At the time I wasn’t thinking of it as a brave, pioneering experiment of online shops. I just figured it would save me the cost of printing and mailing catalogs while reaching a much larger audience. Targeted, even, thanks to search engines. Who knew it would be one of the very first of its kind. You know, even without advertising it anywhere but those search engines it still has proven to be moderately successful.

I art directed photos of each product to create a certain mood to go along with stories I wrote about finding the objects I later had manufactured in Bali. I realized that people usually buy these kinds of objects as an association with a cultural experience they had on an exotic vacation. By creating a sense of history behind the pieces through my own supposed experiences, I hoped to establish a connection between the customer and the handicraft.

During the recent redesign, I implemented SSL’s (secure socket layers for encrypted transactions) and a shopping cart system such as the ones I’ve made for my clients. The e-commerce model I developed here in 1994 has translated well for those Fortune 500 clients I have who also want to make money with the World Wide Web.

The site is a member of Mastercard’s “SmartShop!” merchant program and has participated in a few of Yoyodyne Entertainment’s EZSpree shopping contests in conjunction with American Express and, at other times, with Mastercard.