Happy New Year
And so it’s January. A month for resolutions, new beginnings and for looking forward. It’s also an opportunity to look back on the past year, to rethink, review and to take stock.
2009 was a great year for Vanilla Storm. We were nominated for our second Big Chip Award, we expanded our team and we got to work with some great clients.
Our client list is diverse and includes comedy sites such as Bill Bailey and Ross Noble, TV campaigns such as Mary Queen of Charity Shops, news orientated blogs like Bad Idea, schools such as Withington Girls’ School and KEQMS and a whole range of e-commerce driven platforms including Alex Monroe, Lauren Adriana, Missguided, Apatchy and Pretty Disturbia.
2010 will be an exciting year for us. As we continue to grow we welcome new staff and look forward to working with new and existing clients alike. Here are some of the hopes and predictions from our team.
Turhan (Web Developer)
“One of the things I’m looking forward to this year is the summer. Not just for the long days and better weather (we can always hope), but also for the World Cup. England did well in qualifying, so it should be an exciting tournament.
Google released their own phone, the Nexus One, this month and it will be interesting to see how Apple reply with their new iPhone. Maybe I’ll finally get round to getting one.
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m also a little bit excited about the A-Team movie. I’m sure it will be cheesy remake, but it will be good to see Hannibal and co. loving it when a plan comes together again!”
Nicola (Web Designer)
“2010 or is it Twenty Ten?
I cannot believe how much time flies, and this year will be no exception.
If Manchester City keep a manager long enough then they will stay in the top 4 of the table, and give top teams like Chelsea and our closest rival’s United a good enough fight for the top spot!
I expect 2010 to be an exciting time for digital technology, as I have heard rumours of a new iPhone design being released, a touch screen tablet similar to an iPhone but bigger, the launch of Google’s new phone and many more!
Electric cars are looking more like the future, I wonder what they will be like to drive?
I am also hoping New York is on the cards, for some serious shopping and cannot wait to see the new Sex and the City movie!
Toy Story 3 is also coming out this year, and I am sure more 3D films will make an appearance.”
Joe (Admin Assistant)
“2010 should be a good year because Leeds are going to get promoted and win at Wembley. The new year got off to the perfect start (footballing wise) beating Manchester United in their own backyard.
My footballing New Year’s resolution is to try and go to every single game next season… when we’re in a higher league of course!
I’m also looking forward to seeing what the new iPhone will be like. I’m probably going to get one because my current phone is about as useful as a glass hammer.
There is also a film being released in 2010 called ‘The Beaver’ with Mel Gibson. I’m going to make sure I see that. As I only went to the cinema about 5 times in 2009, seeing more films will be my proper New Year’s resolution!”
Mureed (Project Manager)
“2010 is already here… I can still remember the Millennium like it was yesterday and I’m sure it’s the same for many of you out there!
2010 is a new start for me and I’m looking forward to making the most of it. I want to see websites which will make an unforgettable impression on the visitor, incorporating the latest design trends, oversized logos and headers, sketches and hand drawn design, website navigations that make you want to click.
I am hoping to see a new car on the horizon, I’m not really clear about what this will be, I mean there’s so much to choose from what should I go for speed, comfort, economy….
Avatar was an amazing movie with amazing special effects, changing the way we view films and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the same.”
Jenny (Director)
“For me this will be a year of change. I look forward to welcoming new members of staff and to continuing to work with our in-house team. A website redesign is high on the agenda, along with a revamp of our designer blog, Indie Quarter. We also have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline. More on that soon.
For me personally, I look forward to reading more (I was lucky enough to receive a Kindle for Christmas) to watching more films (like Nicola I’m eagerly awaiting Sex and the City 2), to going to the theatre and to travelling. At some point this year I expect to be chugging through the Czech and Polish countryside, on the night train from Prague to Krakow.”
Richard (Director)
“Oh, OK, I suppose I’ll have to start by continuing the football theme in this post!! I start 2010 as I do every year with the vain hope that Nottingham Forest will be promoted back to the Premier League, where we belong. As the original ‘Reds’ (Forest are the reason why Arsenal play in red as we lent them some shirts when they started out!) and one of the oldest teams in the Premier League, the East Midlands needs to have its biggest club back in the top flight. We’re in a strong position at the moment, let’s hope we keep it up to the end of the season.
On the Internet side, 2010 looks like being another record year for e-commerce sales and I expect to see many more companies either moving to the web (who have bricks n mortar operations) or establishing internet only businesses. It’s not so long ago that people were saying that fashion on the Internet wouldn’t catch on because people would need to touch and feel the clothing, but our clients like Missguided and Hervia and giants like ASOS and Net a Porter have proved all the doubters wrong. And Vanilla Storm has demonstrated that you don’t need to break the bank to get a content managed e-commerce site, professionally developed, so we’re expecting another busy year.
Major developments in improving access to deliveries (parcels delivered to local shops, drop boxes, secure lockers) are all becoming more popular, so we’re expecting massive growth in integrating these services into e-commerce sites.
We also wait with baited breath to see what effects the anticipated change of government will have on business and whether the new government will start to put pressure on landlords to help to fill empty shops and re-invigorate the high street. I’ve never seen so many empty units in Manchester and the fact that grocery stores now sit alongside fashion and record shops just shows how times have changed. The retail sector desperately needs some support and I’ve seen little evidence of this – hope it gets more support this year than the manufacturing sector has…..
2009 was a year of significant growth for Vanilla Storm, and we’re planning to grow the team further in 2010 – watch this space!!”
