Each week the Etsy Labs critiques two brave sellers and gives them tips and tricks to enhance their shop. This week we'll be holding two critiques. The first Etsy Labs Shop Critique will be Thursday at 9PM EDT (that's NYC time) and the second will be at the usual time, Friday at 1PM EDT. Both online critique workshops will be in the Virtual Labs in the Treehouse room. If you'd like to volunteer to be critiqued, please add your name on this thread. See also, past Shop Critique articles.

Strumpfkunst was there taking notes and graciously offered to write this article about the last critique.  

With the new Etsy Virtual Labs, sellers now have a chance to get their shop critiqued in real-time, both by the Etsy webcam girls and other sellers present in the chat.

Some brave sellers agreed to have their shops critiqued this Friday, and the 40-minute session started out with Alyburd Designs.

To be honest, her shop already looks great when venturing there. The banner and avatar really match her style, and the high-quality photos with similar backgrounds give it a pulled-together look.

We especially like the angles at which she displays her pieces, and the consistent backgrounds throughout the shop. Some pieces, though — especially silver jewelry — might call for a tad more color to really bring them out, changing over to some colored backgrounds might be worth a try. For example this gorgeous bracelet:

Compared to this sterling silver ring by PreciousPups (daniellexo).

Some pictures also look as if they were taken with a flash; using natural lighting, for example on a window sill or a well-utilized light box, will probably get even better results.

Concerning the products' tags, adding the pieces' colors will help buyers find what they are looking for.

What we noticed immediately, though, are Aly's generally low prices and the lack of international shipping. Though her profile and shop announcement tells potential buyers to convo her for international shipping rates, we are concerned that buyers might not put in that extra effort. With a vast number of international sellers and impatience buyers on Etsy, offering standard international shipping on every listing's page is definitely a smart business move.

As for the low prices, some great pieces are currently finished off with silver plated chains or hooks. Our suggestion is to upgrade everything to sterling and higher-end materials (which are still not expensive), and raise prices to not just cover costs, but make a decent wage as well (tip: see bethela's series on pricing).

Since Aly is already doing some useful promotions (i.e. MySpace http://myspace.com/alisonburden), looking into additional avenues like starting a blog or Project Wonderful, where shops can bid on ad space, might be an idea for the future.

 "One other suggestion I have for Alyburd would be to find a design that sells well and then offer it in many different colors," says Daniellexo.

After Aly’s impressive performance, the Etsy Labs took the chance to do some quick critiques among other sellers, as well as share some of their favorites.

Lookability’s shop is a great example of someone offering different products in one shop and still pulling it off. All her pieces have a certain style, so that toys, pin cushions, art, and tidbits live happily next to each other.

Update: This photo of her toothly pin cushion was taken after the critique and looks great!

For some of her items, the busy backgrounds are taking away from the actual product. Especially when dealing with fabrics and playful, lively items, having a simple background will complement the item and pull buyers in.

Lookability’s shop also has some great items that would make awesome avatars, and rotating those as avatars would be considered a smart move.

Update #2: She did change her avatar! Here's her new one:

For anyone having difficulties with pictures’ sharpness and contrast, terrain's Storque article on light balance should be a great resource as well.

The shops that generally strike us as awesome and breath-taking are usually the ones where the whole package is right. Having unique items with a recognizable, signature style is certainly part of that, as well as kick-ass pictures.

If you are interested in getting some real-time feedback on your own shop, keep an eye out for the forum announcements and volunteer in the thread — our shop critique sessions will be scheduled regularly, and we promise to be gentle with anyone daring to have a go!