WRONG!

Creating a website requires serious knowledge and talent with much patience, perseverance and planning…it’s fair to say we were daunted. So luckily for us we got in touch with our friend Stuart Wallace, the Creative Director of Brighton based design agency Left is Right who ticks all of the above boxes and more.

Accustomed as he is to working with illustrious clients such as Johnson & Johnson, the BBC, Imperial College London and the NHS itself, we instantly felt that that The Step would be in good company and fortunately for us, Stuart whole heartedly agreed.

So we began the process of mapping out the website, what we wanted from it, what we needed and how best to set it up to engage with the local Bowes Park community and our customer base whilst drawing in new people from further afield. And although we began without a technical, web-literate bone in our bodies, Stuart’s “simplicity first” approach really did make the process uncomplicated and without fuss.

Stuart has been unfeasibly patient with us, talking us non techies through the process and asking the right questions at the right time. Pretty soon we were using words such as “RSS feed”, “publishing tools” and “Mail Chimp flux capacitor” (okay, we made that last one up) as naturally as we’d say “twelve o’clock, bar’s open”!

But for all the technical jargon we’ve learned, we wanted to create a website that not only functions perfectly but also looks beautiful and complements Scotty’s wonderful graphics. Which perhaps leads us on to the best of this heartwarming tale of World Wide Web discovery – Stuart has not only been blessed with technical skills and knowledge, he also studied at the Glasgow School of Art and is exceptionally creative and artistic….what a combination!

Lucky? Us? Never!

Stuart, our sincere thanks to you, for your infinite patience and for the exceptional job you have done for us when global brands and national institutions are also competing for your precious time!

So here we have it, the official website of The Step – part work of art, part slick and fully functioning element of the world wide web and absolutely the best place to keep up to date with all the latest goings on at Myddleton Road’s soon to open café, bar and gallery.

For more information on Left is Right take a peek at their website: www.leftisright.co.uk

We are well aware that The Step would be a poorer place to look at without him.

Scotty and Mat’s sister Lucy live in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, with their gorgeous daughters (our nieces), Rosie and Millie. By day Scott works from home for international design company, The Entertainment Agency, otherwise known as TEA Creative. Based up north, Scotty is known as Yorkshire TEA to his colleagues and has designed posters for films such as Little Miss Sunshine, Miss Bala, The Inbetweeners and In The Loop.

We love to work with Scotty because, aside from his sublime creative talents, he listens to exactly what you are looking for and takes your ideas to beautiful places. The first time we worked together was designing the invite for our wedding in April 2010 where we wanted to create a day with a sunny, Art Deco feel to it. There’s a theme developing here, so when it came to The Step we wanted to create an identity strongly influenced by the era Nell really should have lived through – the 1930s and the heyday of Myddleton Road.

We discussed themes and ideas and quicker than you could say “mine’s a gin fizz” we had five distinct potential designs for The Step. Most worked, one didn’t (sorry Scotty!) but one really stood out as truly special. After tweaking the finer details and developing our colour palette, that design has become the basis of our logo you see today which runs through our whole business – from the website to our menu’s and marketing materials to the sign we are having beautifully crafted for our shop front.

Quite honestly, we really don’t know we’re born being able to work so closely with Scotty. If he wasn’t “in the family” we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere even close to a talent like him so when we are open we’ll be raising many a toast to Scott Woolston – a truly good friend and the main reason The Step is looking so wonderfully marvelous at this early stage.

Please do take time to check out Scotty’s portfolio of work for the film industry at his personal website.

http://scottwoolston.prosite.com/

We’re also delighted to say that he and Lucy are working on a very exciting business development of their own – mum’s the word for now, but if all goes to plan we’ll be exhibiting and selling his work through our gallery space in The Step in the not too distant future….some of which may very well have a local theme! Intrigued? You should be, watch this space for further announcements.