Shorts, Snippets & Musings

I am thrilled to announce that I have been awarded the “Web Designer of the Year” by SME News. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievements in the web design industry and is a testament to the hard work and dedication that I put into every project.

SME News is a leading digital publication that focuses on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the UK. They are committed to highlighting the success stories and innovations of businesses in various sectors. Being recognized by such a reputable organization is an incredible honor, and I am grateful for this acknowledgment.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey!

A big welcome to Ardore who have hired me to help launch their new products in UK & Europe.

I’ll be working with the team over the next few months to launch a new Shopify website designed to sell the lifestyle of Ardore and their initial products.

I’m keeping their products secret for now but watcxh this space for further announcements.

A huge welcome to Khalid Rashid “The Bohemian Artist” who is the first Artist to sign up to my new “Artist & Maker” business support client.

Last month I introduced a new service designed to aide artisans get started and grow their digital business. Khalid and I will be working together over the next few months to build a low-maintenance e-commerce website through Shopify and Direct to Printer dropshipping services.

We’ll also be working on all things brand, social and marketing so Khalid can concentrate on his art.

Sign up to his newsletter today and join his journey.

I am proud to unveil Wolfbury, the latest masterpiece from The Suffolk Distillery. Craft distilled with the exotic allure of wolfberries,

Wolfbury gin represents a bold foray into uncharted territories of flavour. My journey with The Suffolk Distillery involved creating a label and branding that embody the spirit of adventure and the rich, nuanced essence of wolfberries.

This gin is not just a drink; it’s an invitation to explore the wild and wonderful world of craft distillation.

I am thrilled to announce our latest collaboration with Pillars Brewery, the trailblazing craft lager specialists from Walthamstow. Established in 2016 as London’s premier craft lager brewery, Pillars has redefined lager with their commitment to quality, community, and innovation. Their family-founded ethos and dedication to the craft embody the spirit of bringing people together through the love of lager.

Cheers to a future where great lager and great design unite! Explore their story and savour the taste of excellence at pillarsbrewery.com.

Huge congratulations to The Leif Collective on the launch of their new business.

Leif specialise in Ecological Landscape Design and commissioned me to help design their brand and new WordPress website.

Be sure to check out their work and read their guides on their website theleifcollective.co.uk

Huge welcome to Phix Clothing. A Manchester-based fashion brand reimagining classic styles to create unique looks.

I’ll be working with the team with the Shopify Plus store providing theme development and technical support.

Be sure to check them out at phixclothing.com.

I’ve been working with Interior Designers, Stellar & Co on their online presence for the best part of two years. This month we saw the launch of their new e-commerce store where they will be selling their own products alongside specially curated designers and makers.

Be sure to pop along and take a look stellarandco.co.uk

I am pleased to announce that The Lemonade Group have just launched their new Shopify website which I have been working on with them since September.

The Lemonade Group offers freelance hairdressers and consultants wholesale specialist products with a combined group savings. The website is very unique in it’s brand and style so was great fun to work on.

Check it out at thelemonadegroup.co.uk

After building many Shopify websites for clients I finally took the plunge and built one for myself as a showcase for the printmaking and paintings I sell.

The Rik Barwick Studio is dedicated to my more analogue creative passions and has been a great release for me over the years so I am pleased to share this with you all.

Please visit the new site at www.rikbarwick.studio

Huge congratulations to Wild Erb Candle Co. for achieving their first sale since we finished migrating their e-commerce over to Shopify this month.

Wild Erb Candle Co create wonderful candles and scented wax melts from their home in Suffolk. Emily plans to leverage Shopify’s e-commerce tools and POS functionality to expand her business.

The website can be found at wilderb.co.uk

I’m excited to announce the launch of the new and improved Shopify Theme for The Artisan Smokehouse!

I’ve been working with Tim and Gill last month to help build the new theme and ensure it performed well in page speed and accessibility checks to help their organic SEO rankings but also so it looks great!

The website can be found at theartisansmokehouse.co.uk

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to the branding for new local business “Little Blossoms Baby Massage”.

I designed this logo with a hand-painted emblem as the icon as we wanted this to feel organic, relaxed and hand-crafted.

I’m going to write up a case study to show you the design process, watch this space for more!

I am thrilled to introduce Gill & Tim from “The Artisan Smokehouse” who have recently commissioned me as their Shopify Development Partner.

Gill & Tim own the award-winning smokehouse in Falkenham, Suffolk. They produce a great range of tasty smoked meats and hampers.

I can’t wait to get started working with the business to optimise and enhance their Shopify store.

I am very excited to announce that the Shopify Marketplace I have been building for local business Green Pebble has gone live with their first artist Faye Baines.

The “Direct from Artist” Marketplace allows chosen artists to collaborate and manage their own e-commerce facility within Green Pebble’s already flourishing e-commerce store.

We saw an instant uptake with sales of Faye’s work and are hoping to add more artists as soon as possible. I am continue to work with Green Pebble on other Shopify development and maintenance work.

I am very excited to welcome Ken Hom Woks to the client roster here at rikbarwick.co.uk. Ken Hom is the leading authority on Chinese Cooking and his woks are sold worldwide.

Ken Hom Woks is part of the DKB Household UK Ltd brand portfolio who also manage Cole & Mason and Zyliss. I’ll be working with the team over the next few months in supporting the updates to their Shopify e-commerce website as they look to grow the product offering across Europe.

I am thrilled to announce that I have just secured a new client, Green Pebble, based in Suffolk, UK. Green Pebble is a company that specialises in publishing high-quality greetings cards and gifts, and they have hired me as a Shopify expert to help them expand their digital offering to artists across the country.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a well-established company and to use my expertise in Shopify to help them grow their business. Green Pebble has a strong commitment to providing top-notch products and services to their customers, and I am excited to be a part of this journey.

Stay tuned for updates on our progress and for new exciting developments from Green Pebble.

The Suffolk Distillery has just released a new Limoncello beverage. I was asked to design the new logo design and bottle labels by the owner Gary Wilkinson and we decided it would feature a vintage-inspired logo and design elements.

The design elements convey a sense of tradition and craftsmanship, perfectly capturing the essence of the delicious and authentic Limoncello. The use of bold typography and a colour palette reminiscent of the Mediterranean adds a touch of elegance and sophistication, making it stand out on store shelves and appeal to discerning consumers.

Overall, the new branding is sure to help the product stand out in the competitive beverage market.

Exciting news! After 4 months of work and I am excited to announce the launch of the new Cole & Mason Shopify website.

Cole & Mason is a brand that has been providing high-quality kitchenware for over 100 years, and I can’t wait for you to see their latest collection. Since September I have been working closely with the UK marketing team to realign their brand into a more luxury market. I am proud to have helped with the UX & UI to help the website increase conversion rates whilst also helping with the content strategy for SEO.

Now my focus will turn to the teams in the USA and Europe to help localise the site to their different markets. So I’m excited to bring Cole & Mason’s high-quality kitchenware to an even larger audience and can’t wait for you all to see it!

Head over to www.coleandmason.com and check it out for yourself!

It gives me great pleasure to start 2023 with welcoming Zyliss Cookware to the client roster here at rikbarwick.co.uk.

I’ll be working with the US team over the next few months with Shopify Development to help migrate their e-commerce website over to the e-commerce platform.

Zyliss are an incredible cookware brand who have been applying their Swiss expertise to cooking and design for over 70 years.

I’m looking forward to the challenges this project brings as our American cousins have different accessibility laws and service expectancies than here in the UK so it’ll be interesting to see how I can learn from this for future projects.