed above from left to right*ish :: gerbadaisy hobo purse in flamingo {38.99} :: eggplant ruffle sweater dress {42.99} :: banana creme pie embroidered dress {32.99} :: blueberry chamomile cropped cardigan {39.99} :: silk sheer bow charcoal blouse {44.99} :: kiev chunky sweater cardigan {59.99} :: baby blue shorts {30.99} :: beige lino cuts a line skirt {32.99} :: anguilla long striped tunic {32.99} :: albuquerque leather belt {19.99} :: G.O. Max Bianca lace up oxfords in caramel {32.99} ::

can you tell that i’m *loving the first signs of cool weather? what’s it like in your city? the high here yesterday was 72 which means i needed a sweater in the evening (my favorite).

wrap up: {boutique} {clothing} {fashion} {ruche} {rushe} {vintage}