Q&A: Alice Wonders
By: Jessica Ling
We found a site that is so neat that we are going to do what we do best - share it! Some of you might have heard of it - Alice Wonders. A month-oldn online shopping realm that is a month old and TiC had an exclusive interview with Alice Wonders and the road to wonderland…
Fret not, we will be bringing you on a journey of all things Alice Wonders- from its creators, the site, up till their personal picks for this season!
TiC: How did the name Alice Wonders come about? An avid fan of Alice in Wonderland I presume?
AW: Well, we were really looking for a name that will capture the idea of an “alternative shopping world”. And here, the concept of Alice in Wonderland fit so perfectly. It’s about a girl trying to find her way in a crazy world (aren’t we all?); it’s an adventure; it’s unpredictable; and best of all, it has this sense of eccentricity that gives us room to offer shoppers a little mischievous humor and surprise! In a nut shell, it’s what we would love to call “fashion shopping with a twist”.
TiC: When did Alice Wonders launched? And where are you based?
AW: AliceWonders.com officially launched on 15th Oct 2008, so yes, we are spanking new. We are based in Malaysia.
TiC: Can u give us a lowdown on the masterminds behind Alice Wonders?
AW: The business is founded by two friends, who are basically very restless people and love to argue about ideas, jaded about corporate life and one fine morning decided to quit the rat race and start something we could call our own.
Both of us have been known to taking the road less trodden. Some examples, both of us come from engineering background, but upon graduation, joined the FMCG beauty industry.
The girl – Hui Woon: “Mid 20s. I've a peculiar habit of wondering too much (yes, that’s another interpretation of AliceWonders) and tame my restlessness with shopping sprees, but once the purse doesn't allow it, I’ll need to release the extra energy by doing crazy things like cycling from Johor to Kelantan. I'm not joking."
The guy - Kok Hin: “I’m in my mid-twenties, rare guy who has a thing for fashion, but my first love still goes to travelling and backpacking. And I bet I’ve probably accumulated more toiletries and cosmetics than most girls, which I never use!”
TiC: Besides being the owners of this neat shopping site, do you have a day job (besides shopping that is)?
AW: Apart from shopping AND escorting the White Rabbit to visit its fans… we are fully focused on this growing baby 24/7.
TiC: Who does the website? Did you create the layout and take your own pictures?
AW: The whole website is a “two-(wo)men” show, apart from the more technical part of the website, which is managed externally. Graphics, layouts, themes, look and feel, photography, copywriting, racking for fresh articles, delivery… are all handled solely by both of us.
TiC: Where do you source your items?
AW: We have a variety of locations, as different countries offer different selections of bags.
TiC: So secretive. Do you design some of those bags? Or planning to do so?
AW: Currently, the designs are by the manufacturer’s in-house designers, but most of the colorful and artsy fabric/canvas bags you see are unique collections from talented designers that we know. We wholeheartedly want to help local up and coming designers interested to sell on our site. In the future, we will definitely introduce our own designs, for our fans who would love to carry a piece of AliceWonders with them.
TiC: How frequent can we expect new arrivals to come in and what is the price range like?
AW: New arrivals are introduced every week, as we need to be on par with the fast pace of fashion trends. When it comes to pricing, we consciously price ourselves lower than a normal retail store, as we are returning the savings from opening a physical store, back to the customers. So prices can range from RM15.90 for a cute sling bag, to above RM150 for designer quality bags.
We currently charge an additional RM7 for standard delivery, but that is waived once purchases reach RM80 and above. This is an environmental conscious policy to encourage our shoppers to combine shopping baskets.
TiC: Most of the items are “sold out”. Do you restock on your best sellers?
AW: We only restock items upon fervent request. Each design comes in very few pieces in order to make sure our customers are getting something unique.
TiC: What is this “hunting score board” all about? Mind filling us up on your site lingo(s)?
AW: Our lingos are all created on a whim. Shoppers will discover the site is peppered with references to the Alice in Wonderland story… E.g. “Down the rabbit hole” (which leads to our yummy products), “Teapot Hot”, gloved hand cursors that seem to be pointing everywhere…
As part of our launch campaign, we’ve actually played Santa Claus by giving out free bags. We organized a week-long rabbit hunt on our website, which offers a free bag of his/her choice. (“Find the White Rabbit and Win A FREE BAG of your choice”). Of course, this hunt caused some serious addiction, especially the gung-ho ones would be busy looking for tips on our facebook, sitting in front of the internet waiting for rabbit release time…
TiC: Your site sells mostly bags, is there a plan to have the whole she-bang like stocking up on shoes and clothes into Alice Wonders?
AW: We’ll bring whatever our shoppers want! After all, we’re all about making a girl’s shopping fantasy come true! But I think more importantly, we are aiming everyday to surprise and delight anyone who takes time to surf our site and buy from us. From the fact that we run promotions so differently (which other websites asks you to go rabbit hunting?), a real rabbit for sale in our site, to the little things we do like inserting a surprise gift into every bag that we deliver!
TiC: Can we have a sneak peek into what’s “coming soon”?
AW: Staying true to the promises we made to our fans (who were addicted by the rabbit hunt), we are inviting everyone to our online version of a “Mad Tea Party”. If anyone feels like a dose of madness on any given day, come visit our site. We have an irresistible promotion that will drive girls MAD ;)
TiC: What’s your favourite brand?
KokHin - Would I be bias to say AliceWonders? For woman fashion, I like D&G.
HuiWoon – I particularly love brands that have a strong sense of authenticity and do more than being a piece of (overpriced) clothing. Brands like United Colors of Benetton (or what it used to be), Diesel, Moschino…
TiC: Your current trend?
KokHin - Bright colors like yellow and red, but also the new black+white. Classy designs with tasteful accessories are of course timeless.
HuiWoon – I have a weak weak spot for anything chiffon! I love the return of boho/gypsy fused into modern styles, and how everything is moving into more colors.
TiC: What is your staple item in your wardrobe?
KokHin - A nice pair of soft jeans
HuiWoon – Dangly earrings!
TiC: What is in your must buy /wish list this season?
KokHin – I’ve already got mine! A pair of D&G jeans!
HuiWoon – Dying to find THE versatile jacket that goes from formal to casual, with a killer cut!
Click here and let’s go for tea!
Picture Credits: Alice Wonders.
AliceWonders.com is launching a “Mad Tea Party” and you are invited!
Mad Tea Party is an exclusive 24-hour online shopping party for all bag addicts out there! it’s a party to experiencing every touch of madness a shopping realm could possibly give. Prices on over a hundred bags will go berserk, shrinking and increasing randomly every hour and not forgetting huge discounts up to 70%.
In addition to mad crazy sales, AliceWonders are also launching an exclusive one day free delivery and membership program!
And the only catch…
“The only catch? We don’t serve food! So bring your own couch potato snacks while doing cyber shopping!”
Make sure to join in the madness!
Date: Thursday 4th Dec 2008
Time: 12:00am – 11:59pm
Venue: www.alicewonders.com
