Trying to do it all

Here are photos of some pillows I made last week. I spent alot of time photographing, staging photos, playing with different camera settings. I find it helpful to go online and look for pics of how other designers stage their photos of similar products (for inspiration, not plagiarism).

For example, I think pillows often look best photographed with other pillows. They also look better when photographed on a chair, as opposed to a plain white background. (Also, I'm not totally pleased with the pillow forms I have. They're a little too fluffy for my taste. Can anyone suggest some not-too-fluffy pillow forms?) I still haven't found the right set up for how to photograph pillows, but I'm trying different things and I'm sure I'll find something I like. Though now I totally understand why someone would want to hire out this whole process to a professional. Right now I've got more time than money so I'm taking the I-can-do-it-all approach (it's not ideal but it's the only option right now). That includes playing around with web design as well. Now this is way  harder than I thought it would be. After hours of playing around with Nvu and GIMP, I decided to revert to the simplest design possible and came up with this.

I've only made a home page and I'm positive it won't stay this way. But I'll put this screencap and photos up here so that we can look back a few months from now and see how far I've come as a web designer and photographer :). Choosing to undertake design of a webpage myself has made me realize how important color, photography and layout are. They truly make the difference between a good and a bad page.

Finally, and I believe I've touched on this before: I like the idea of giving rifferaff a structure. Meaning, I don't think I want to just make whatever I fancy with whatever materials happen to be around. I'm trying to come up with a collection of maybe 4 or 5 pieces (bags, pillows, sachets) in a few different color schemes, using about 4 of my stamps.  I think this is a more  professional way of presenting my work, and it also makes it easier to pursue wholesale opportunities, because it means the products are predictable. I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down what the colors, patterns and products will be. I've just ordered a whole bunch of inks (DickBlick had better pricing on the inks I wanted than Dharma Trading) and I'm ready to go.

Comments

[sulu-design]

I'm really impressed with the business mind that you're approaching this with. You photos and home page look fabulous (and I know how much work goes into getting a few shots that you're pleased with). Your ideas about structure and how it will affect wholesale options are making me look at my approach to my mini-business in a whole new light. Best of luck to you in the rest of this process. I love that you're posting about all of it - it's helpful and inspiring.