Check out this newly launched site called Varvana. Fred Albert is the creator for this new site, and here is what he has to say about it:
“Varvana will take the idea of the design magazine and expand it for the digital age, offering readers the opportunity to peruse thousands of interiors culled from the portfolios of the nation’s top designers and architects–all free and in one location. It’s as if you picked up a copy of House Beautiful, except instead of finding eight houses inside, you found 800. Projects will be categorized by style and location, so readers can use Varvana to locate a designer or architect in their area. We’ll also have articles, interviews, product information, and tours of exclusive trade shows and show houses. It’s our hope that we end up with the single greatest collection of high-end residential design in the country. What’s especially cool about Varvana is that we’re NOT charging designers to post their projects on the site. Every photo will be accompanied by the designer’s name and a link to his or her Web site. And it’s OK if the project has already been published (a great way for designers to get extra exposure for something that’s already been seen in print.) Of course, there are a couple of rules: All the projects have to be professionally photographed. And we won’t be accepting everything that’s submitted, in order to maintain the site’s quality. But if designers already have their portfolios on their own Web sites, they can post them on Varvana, too, and get a lot more traffic for no money and little effort. Marketing doesn’t get much easier than that.”
I shared this information yesterday with an appreciative audience of 100 designers at a keynote at the Third Thursday professional development meeting at the Seattle Design Center, and every single person in the room took note of this new website and agreed to visit and explore ways to contribute.
What a fun presentation yesterday to an appreciative audience of buzz worthy and buzz seeking business owners. I can’t wait to receive additional invitations to speak to equally enthusiastic audiences in 2009. If you make those decisions or know people who do, I welcome your calls and inquiries at 425-641-5214. With the economy giving everyone a run for the money, the timing could not be better to empower others with the tips, resources, inspiration, and ideas to deploy the power of do-it-yourself publicity to their advantage.
