Bio

My Background

I’ve been offering creative and tech services since 1996 when I built my first website for a business. Over the years I’ve seen the internet change a lot! As I've worked with computers I've collected an interesting toolkit of tech skills and creative abilities that I now get the honor of sharing with people.

How I started doing this

When I think back, it was by way of curiosity and not being afraid to try things and experiment with software. As a shy kid who was fascinated with video cameras and computers, I found myself drawn to creativity and visual communications at a young age. I would create shows that I broadcast to the neighborhood from my front yard, even though my audience was imaginary. I didn’t feel the need for a “real” audience at the time, I suppose — just the act of using my creativity to produce something from my imagination was enough of a thrill.

Finding myself entering middle school and attempting to navigate that social scene as a highly sensitive person, video and computers drew me into a world where I was able to create without boundaries. My intense focus on computers took a toll on my social skills, but I got around to developing those later

As I entered high school in the mid 90’s, the "world wide web" was just gaining steam and it was an exciting time, full of wonder and possibility (and without the challenges of social media). I started learning Adobe Photoshop 3.0 and the principles of graphic design through self-study, while becoming fascinated with websites and how to create them. I would look at the source code behind pages and learn from the patterns I saw.

At age 16, I launched my first business website. It was for the company my father worked for, and after others saw it, they asked me to build theirs. I found myself with a web design & hosting business (first named Infinite Web Design) that I would carry on as my primary work for 17 years until 2012, when—like many others—I was forced to take a big step back and evaluate my life.

Over that journey I learned a lot about the technology behind websites, email and the internet as a whole. As clients needed services like website hosting, database driven custom websites, email and computer support, I attempted to provide it all—sometimes successfully and other times not. Over time and specific astrology transits, I was humbled until my ego dissolved into a more manageable size (thank goodness).

Toward the end of 2013 my life took a delightful but unexpected turn when I met my dear friend Lydia Love, and in 2014 we started Pure Love Chocolate — the original stevia-only chocolate brand. We launched it in Olympia, WA, living and working together there for 5 years as we built it from the ground up. This experience gave me a chance to apply my entrepreneur mindset to a food business for the first time!

Now I'm still a part of the chocolate business, but also back to helping people with websites, tech support and video, happily living in Eugene and finding my community. I'm excited to work with the many creative folks doing amazing things locally, throughout Cascadia and around the planet.

This is a very interesting time to be alive, and along with the many challenges of being a human being, the gifts are many.

Well, that's all for the Bio. Where to next?

• Philosophy
• Testimonials