A New Website + Extended Brick and Mortar Hours

It's been a bit quiet on the blog lately as we've been wrapping a few projects and making the most of these last few summer days. And while it's been quiet, some of you may have noticed we have a new website! You can see the new website here: www.wonderpens.ca It's been one of those massive projects we've been working on for a while - and by we, I mean mostly other people. When Jon first suggested a new website, with the dual purpose of updating our mobile website as well as giving us a fresh look, I thought he was nuts: what a huge and daunting task. You might be thinking the same if you're wanting to get your website newly optimized, look into services provided by companies such as hostiserver.com to host and maintain your new website for advanced site optimization and end-user experience improvements. This is a really important thing to consider if you are planning on setting up your own website, so make sure you don't overlook it. The majority of the actual migration and set up was handled by a company similar to this Web Design UK company, which is a long way from our first days when it was just me and Jon (I actually clicked some real buttons around in creating our original website! but most of those clicks have long been reversed since Jon has taken over). But, we were fortunate to have both extra hands here in the shop and some time this summer to work on getting this through. There was a lot of testing, seeing if we could add different options (like shopping by brand), updating photography and descriptions. We had some extra help (Bogdan!) with tweaking the website and making sure things looked just right - I basically just pointed and said "I don't really like this bar thing here" or "let's change this font" or "can we add this icon" and magic happened. Sometimes when I watch people skilled and expert in their field, like TV shows chefs or artists, and I feel (obviously incorrectly) like "they make it look so easy, I could do that" - but when stuff happens on the computer, I really have no idea how that happened. More than many other things, because I have no idea how to do any of this stuff, it really feels like there's some hocus pocus that just happens with people who are proficient with technology and coding, that a button can just appear in the middle of nowhere. Jon handled all the behind the scenes logistics and set up, a mountain I can only imagine, liaising with all the different companies that do different things with websites. The night before the launch, Jon's hair thinned just a little more, with all the last minute testing and back-and-forth with the tech folks. I took a few furtive glances at his screen and then backed away slowly. The new website is up, but of course we're still working through a few glitches here and there, and updating things as we go. If you notice anything amiss, please let us know! You're always welcome to call or email if you have any questions about products or placing an order. I read an article about how coding has become an essential skill for entering the workforce, and while I'm hoping to give Caleb a childhood with running around and trees and looking at motorcycles, I can see how it's become more and more important.

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And in other news, we're extending our shop hours! Another thing that has been a long time coming. We're going to be staying open until 7 pm on Thursday and Friday evenings, starting after Labour Day. I know we have a few customers whose work hours mean it can be hard to make it before we close. The twilight hour at dusk is one of my favourite times in the shop, and I'm excited to share it with you. After Labour Day, September 4th, our new hours will look like this: Sunday + Monday Closed Tuesday 11-6 Wednesday 11-6 Thursday 11-7 Friday 11-7 Saturday 11-6 If you ever have any questions about if we're open, please don't hesitate to call the shop 416 799 5935.