Name of your website?Wood On Water
Your name?
Amy Price-Marcotte
Your Location (city, etc)
75 Water st. Eastport, Maine 04631
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Handcrafted wooden home decor and giftware, which is custom woodburned, and hand painted. very unique, intricate designs. Custom work done from photos or other images provided by our clients. Pet portrait keepsake boxes/urns, family crests, maps etc. Very personalized, one of a kind pieces. boxes, chests, wallboards,lapdesks, chair rails, wine carriers to name a few. Complete satisfaction guaranteed.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
I have been doing this work for twenty five years as a hobby. when I moved to Eastport from MA three years ago, I decided to do this full time, with my husband Dave. Because of the remote location of Eastport, we felt a website was critical for gaining exposure.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
It was launched in September of 2006, and was the same one it is now.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
We work with wood, and the shop sits right on the seawall, hence "Wood On Water"
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
We have been told consistently, that our work is not seen elsewhere. The designs I choose to work with are unique and often very intricate, detailed images, such as antique world maps, works of Albrecht Durer. Also,I handpaint the majority of my pieces, which many woodburners do not.Finally, we highly personalize each piece to meet our clients wishes, which we feel is appreciated, and not seen as much these days.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
We would like to make enough money from this to be financially stable.We would like to get into more specialty work like custom chair rails,which I think would be a goldmine with the right exposure.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
I am fortunate, that my sister owns the building,where my business is and the website, which she has done to help me. i know that I have not made enough to offset the money she put into it.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would upgrade our workshop, and hire someone to optimize my website to get more traffic, do advertising and promoting.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I would probably have to raise my prices, which I have been told that I could do, and still be reasonably priced. Also, I imagine I would have to have waiting lists available. I never want this to be an assembly line kind of thing. Each piece takes time and devotion, which is what makes them special.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The biggest obstacle I have encountered, is from being in an economically depressed area, which is remote as well. Also financial limitations, and not being proficient with computer work.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Probably financial. I really believe I have something special, but I don't have the money to do the website upgrading and promoting I need to do, or the knowledge to do it myself.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Word of mouth, definitely.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
Like many artists, I had neither business or computer experience, and viewed websites as advertising, rather than an extension of the business, that has to be promoted. I have done some link exchanges and had some seo work done, but I have had almost no orders in the year that my site has been up
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
One year. I intend to keep it indefinitely, and to upgrade it as soon as I can afford to do it.
Replace this with a question of your own
How do I make my site more visible, that is inexpensive, but known to be effective
What is your website address?
Wood On Water
