My Mondo Trading
The Client
My Mondo Trading is a First Nations art gallery run by Annette Merz, shipping unique indigenous art to people across the globe. The aim is to bring the culture and art of the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest Coast to a wider audience. Every one of the pieces is unique, with its own provenance and a personal story behind it.
The Situation
Before we built the website. Annette had been mostly selling art as a hobbyist, through third party outlets and online markets such as UsedVictoria.ca and Amazon. This was not sustainable or lucrative enough for a full-time business.
One of the biggest problems with this approach are the fees they charge, as well as the percentages they take from every sale. On top of that, they were a poor fit for the well-crafted, deeply personal art that My Mondo offers. With a plethora of cheap options alongside them, and no chances to build a connection with customers, it wasn’t the right way to position My Mondo, or to reach the audience wanted.
Our Work
We wanted to deliver on two key components for My Mondo’s website - something that looked sleek and professional, providing the perfect vehicle for the art to express itself, and a functional user-friendly e-commerce site.
On the look, we went for an approach that sought to provide the online answer to a professional gallery, allowing people to not only browse and purchase, but to read about each the history of each piece and the artist behind it.
Aesthetically, we opted for brown tones that were in line with the style of West Coast indigenous art. These design choices helped to build the reputation of the gallery, and make sure it reflected the caliber of the art on display.
The Result
As a result of this design process My Mondo now has a number of high-end buyers, with many spending more than $5,000 per transaction from a range of repeat clients and international buyers. With these buyers, it’s the ability to establish a personal relationship and connection that really helps. This has given My Mondo the audience they need to showcase the fantastic art they have and ensure it reaches the right buyers.
Because of this, not only has Annette widened her client base, she has also broadened the range of artists she works with, with many artists seeking her out because of the website and its success, some of whom usually work exclusively with galleries. This shows the kind of prestige the website has given My Mondo.
Newsletter Success
Off the back of the success of the website, and the transformation of My Mondo into a fully-fledged business, Annette trusted us to create a newsletter - and it has been a runaway success. The week after the first email was sent out saw more business than she would usually get in a 2- or 3-month period. This newsletter is sent on a quarterly basis, and ensures she’s putting the best art in front of the right audience in a timely manner.
Special Features
- A mobile-first responsive design, optimized to display well on all devices from smartphones through to desktops
- Ability for sold products to stay on the front homepage for at least a week
- An easy to manage CMS (Content Management System)
- Credit card security protocols
- Custom shopping cart
- Displaying in USD as well as CDN
- Have “sales pending” on select products
- High quality images
- Product schema, doing the heavy lifting behind the scenes for search engines
- SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) for enhanced security
- Tools installed to curtail the plagiarism of the site
- User friendly shipping and billing address forms
Project Features
- Responsive website design
- Custom website design
- Full content management system
- Full e-commerce capabilities
- Image hosting and management
- SEO site content tailoring
“I was very impressed with the creative ideas of Radar Hill. Right away Dan and Roger were coming up with ideas and suggestions which sounded really good. I really appreciate that creativity and quick response. I really enjoyed working with you guys. We knew you understood our business. Not about the artwork exactly, but the business side of things. I am very happy with everything. The website has definitely paid for itself - I have so much exposure I can’t hide anymore!”
Annette Merz, My Mondo Trading