July 2nd, 2008 by Bret
Workshed is proud to announce the launch of another new web site, this time for Zookbinders, a manufacturer of quality, hand-made photo albums for professional photographers. We programmed the site build out and programming on behalf of our Seattle agency partners, SDM Marketing and PBR Design, who did an amazing job on the marketing direction, graphic design, creative direction and content.
The site makes use of several current technologies, such as AJAX, Javascript/jQuery, PHP, MySQL and Flash. The site also makes use of our own content management tool, Pegboard, so the client can keep their content up-to-date without the need for a web developer.
Check out the site:
http://www.zookbinders.com
Tags: ajax, pbr design, php, sdm marketing, web development, zookbinders
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July 2nd, 2008 by Bret
Workshed will be closed July 4th in recognition of the 4th of July holiday. We’ll be back open for business on Monday the 7th. Enjoy your holiday!
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June 6th, 2008 by Bret
Last week, a close friend of the Workshed family lost her battle with cancer. Diana Rice Bonin was not only a talented artist and a wonderful person, but she was also a former neighbor to me and my family, an honorary grandmother to my son and a valued family friend.
Diana was the first artist to show her work at a Workshed First Friday event and we had planned to have her and her daughter, Jessica, do a mother-daughter show in the future.
For those of you who knew Diana, you know what we’ve lost and can mourn with us. For those of you who did not know her, I invite you to read her obituary below, investigate her art blog and send her family kind thoughts.
Diana, you’ll be missed. Pat, Jessica and Joe; we are so very sorry for your loss.
Workshed will be featuring some more of Diana’s work tonight at our First Friday event, so please stop by to view and take solace in a small portion of the prolific legacy of art work she has left behind.
DIANA RICE BONIN
February 15, 1955 - May 29, 2008
Diana was born in Seattle, Washington to Cecil Rice and Olga Alexyevna. She resided in the Pacific Northwest, and most recently, in Camas, Washington. Diana grew up in Bellingham, Washington, where she met and married her husband of 30 years, Patrick Bonin. Her two children, Jessica and Joseph, who reside in Portland, Oregon, were her pride and joy.
Diana’s passion for art began early in her life and resulted in a highly successful career. As an artist for Alaska Silver and Ivory Corporation, she learned to do scrimshaw, the traditional art of sailors and native peoples. After leaving Alaska Silver and Ivory she continued in scrimshaw as a freelance artist. She became well known for her depictions of Pacific Northwest wildlife, with work in collections all over the country and world. Her more recent accomplishments include 20 published children’s books, an extensive portfolio of original paintings, drawings and illustrations, corporate art, layout and design, and a variety of projects with service organizations. Her commissioned work includes publications for the National Parks Service, Clark County Historical Society, and the Clean Water Foundation. Her latest work, “A Joshua Tree Named Lily”, was commissioned by the Joshua Tree National Park and includes 38 full color illustrations by Diana. In recent years she made the leap from illustration to fine art. Her paintings depict the beauty of the Pacific Northwest and its wildlife, and can be seen through her internet site: http://www.dricebonin.blogspot.com
In addition to her love for all types of art, Diana enjoyed collecting early American pottery, antiquing, animals of any kind, listening to music, motorcycling with her husband Patrick and their friends, and was an avid community volunteer. Most of all she loved her little cabin on Lake Merrill where she gardened and shared her love of nature and art with her family and friends. Her beauty, strength and compassion for life drew people to her and she had a huge fan club of friends. She was fondly nicknamed “Lady Di” by family members.
Diana is survived by her husband Patrick Bonin, two children Jessica and Joseph, her mother Olga Alexyevna, her great aunt June and uncle Earl Hendrickson, her brother Steve, sisters Carol and Karen, and many nieces, nephews and their children.
Memorial Services will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 401 East 33rd Street, Vancouver, Washington, Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. followed by a reception.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Clark County Humane Society.
Please sign the Guest Book at www.columbian.com/obituaries.
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June 6th, 2008 by Bret
Tonight, Workshed and Lacamas Community Credit Union are proud to present art and music by the students of Hayes Freedom School. Hayes is a non-traditional school where students and staff can learn, grow, and experience life and education in a way that works for each individual.
We will also be showing a small sample of work from a local artist, Diana Rice Bonin, who recently lost her battle with cancer. Please stop by and share in a small sampling of the prolific legacy of art she has left behind.
We’ll have refreshments and representatives from Lacamas Community Credit Union will be on-hand as well. We look forward to seeing you there!
Date: Friday, June 6
Time: 5 - 8 p.m.
Location: Workshed
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May 22nd, 2008 by Bret
Last week, we launched a particularly large project that we’ve been working on for some time for Western Bus Sales, the leading School, Commercial and Activity bus dealer in the Pacific Northwest. For this project, we partnered with Blue Dog Creative, who did the design, while we handled the information architecture, XHTML/CSS coding, PHP and CMS development, testing and hosting.
The site is almost completely CMS-driven, using our Pegboard CMS tool, which allows the WBS staff to easily keep their content and inventory up-to-date. The folks at WBS were great to work with and we wish them a prosperous future with their new web site!
http://www.westernbus.com
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May 7th, 2008 by Bret
Camas, Wash. (May 6, 2008)—Rare is the work assignment that very nearly is pure creativity. But that is just what Camas-based Workshed Creative Agency stumbled onto when it won the opportunity to partner with Andy Harrison at MacTechHelp.com to execute the vision of New York-based retired financier and philanthropist to the photographic arts, Howard Stein.
Stein, regarded as a pioneer in mutual funds and a father of social investing, long has worked to democratize access to photography. His vision: a web-based portal that provides an experience akin to looking at photography in a museum.“This is the kind of project that agencies dream of doing because it has all the elements of great creative work,” says Bret Van Horn, president and creative director of Workshed Creative Agency.“We are thrilled Andy Harrison at MacTechHelp.com thought to approach us when he sought a creative agency partner for this project,” Van Horn says.Workshed presented the right combination of talent and skill necessary to bring highly creative vision into reality.“As we grow the museum, this project will continue to require innovative, creative solutions that we not only execute, but accomplish within very strict deadlines,” says Harrison. “The creative experience that we all bring to the table makes for a unique, very thoughtful and ‘forward thinking’ look at photographic, socioeconomic, scientific and political issues.”The result: A completely flash-based digital museum where visual perspective is different from most non-gaming websites. At the Forward Thinking Museum, http://www.jgsinc.com/ftm, a docent greets visitors and provides a Digital Navigation Device. The docent then directs traffic to an elevator that seems to rise ad infinitum, stopping at galleries along the way.Forward Thinking Museum is laced with humor, irreverence and a leaning toward the surreal. It currently features nine photo exhibits, each with artist biographies and background information on the display. As the elevator that seemingly climbs to the sky implies, innumerable exhibits can be added.
Workshed and MacTechHelp have built a content management system that will enable additional galleries to be added easily by the JGS staff. An offshoot of Stein’s foundation, The Joy of Giving Something, the Forward Thinking Museum is a vehicle to call attention to hot topics in the world of photographic arts. The possibilities are endless.“We don’t know what it all means,” says Stein, “but we do know that this is just the beginning.”Of all the projects Workshed completes month-in and month-out, the agency is highlighting Forward Thinking Museum because it raised the bar.“Forward Thinking Museum establishes a point of reference for companies and organizations that are seeking innovative web development. FTM provides an example for where we can take our imaginations and apply creativity in all our endeavors, not just museums and online games,” says Van Horn.In addition to web design, development and consulting, Workshed offers an extensive list of capabilities. Services include: innovative brand-focused advertising, marketing and creative services, complete motion media production for television and radio, corporate videos, music videos and other projects, as well as directing and editing.Workshed‘s roster of clients also includes: Subaru, C3MS, Camas Farmer’s Market, The Pixie Project, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Downtown Camas, Washougal Town Square, Camas Educational Foundation and Amy Sacks Eyewear. MacTechHelp.com, based in Portland, Oregon, but consulting to Mac-specific businesses and individuals throughout the U.S., works to “make Mac geeks out of everyone.”MacTechHelp provides technical consulting services to people who need a little handholding as the world of technology gains complexity. Technical consulting, paired with a rich design background allows MacTechHelp to provide a very focused, and informative range of web, print, hardware and software specific services. MacTechHelp’s roster of clients includes: Joy of Giving Something, Michael Kenna Photography, Nazraeli Press, Ron van Dongen Photography, ASID Oregon, IDC Oregon, The Firm Public Relations and Alpha & Omega Financial Services.For more information, go to: http://www.workshed.com or http://mactechhelp.com.
Tags: creative work, flash content management, flash development, interactive design, photography, pushing limits, virtual museum
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May 6th, 2008 by Bret
Our most recent site launch just went live today for local clothing designer, Tina Richard. Her Pastel and Vaquero lines of clothing are modern, hip and fashionable. We had a lot of fun working on this site, designing it to look like her work table and also providing her with our new CMS tool, Pegboard. Check out her site to see what she’s sewing up in her studio and buy some of her stuff:
http://www.tinarichardpastel.com
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April 25th, 2008 by Bret
It’s been truly inspiring to see how much downtown Camas has changed and grown since my family moved here five years ago. When we moved here, there was very little to do in Downtown Camas, and we spent most of our time over in the Fisher’s Landing area when we wanted to eat, shop or relax at a movie.
Fast forward, and now we have a burgeoning city center, full of high-end shops, excellent eating establishments and a great group of friendly people staffing them all. This is something we should all be thankful for.
Unfortunately, whether it’s due to the economy or just a lack of interest, we are losing some businesses down here lately, and that makes us very sad here at Workshed. We see these people every day, we are their customers, friends, associates and supporters. To see one of our own close their doors and call it a day is like losing a close friend. Not only that, but it strikes a chord among all of us—are we next? Will our business slow down too? Will we have to close our doors?
Unfortunately, I think we’ve all felt the sting of the down economy at some level. Nobody wants to call it a recession, but it if looks like one, talks like one and acts like one, chances are it is one. We’ve noticed some of this trickling down to us during our sales process as of late, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t concern me. At the same time, I understand and can empathize with these people. How can one justify spending money when money isn’t being entirely forthcoming?
I don’t have any answers. Sure, I can tell you to spend money with us on marketing and a fancy new web site and all of your ills will be fixed—but that’s not a promise I’m willing to make. These are unpredictable times, and there is no cut and dry solution other than the pursuit of survival. Do what you feel you need to do to keep your business afloat.
The one thing we can all do is to spend money with local businesses. Make a weekly trip downtown, buy a trinket or new article of clothing at a shop, catch a movie (it’s cheaper and cozier than the Regal multiplex) and buy a great dinner. In the grand scheme of things these purchases are small, but on the whole, they add up enough to maybe help someone keep their doors open long enough to weather the storm. A community isn’t just the people who live in it, it’s also the businesses who make life more convenient for its residents, who give back to the community and who provide jobs to its residents. We are all responsible for the success of local businesses on some level.
Our sincere thanks to the businesses who have closed their doors recently or will be closing them soon. Your presence downtown made our days better and we are better off for having served in the business trenches with you. You will all be sorely missed.
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April 4th, 2008 by Bret
The outage has been resolved and all of our servers are back up and running. Thanks for your patience!
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April 4th, 2008 by Bret
Some sites may be experiencing e-mail or web downtime as our colocation network facility in Portland is experiencing a network outage. We will post another update when the outage has been resolved.
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