I’m having an online love affair. It’s with Luvocracy, a new curated social shopping site where I have just been invited as a Tastemaker.  I got wind of Luvocracy through my friend, Los Angeles interior designer Christian May, one of the earliest Tastemakers on the site. A bit like Pinterest married Amazon with a personal shopper, Luvocracy is where your trusted friends and influencers recommend products that you can then buy on the spot without leaving the page.

1. Luvocracy is for everyone.
It’s democratic, meaning anyone–yes, that includes you–can participate like you would on Pinterest. You begin my creating themed “collections” which are similar to Pinterest’s boards. You then start adding product recommendations to your collections either from the web or from someone else’s collection. You “trust” friends and influencers on Luvocracy much like you “follow” pinners and boards on Pinterest. Perusing Luvocracy for people to “trust” other than Christian, I found many  Tastemakers whose taste I already trusted–like Jaime Derringer of Design Milk, Joy Cho of Oy Joy, Erin Hiemstra of Apartment34–because knew them from Twitter, their blogs, and Pinterest. I found some folks new too whose picks I love–like Vane Broussard of Brooklyn Bride.

2. Luvocracy is social.
I just sold my first item today (yes!), a Simple Garden Kit, and was invited to send a personal message to the buyer, which of course I did thanking him profusely for making my day. How nice is that analog real-life personal touch? And, like many sites these days, Luvocracy is social so you can share your (or someone else’s) products and send personal messages.

3. Luvocracy is your personal shopper.
Each day Luvocracy creates a “Just-For-You” catalogue (below) of new products recommended by the people you trust and organized by your interests, like Home, Garden, etc. And–here is the best and most unique part–if the product you want is sold out at one place, Luvocracy will search the world for you to find some place where it’s in stock. And, if the product is out of stock everywhere, they will even let the product’s designer know that you’d like to purchase it, giving the designer the opportunity to make more for you if possible. Luvocracy’s shopping assistant also locates the item at the best price, places the order, and even assists with future returns. I have never found that anywhere else.

4. Luvocracy makes available products from small indy makers as well as bigger retailers.
Because products are hand-picked by curators you trust, you will find a wide range of sources from the small independent artisan makers to the larger retailers and some in between.

6. Luvocracy pays you.
Think of it like a democratic sourcing of products. Every Luvocracy user earns a commission when someone purchases their recommended product, and also when someone purchases your re-recommended product. Commissions can be used as credits toward a purchase of your own on the site or Luvocracy will send you a check.

7. Luvocracy works for you.
Although you can of course buy a recommended product anywhere you’d like, Luvocracy really makes it easy, safe, and efficient for you by finding the product at the best price, and you don’t have to give your credit card information to a hundred different merchants–you give your credit card and shipping information on Luvocracy once, after which you can buy anything on the site with just a few clicks. And they do not share your information with the vendors. Think one stop shopping with a personal shopper.

Luvocracy is still by invitation only, so here’s your personal invitation to sign up and start spreading the Luv. (ps. they’re offering free shipping until midnight tonight 12/16!)