Monday, October 19, 2015

INTRODUCING: Kenneth Gordon, Dunwoody's Private Jeweler

For all of you gentlemen out there that I have to work with in government or some community group:  cooperate with me or this website will go to all of your wives!


www.kennethgordon.net



Just kidding but this new website is a unique local Dunwoody resource for gifts for every occasion.

Kenny Gordon is a Dunwoody homeowner and business owner who has a long history in the jewelry industry.   His specialty is in everything you can't find at a mall or department store.  So when he gave me a call one day to discuss upgrading his 2009 website I was thrilled for this unique opportunity.

I get a lot of these requests lately:  upgrade the look and feel, upgrade the animation technology, make it mobile-friendly.  Below is the original site that I worked with.  It was built in 2009 and at the time, it was the state of the art.  The site included Flash animation and an introductory "splash" page and background music.


But redesigning this site was not just a paint-job.  There were some unique challenges.
First, the site was created in a developer's tool called CodeIgniter.  CI is a powerful framework that allows a professional gear head to create highly customized websites with unique features.  The original developer was no longer available, the umbrella company that built and maintained the site had been sold at least once since 2009.  And like any custom code, one developer's "simple" is another developer's Rube Goldberg Machine.  

Most of all, the back-end maintenance of the website's product galleries had to remain intact.  Normally, when a site is being recreated as mobile-friendly for smartphones and tablets, it's often easier to just rebuild the site from scratch.  That wasn't an option.  Kenny and his staff were very happy with the hidden admin panel and the layout of the product catalogs.  If a visitor wants to inquire about a specific piece in the galleries, or add it to their personalized "wish list", the contact form automatically populates with the relevant information.    I have to admit they are a slick piece of work and blazing fast on your browser, even six years later.  I agreed, it was worth it to invest some time in learning about the source code and working around it.

First, I created a design for Kenny that was a more current reflection of his upscale merchandise and impeccable customer service.
The new design  had to incorporate all of his current product photography as seamlessly as the old one.
The navigation bar reflected the original site map and content and work with the dynamic catalogs.  The animation loads quickly and gives a modern feel.
Social media plays a larger role.  Visit the footer for a link to Instagram alongside the previously existing Facebook and Twitter.  Each piece of merchandise has a series of "share" buttons.  Makes it easier to drop a hint when your birthday is coming up.  You can join Kenny's email newsletter (hosted by Constant Contact) in the footer too.
Content styling has evolved a lot in six years.  Spring cleaning took out bloated and redundant code that was replaced with a streamlined styling that loads faster and allows for more styles that don't rely on dozens of tiny little images.  That makes a big difference when it comes to both SEO and smartphone ease of use.
Speaking of search engine optimization:  there wasn't any.  A fresh look gets a fresh start with modern SEO standards; the responsive mobile-friendly layout will boost its search engine rankings too.



Christmas / Hanukkah / 3 Kings Day  and their shopping seasons are approaching fast.  The valuable and unique element of Kenny's service is that it is entirely private.  Review the offerings on the website, then make an appointment at a place and time convenient for you to examine them in person.  (Helpful if you're planning a surprise gift....)  Most of all, you don't have to go far.  This luxury service is a local Dunwoody-based business.  It's not just a shopping service, you're working with a neighbor.  If you intend to Shop Local this holiday season, there's no better place to start.  Don't wait for Small Business Saturday:  this Distinctly Dunwoody opportunity is available all year round.

Happy shopping!



Thursday, October 15, 2015

Dunwoody Council Candidates Forum - The Video Recap

I had a front row seat for this spectacle as timekeeper.  Rather than describe the event with my own POV, I'll let you, gentle reader, experience it for yourself.

Courtesy of the Dunwoody Homeowners' Association and posted to YouTube.

 


Not everything is going to fit in a single event so something is going to get cut.  There just isn't time for everything.

What other questions would you have wanted to hear posed to the candidates?  What information do you need to know to determine who is going to represent your interests and that of your neighbors and friends and families?   How do you decide who is going to benefit your life and livelihood? Comments are open.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Fiat Lux - Dunwoody Needs Light


NOTE:  Light Up Dunwoody is still scheduled for
November 22.
More information as it happens here.



October 4, 7:30 PM

Tonight's Dunwoody Homeowners Association meeting is a full house as city council candidates and other elected officials are visiting tonight.  In an election year this sort of meeting is  ...   tense.

Elected officials make the rounds greeting other visitors.  Some candidates do likewise.  Some seek out their confirmed supporters.  Others grab their seats, fold their arms and sport a Grumpy Cat Face.

Everyone goes through the motions:  candidates are invited to give brief introductions.  Exec board goes through their agenda items.  The Katzenjammer Kids chatter in the back.

Then we get to Light Up Dunwoody.   For years some have wanted to include a Menorah with the Christmas tree because Hanukkah overlaps with the Christmas season and Dunwoody has a major Jewish community that wants to celebrate their traditions with everyone else.  DHA chair Rob Wittenstein announces that the DPT has declined a request to host a Menorah of comparable size to the existing tree.

And for one brief shining moment, all the tension in the room disappears and everyone is of one mind as they respond with ---   "WHAT??"

Thanks to our litigious society and a subset of our population that isn't happy unless they're suing someone, the DPT has had to establish a policy that allows only secular symbols of any given season on their properties.  They're going to have to deal with the interpretation of what is "secular" and what is "religious" in years to come as many of our traditions in the USA have some kind of religious roots.

Light Up Dunwoody is still going to go on.  An update is in the works and the DHA will announce it when the Exec Committee is ready to do so.

Your gracious host of DWG is not going to criticize the Preservation Trust.  It would be way too easy to take the South Park approach and return offense with offense and turn an event that brings people of goodwill together into an appendage-measuring contest over who's the most legally correct and who has the most right to be offended.  Everyone loses out except the lawyers.   DPT has other fish to fry and they're smart enough to know what they're going to get dragged into.

But Opportunity still knocks.

Consider the following for the future...

Dunwoody, contrary to the opinions of its detractors, has many different ethnic and religious components.  It's not homogeneous.  There are several possible "light up" traditions that are celebrated in our borders.   There's Hanukkah, of course; the Jewish population has been a major part of Dunwoody for decades.  There's Kwanzaa.  (Someone asked at the above DHA meeting, "What if someone asked about Kwanzaa?"  "So, what if they do???")
Diwali: the Indian Festival of Light
Who else besides me has heard of Diwali?  There's a substantial and growing Indian population on Dunwoody's end of Ashford-Dunwoody Road, do they get to "light up" Dunwoody too?  Then there's variations of Halloween and the extended Christmas holiday (Epiphany/3 Kings Day and Candlemas) celebrated in Central and South America.

Is Light Up Dunwoody ready to evolve beyond a one-night celebration into an umbrella that encompasses numerous traditions in multiple locations around the city?


The possibilities:


  • Remove legal liability from a City event by opening to more religious and cultural traditions.
  • Place responsibility for cultural or religious celebrations upon the population that contributes to them.
  • Distribute the costs among a wider range of populations looking to participate
  • Encourage more community involvement than just DHA regulars
  • Bring the goodwill of "Light Up" to more areas of Dunwoody, instead of limiting it to just the Farmhouse


I don't see a reason why what is currently thought of as "Light Up Dunwoody" could not grow into a kickoff or climax of a series of events celebrating Fall and Winter.  Is there a problem with "lighting up" the "Everything Will Be OK" sign to tie it all together and remind all of us in Dunwoody that we don't always have to battle to the death over Every. Little. Thing?

Besides, with November elections getting more and more heated every year, don't we all need MORE goodwill, wherever we can get it, when life starts to look dark?