Seems a bit harsh - I do not see how it is spam asking people on this group who might be interested in the website for comments. However, I have now found the rec.crafts.textiles.marketplace, which is probably where I should have put the link in the first place.
I don't generally spam and have been posting for quite some time on other user groups which are more along the lines of my interests. As I said in the original post, I have set up this website for a friend who will no doubt join and post on these groups themself (as they are of no interest to me personally).
I am surprised by your comments that the design is slow to load - I am only on dialup (though I do use a good accelerator) and the main pages are quick enough to load here - maybe because it is a UK server and you are US based (?)- flashy websites are even slower to load - any pointers to some good textiles websites for me to look at??
Thanks for the comments anyway