Blog
February 18, 2014
Client to Know: Ginger Jenne, Graphic Designer and Web Developer!
Running your own business you soon learn to focus on what you’re good at…and outsource the rest. That’s why we were psyched to meet Ginger Jenne, a terrific graphic designer and website developer…and a really nice person as well!
Ginger’s a great resource for creating or freshening your WordPress blog or website. Last year Jane and I got a chance to work with Ginger as our client in which she art directed our photo shoot of Hartford Symphony Orchestra Director Carolyn Kuan and designed the brochures and a huge banner hanging from the Bushnell theater…we loved the results! Ginger recently launched her own web design, graphic arts, and branding company, Jenne Design, based in Hartford CT..here’s some Q&A with Ginger who you can contact at [email protected]. Thanks Ginger!
How did you grow your career as a WordPress website developer?
Many years ago, I started by building and practicing on old HTML websites, which is a good base. I learned on my own by dabbling with code. Clients started requesting their sites on a Content Management System (CMS). So I started designing websites in Photoshop, where I would just send it out to a CMS developer to get built. That’s about when I met a local CMS developer who created their own proprietary system. The system was great at first, but that was right about when most CMS’s were in their infancy and there wasn’t a big player yet. The CMS market evolved so fast and during that time I was able to play with a lot of different ones. Eventually, on the recommendation of the CMS developer I met, he pushed me in the direction of WordPress. He abandoned his own system to instead use WordPress as well. Since then, all I have been using is WordPress and it’s hands-down, in my opinion, one of the most designer friendly web tools out there.
January 28, 2014
2014 Sundance Film Festival – Our Movie Reviews
Jane and I just got back from the Sundance Film Festival out in Park City, Utah–had lots of fun watching the films and meeting so many nice folks along the way. That’s the bonus to Sundance…you find yourself meeting so many attendees on the bus and in line, talking about movies and life in general. We didn’t even ski…a real different vacation, kind of like camp for adults. Check Sundance out some year…we’ll post some tips we learned to help you out.
Right to the movies…below are photos from Hellion, starring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, with a wonderful performance by newcomer Josh Wiggins. Set around Galveston TX, it’s the story of a family’s struggle with death, parenting and the acting-out of its 13 year old. Very Sundance in its emotional, dysfunctional themes.
Skeleton Twins: Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig star as twins alongside Luke Wilson and Ty Burrell in this drama with lots of funny riffing. An emotional story about coming to terms with both adulthood and one family’s mental illness and dysfunction. Hader especially shines here. This movie got picked up for a later summer release.
Lambert & Stamp: Who knew? The story of odd couple Kit Lambert (gay posh Oxford boy) and Chris Stamp (straight working class Joe) in 60s London who discover The Who (known as the High Numbers back then) and wheel and deal their band to stardom. Fantastic movie with all kinds of vintage footage, and honest “looking back on life” commentary by Stamp along with Pete Townsend and Roger Daltry. Nice retrospective on where rebellious rockers came from in post-war Britain. Seek this out, it’s not just for Who fans.
The Trip to Italy: Another Brit flick, this follows on 2010’s The Trip, which pairs comedian / actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on an Italiano road trip, eating their way from the Piedmont to the Amalfi Coast. Lots of impersonations and humor along the way.
The Lunch Box: Set in Mumbai, this movie stars Irrfan Khan (from Life of Pi and many other Bollywood films) and premiered at Cannes last spring. It focuses on isolation and human connections in modern Indian urban life. Starting with a lunchbox mix-up (some 6,000 men work in Mumbai delivering metal lunchboxes from homes to offices), a real relationship develops for two lonely souls.
Life After Beth: A most welcome light-hearted Sundance movie, with lots of “names” in the cast, including John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, and Anna Kendrick who star alongside the leads, Aubry Plaza and Dane DeHaan who are terrific. File this in the zombie love story category, managing to add something funny and new to the ever popular zombie genre.
Lastly, check out this video made by Sundance about the 10 days of the Festival…great insights into what Sundance is all about!
January 16, 2014
Photo 101 Class is Back! Tuesday, January 28th, 6:30-9:30 at the Studio!
New camera for the holidays that you don’t know how to use? Jane will be teaching her Photo 101 class again, covering all her favorite shooting tips plus teaching you how to use your camera without just setting it to “Program”! Class size is limited so to book or find out more, email [email protected] and come enjoy an evening at the studio!
