Dream Mountain Studio

Search Engine Optimization

Doris — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 23:44:55 +0000

I have learned a lot about websites since I first embarked on our business, Dream Mountain Studio.

My website has gone through several iterations, from having it built by a mega-website builder, to going with a guy who was developing a website builder for the consumer, to having a website built by a friend, to maintaining the site on my own.

Years ago, I was under the impression that the internet would embrace anything you put up on the web. In reality, I had no idea how and why things appeared as they did on search engine results. Through trial and error I found out there are ways of communicating with search engines called relevant keywords and search terms…you know, the words you put in your search. In order for your site to appear in a search, you need to have those search terms in your content. It’s a science and an art.

I have read for hours about this and I have talked for hours to people who wanted to sell me search engine optimization products. And there have been more than a few times that I have gone to that rodeo.

But last week, when the fellow from Paypal, who handles my shopping cart, called me to tell me about Payypal’s new Search Engine Optimization services…I was prepared and savvy. He had me right click on my home page and showed me several deficiencies in the source code. He told me that his crew would search my site and upgrade and fix anything that needed it.

That’s when I told him that I regularly go to my site through the back door and I could do any fixing that was needed. It turns out that he was just showing me some code that most/a lot of websites have and with some inquiry, I found that there was nothing inherently wrong or missing. He had just pointed me to something that “looked” suspicious so he could sell me something…a service for $80 per month.

But while I was inside the back door I decided to do some cleaning up and attend to some things I had neglected for a while, so it was a good thing.

Our Very Best New Art Deco Jewelry Box

Alice — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 22:10:37 +0000

We received a custom order for an art deco jewelry box with the initial of the recipient engraved in the top .

We absolutely LOVE this box and think we need to make it available in both kit form and already assembled. The beauty of it is our customers will be able to give the ultimate, intimate gift by having their loved one’s initial engraved on the top.

Love this! Can’t help it!

New Jewelry Boxes

Alice — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:02:03 +0000

We’ve been working on some new designs for both of our enterprises, Dream Mountain Studio and Ready To Build. They will all feature two drawers and two of them (so far) have a beautiful motif with a related quotation. I am trying to think of a snappy name for our new collection but so far all I have is Jewelry Cases…to distinguish them from the rest of our products. The inspiration came from a lovely lady who visited our shop a couple of months ago. She’s a quilter and she liked the simple lines of a lot of our motifs. I told her that I had “been inspired by” (nice words for copying) the quilting motifs I’ve seen on the internet. Later that day she brought me a fabulous book called Sashiko Designs by Syliva Pipper. That’s where I got the ocean motif and the fish motif. Thanks, Marcia!

Just Checking the RSS

Alice — Fri, 04 May 2012 00:17:31 +0000

There are so many things I don’t fully understand in life and on websites. I thought I had configured both of my sites so that posts from my blogs would show up on my Facebook page. Recently, however, that isn’t happening so I just “installed” the RSS thingy and am posting this to see what happens.

Sorry for the inconvenience…as if anyone is actually reading this!

Does Any of This Pinterest You?

Alice — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:42:34 +0000

I’m new to Pinterest and I was chatting with a buddy of mine and she does a lot of Pinning. I’ve spent the morning trying to unravel the intricacies of the Pinterest world. I added a Pinterest button to both of my websites Dream Mountain Studio and Ready to Build. Very cute. But I was on the actual Pinterest website on a page that says Goodiesand it says this: “Add a Pin It button to invite your readers to pin your work onto Pinterest. The Pin It button is made to look and feel like the Facebook and Twitter buttons your readers already use. For best results, place the Pin It button near your other social sharing tools.” It gives me the option to designate a particular picture and add some description which I like. I’m not sure where I’m supposed to copy and paste the code they gave me so I thought I’d try it in a relatively innocuous place before I totally screw up my home page, so here goes: In addition I’m supposed to add this to the page:

In Addition to Jewelry Boxes…

Alice — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:25:34 +0000

The other day one of our local June Lake residents stopped by the shop for the first time. She asked me if all we did was make jewelry boxes. Our show-room has all of our jewelry boxes displayed so it’s understandable that would be the impression people have but I wanted to make sure to let everyone know that we do at Dream Mountain Studio and that includes most woodworking activities. So Ed went to work and designed and machined our new signs which hang proudly underneath the great sign Megan made.(Didn’t I do a great job painting them??) And for good measure one is displayed on the side of the building where you can see it as you leave town.

Ready To Build Jewelry Box Kits

Alice — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:46:58 +0000

Igor at the bench

My most excellent webmistress, Doris Reilly, has pulled off a miracle and has got our sister website up and running before the Christmas rush. It’s called Ready To Build and it features all of the wonderful jewelry boxes and chests you see at Dream Mountain Studio in a very user friendly kit format. There is truly nothing like this available anywhere. I know, ’cause I’ve looked. So if you are interested in taking on the challenge of building one of our boxes and saving some money while you’re at it, or if you know someone who has the creative building gene check out our new site Ready To Build.

We Passed our Final!

Alice — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 21:37:24 +0000

Today, Ed met with our building inspector and we got signed off on our new shop. We’ve worked for a year to transform what was an old abandoned pizza parlor into our custom cabinet shop.Please stop in and say hello the next time you’re in June Lake, CA. We have all of our jewelry boxes and silverware chests displayed there and of course we love to take on any custom woodworking projects.

From Idea to Computer Screen

Alice — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 21:36:06 +0000

When we last met I was perusing my architectural and design books in search of inspiration for my new jewelry box to add to our collection. The next thing I do is go to the computer (I used to go to my drawing board) and draw the general shape of the jewelry box or jewelry chest. We provide ample drawers in our pieces so I know the height of each drawer. But the width is optional. If the motif I have chosen is square in nature like the daffodil jewelry chest, that will drive the shape of the box. When that is determined, I begin to use the drawing program to create a 3-D drawing of the box. This is something I could never do on the drawing board without a lot of difficulty. This drawing will allow me to look at the jewelry box or silver chest from all angles and it will give me all of the dimensions that I will need to cut out the parts accurately.

Looking for Inspiration

Alice — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:32:07 +0000

I imagine that people who don’t engage in design work are baffled by the process which transpires within the mind of the artist or design craftsman. I have done no extensive research on this subject and can only relate what goes on with me. When I know it’s time to start designing, either because I have a special show I am entering or a client wants me to submit some ideas or I want to add a new jewelry chest or silver storage box to our collection, I begin to look at things in a new way. I look at both buildings and landscapes searching for interesting ways that elements work together. I especially look for details and the way shadow plays between the elements in the scene I am appraising. I also take to my library of architecture books, not to copy ideas but to notice that very small detail that I have missed before. It can take just one tiny element to be the basis for an entire piece of furniture or jewelry chest. Next time I write. I will talk about how the idea becomes reality.