This new home goods website Teroforma means well, but the navigation is horrible. They should've minded everyone's warnings about sites done entirely in Flash.
https://teroforma.com/
The article below is what HFN's Allison Zisko had to say about it. If Ms. Zisko or anyone at Teroforma has any thoughts, I'm happy to take posts on this. Thank you.
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New Site Promotes the Customized Table
05/19/08
By Allison Zisko
NEW YORK–A newly launched Web site, “designed by consumers for consumers,” promises a new way of thinking about and shopping for tabletop.
Teroforma, established online in March by former investment banker Andrew Hellman, offers an interactive forum that enables consumers to mix and match dinnerware, glassware, flatware and linens on a virtual table, while learning about the artisans who designed them.
Hellman said the site was borne out his own frustration buying home furnishings: After moving back to the United States after several years abroad, he and his wife were hard-pressed to find furnishings in the mid to upper price range that offered a design statement but were also casual and easy to care for. He said the same held true for tableware.
Hellman grew up in the hotel business (his father ran the Waldorf Astoria hotel) so he is familiar with the tabletop industry, while his Swedish-born wife is “passionate about Scandinavian design.”
The pair quit their respective jobs and established a business that set out to answer the questions they think most shoppers have in common.
Read the rest of article at HFNmag.com
My column in Tableware Today magazine
For one year, I wrote a column for Tableware Today magazine about online marketing. Please find those articles below:
Aug / Sept 2006: 10 Questions on Retail Website Design
Dec /Jan 2007: Getting Started
Feb / March 2007: Google
April / May 2007: Brands: Lead Your Retailers On the Online Path
June / July 2007: Driving Traffic to Your Website
Aug / Sept 2007: Your Tableware Television Network
Sept 2007: Become a Tableware Titan: Rupert Murdoch and the Tableware Industry
Jason Solarek - Marketing and Communications Advisor
- Jason Solarek
- New York, New York, United States
- Jason Solarek is Creative Director of the Solarek Studio, a Manhattan-based design and marketing company. A graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, he brings a critical and creative eye to the industry. Contact Jason at 212-254-9654 or jason@solarek.com.
Solarek Studio Services
About Solarek Studio
1) How do we deliver value?
2) Who do we deliver our services to?
3) How do we deliver our services?
2 comments:
Hi Jason,
Thanks for posting about Teroforma. Under the heading any publicity is good publicity I suppose.
I am not sure that "avoiding flash" is good advice. Although I am sure 120 years ago there were people saying avoid the combustion engine as everybody rode by on horses - I wouldn't call it a particularly perceptive point of view. Isn't that what you are setting out to offer your readership - the quality of your perspective on the tabletop market and internet marketing and how they can use it to stand out? Safe advice is not necessarily the same thing as good advice, but I'm sure you know that.
In case you don't, let me propose that you use the example of our site as a starting point for a quick note or perhaps even a series of notes on how to use flash and other web 2.0 technology [properly] to really build brand presence and uniqueness. As I am sure you are aware, some of the leading minds in the marketing/e-commerce industry are talking daily about the fact that the web as a true brand tool is still in its infancy and that there is vast potential for companies that use/interpret new personal media technologies to their advantage. I am sure that your thoughts on how companies can best apply themselves to get ahead, not just keep up, would be most welcome.
I've read some of the material on your site and think you should be able to come up with more for your readers on Teroforma and its site than "I don't like it" - which, frankly, is the battle cry of the irrelevant critic.
I am happy to take criticism, and know very well that it is crucial for development. So, if you have the time, please take another stab at our site and let me know - let all of us know - how better to use the fast approaching world of mobile 3G, wireless broadband and faster processing to market effectively. I can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Kind regards//Andrew
Hi Andy,
I read your reply...and don't really see any 'meat' in the post. Most importantly, I didn't read that Flash is as good and useful overall as HTML. I don't see this in your post, but you're the Co-Founder & CEO of Teroforma.com, so of course you take my comments, apparently, personally. I'm giving you my professional advice after seeing thousands of sites. If you don't like, that's ok. Yet, I notice you don't dispute the key point: your site would be better today if it didn't have all that gook. I'm available to offer help if you'd like: jason@solarek.com. You're welcome hire my company to help your site. You have the inspiration and products; it's now a matter of making operate easily for consumer. And, please stop putting crap like this on my blog: "let me propose that you use the example of our site as a starting point for a quick note or perhaps even a series of notes on how to use flash and other web 2.0 technology [properly] to really build brand presence and uniqueness. As I am sure you are aware, some of the leading minds in the marketing/e-commerce industry are talking daily about the fact that the web as a true brand tool is still in its infancy and that there is vast potential for companies that use/interpret new personal media technologies to their advantage." That is just marketing lingo garbage. Do you actually talk like that? You're too smart to. Thanks, Andy. ; )
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