Friday, March 13, 2009

The modern wedding... a seismic shift?



This lovely little vintage 50's number has been drastically altered to fit the "best woman" in anupcoming wedding. Isn't it a BEAUT?!

So...Is it the economy that is driving this movement towards really beautiful, useful, personal clothing?

I am seeing a sweeping change in attitudes from brides lately. The actual wedding, and by that I mean the actual getting married of it all, is taking precedence over the long held "princess for a day" notion. And boy, is it about time, or what?

I am meeting the woman who wants to look beautiful and special in a family heirloom, in a custom dress that suits her figure and the mood of the wedding, and the bride who would feel wildly out-of-place in one of those wildly expensive heavily-corseted or beaded suits of armour that pass for gowns these days. They are understanding that they will be photographed, and want to look like the best version of themselves on their wedding day.

Now, this is a movement I can get behind!

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

If you own a website, you are probably being solicited by companies offering you top placement in the search engines. While not a complete crock, the value of "more eyeballs" versus carefully targeted traffic is often overlooked. If you are able to come up with your own keywords, you can help yourself get better placement very easily.

For example, let's say you are a plumber in Garland, Texas. Well, when someone looks for you, what will they type? "Plumber" without a doubt. But hey, they probably want to find a listing of plumbers from which they may choose right? So, quite possibly, they will type "Plumbers". Not only that, only the ones near them are likely candidates for the job, so they may type in "Plumbers near Garland, Texas" Yes, use the whole phrase. They may type "plumbers in Garland, TX" They might forget just how global the web is, and type "Plumbers in Garland". You wouldn't believe how much these little things can help you to get found.

You'll also want to make sure that whatever you mention in your keywords is also blatantly apparent on your site. There is no reason to include Garland, TX in your keywords if you never mention it on the site.

Keep in mind that top placement might not be what you want if there is a limit to the number of people you can effectively serve. If you have a unique specialty, use it in your keywords or tags. The only plumber who knows how to install that yellow-bellied spigot from 1718 is a precious individual if you happen to own one. You might want top placement for "yellow-bellied spigot", though.

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Baltimore, MD - Association of Sewing and Design Professionals Conference

  Heading off to meet with colleagues, my fellow Board Members, and friends in Baltimore, MD for a few days of conference, meetings, and eve...