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Our Team

Who we are

At North Studio, we live, work and breathe all things web. Our studio is a dynamic environment where ideas abound and talents blend many disciplines, creative and nerdy alike. Our team of website designers and developers thrive on the challenges you resent them with and they are proud to make us a premium website design and development agency.

Founded in May 1999, North Studio is a locally-owned, full-service web development, design and internet marketing firm based in Victoria, British Columbia. Our team works closely with clients to implement their web vision, polish their web identity and craft and execute strategic plans for online collaborative communications.

We have developed hundreds of websites for professional businesses, government, education and private clients worldwide and have a proven track record of delivering innovative, user-friendly web solutions on time and on budget.

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Dieter Gerhard CEO

Dieter is one of the co-founders of North Studio. He has shed his former position of president to now focus on developing strategic partnerships with our technology partners. In this manner North Studio has evolved to apply it's excellent customer service and project management to all things web, mobile, design and social.

As CEO of our own Stikky Media and as President and CEO of Q College he has also brought all 3 companies under one umbrella - Digital Business Intelligence Corporation - to facilitate coordinated deliverables of strategy, implementation and government accredited training to our clients.

He also considers it his responsibility to ensure that our office is a place of personal growth and development for staff. Dieter strives to shape a team of people who not only enjoy their work, but who are also at the top of their respective fields.

Known for both his bull dog tenacity and his generosity, Dieter is equal parts hard ass and softie. In the business sphere, his greatest strengths are his sharp, analytical mind, his capacity for deductive reasoning, and his eye for development potential. On a personal level, he cares deeply about his staff, and mentoring has become an important facet of his job, heading North Studio.

Dieter gets great pleasure out of watching staff members succeed and grow into their own. He also finds that the youthful energy in the office helps him keep in touch with today’s marketplace. Outside of the office, Dieter runs the popular Birds of a Feather Oceanfront Bed and Breakfast, and in the summer months, he can often be found out on the water in his zodiac conducting Marine Eco Tours. Boating and travel are his two biggest passions. Being out in the open ocean gives him the opportunity to connect with nature, especially here on the beautiful west coast, and travel is a chance to explore the world and experience other cultures. Dieter’s top spots include Germany, where his family origins are, and New Zealand because of the friendly and gracious people and diverse geography. In fact, New Zealand reminds him of Vancouver Island.

Dieter's favourite spot to unwind since 1980 is Negril, Jamaica where he enjoys a special connection with the locals. Dieter has "adopted" a Jamaican family, ensuring among other things they receive an education. Always the thrill seeker, Dieter enjoys activities like skydiving, para-sailing, horse-back riding, hot air ballooning, and touring in submarines while on his travels.

Karen Smallwood President
Karen Smallwood - President

Karen is the President of both Stikky Media and North Studio, a web developer using a Drupal interface, and an instructor at our sister school, Q College, teaching the Drupal Open Source Development course. Karen herself is a graduate of the Q College (formerly VSBT) Web Designer course and the Open Source Development course.

Her contribution to a project involves information architecture and figuring out how the back end of a website will be structured. Karen’s tasks also include fine-tuning a site’s details, such as customizing features and theming. What invigorates Karen is the investigative process that is a part of web development.

Karen’s natural inquisitiveness and love of experimentation make her amazing at implementing new modules. Her sensitivity to the user experience also helps her find ways to make website functions easier and clearer to navigate. What Karen loves most about her job is that it provides the context for her to experiment and learn new things (or learn different ways to do the same thing!).

In her off time, Karen loves snowboarding, canoeing, cuddling her pup, and sitting shotgun on the flights her husband pilots.

Becky Gratton Wilson Chief Administrative Officer
Becky Gratton Wilson - Chief Administrative Officer

Becky is, without a doubt, the glue that holds our office together. She has moved her way up in the ranks from Q College (formerly VSBT) student, to northStudio intern, to Solutions Architect, and now holds the official title of Chief Administrative Officer.

As Dieter’s right hand, Becky oversees everything to do with the day-to-day running of the office—including management of all of the logistical details and accounting matters. Being someone who is supremely organized, supremely logical, and supremely good at multitasking, Becky is a master at keeping North Studio plates spinning. As she describes it, she has a brain like a filing cabinet: everything has a place, and it’s there for good reason. Her philosophy is: ‘if your system relies on logic, you don’t need to have a perfect memory!’

What Becky loves most about her job is the fact that there is always something new going on. The work environment is constantly changing, which keeps her on her toes. She would get bored in a quiet office.

Outside of work, Becky is a “do-it-yourselfer”. She enjoys being productive in a very literal sense: she likes to make things herself.
She enjoys home renovations (she recently refinished her basement), cooking, knitting, running, swimming, riding her motorbike, gardening and adventures.
 

Candace Bates Senior Project Manager
Candace Bates - Senior Project Manager

As a project captain of the northStudio team, Candace’s role in the company is to work closely with the account manager to provide the initial points of contact for clients. The account manager establishes the preliminary relationship, and then passes the baton to Candace, who organizes the logistics of the work queue to begin production. From then on, Candace is the project leader overseeing progress and acting as the liaison between our team and clients.

What makes Candace such a superstar is not only the obvious—her strong leadership ability, her communication skills, and her foresight with projects—but also how well she knows the northStudio staff and our skill sets, figuring out who is best for which task. Candace’s big picture vision is invaluable to finding the solution that will work for both the client and North Studio.

Candace loves the dynamic, creative environment northStudio provides as it offers her the space to grow both personally and professionally. She thrives on the uniqueness of each project and the opportunities to craft creative, individualized solutions to meet clients’ needs. Ever the adventurous spirit, when she’s not in the office, Candace is likely to be doing something sporty, whether it’s playing football or basketball, yoga, running, biking, swimming, or her favourite: surfing.

Chris O'Donohue Sales and Business Development Director
Chris O'Donohue - Sales and Business Development Director

With an extensive background in Sales Management and Business Development both in Canada and internationally, Chris attributes much of his success to a strong background in service and hospitality in the early stages of his career. Bringing this mentality to every business opportunity allows for Chris to come up with the most streamline solutions for our customers while always focused on their specific needs.

Much of Chris’ early life skills were learned on hockey rinks across Southern Ontario where the value of hard work, commitment and team effort were enforced. He was fortunate enough to play all across North America through his early teen years and also represent Canada in Europe in 2001. After playing Jr. “A” hockey and graduating from the Toronto School of Business in Hotel and Business Management, Chris moved to the west coast where he began his career.

With a passion for travel, Chris landed an opportunity in Australia where he was tasked with growing margins and exploring new market opportunities for a company who is now one of Australia’s largest pool builders.  Since then Chris managed sales and new accounts on Vancouver Island for an international leader in the textiles industry. Chris brings to our team his unrivalled training and experience as well as creative and consultative strategies to assist every one of our customers achieve their business goals.
Outside of the office, Chris loves to spend time with his wife Kim and his son Owen, who keeps him very...very busy. If he is not with the family, he may just have snuck out for a quick nine on one of Vancouver Islands beautiful golf courses... rain or shine!

Jon Valade Account Manager
Jon Valade - Account Manager

Effective design is not about the medium; it is about the message. It is the ability to convey this message to the intellect, and a feeling to the senses – whether it be on paper, on a computer screen, or communicated through the ear

Understanding this is what makes Jon Valade unique. Whether it be designing print material, wordpress web development or music in his recording studio, Jon’s approach is the same – you must convey a clear message, with simplicity, beauty and grace. His style is modern and edgy but he always keeps the client’s goals at the forefront.

Jon also believes that while creative talent is significant to the profession of Graphic Design, it is equally important to treat clients and colleagues professionally and with respect. As a Wordpress theme designer Jon puts his skills as a graphic designer to good use in creating stylish wordpress themes for websites in all shapes and sizes.

As a wordpress theme developer, Jon has been producing high quality websites and high impact corporate communication art in Canada since 1995 from his home in Victoria, B.C. He has a wide range of fascinating clients in Canada, the US and abroad.

Building custom websites on the popular WordPress platform has given IdeaZone a competitive edge, allowing unlimited design creativity while providing easy updates and edits for clients.
 
“In an era where frequent website updates and online conversations are the key to being found in a Google search, you need to be able to communicate directly with your customers through your website,” says Jon, “We have a product that allows people to do that easily, and retain all the advantages of excellent custom design.” 

Jon’s design experience extends back over 16 years in the industry, including two years as Vice President of the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors of the Greater Victoria Film Commission.

See our Wordpress Solutions

Ryan Rich Account Manager
Ryan Rich - Account Manager

Originally from Toronto, Ryan has called Victoria, British Columbia home for the past three years. Bringing a big city mentality to Victoria has allowed him to utilize his competitive, can-do attitude, while enjoying the more relaxed west coast culture.

Ryan first experienced the immense potential of online marketing while experimenting with social media to promote Victorious Events, a promotion and production company he started while at University. “It was amazing how effectively concerts, club events, and fundraisers could be promoted to so many people, at extremely low costs.” His events are known to be bona fide sell-outs, leaving club owners and patrons wanting more.
A desire Ryan cannot shake is the urge to travel. Australia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Israel are a few of the countries Ryan has explored. Europe is next on his list and a destination he enjoys discussing with fellow travellers.

Ryan can be frequently found on a soccer field, basketball court, or even the stage at one of Victoria’s many concert venues. He is passionate about sports and an avid musician, producing his own music, as well as many other local artists. “I like to work as hard as I play and believe a healthy medium is always possible.”

Adam Lee Account Manager
Adam Lee - Account Manager

Adam has worked in the sales and service industry for over 15 years, primarily in the financial sector, helping clients reach their goals. His can-do attitude and tenacity to always find a solution made him a top performer for one of Canada’s largest banks. His motivation to learn something new landed him a role with a US company which he thoroughly enjoyed, even with all the constant travel back and forth. He now resides back in Victoria, still helping people achieve their goals and making the seemingly ‘impossible’ a reality. 

Outside of work, if he is not found playing sports or reading up about cars and technology, he can be found attending the latest food event in Victoria. Also loves travelling, so when there is time, he can be found researching the latest destination with his wife.

Chris Noel Account Manager
Chris Noel - Account Manager

Chris Noel has extensive sales and operations experience. From an early age Chris was heavily involved in the telcom sector running large sales teams and call centers. From there he moved onto the online world where he led  the adverting and affiliate push while working as the Sales Manager at UsedEverywhere.com.  As the mobile world began to explode Chris moved onto the General Manager role at Brighthouse Labs helping lead a team to create over 6000 iphone and android applications.  

The entrepreneurial bug finally caught up to Chris in the fall of 2010 where he would go on to found our partner agency, Hipwood Digital. Since it's inception Hipwood has had the pleasure of working on award winning apps such as Apple's 2011 Apps of the year recepient "Word Wit" as well as major clients such as Warner Music, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Appy Couple, Royal BC Museum, Black Press and many more.

Jason Mandel Account Manager
Jason Mandel - Account Manager

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario - moved to Vancouver in March 08.  Has over 10 years business to business sales experience.  Active in sports, coached hockey and baseball.

Ryan James Development Chief Technical Officer
Ryan James - Development Chief Technical Officer

As an Open Source Programmer, Ryan specializes in custom programming and E-commerce. For the former, Ryan writes all of the one-off software that falls outside of general development, which basically entails any nonstandard modification to Drupal’s usual functioning. This can include tasks like custom registration forms and third party integration with sites like Facebook and Twitter. For E-Commerce programming, he is responsible for setting up stores, setting up products, and dealing with sales tax.

Ryan’s background includes a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Victoria, and he also interned at northStudio prior to working here. What Ryan is best at is the “really hard stuff”. He loves the mental challenge of finding solutions to our toughest technical issues. For Ryan, working with people who like to have fun is a major job perk—at North Studio, we work hard, and we play hard!

Outside of the office, Ryan’s passions include sports, such as hockey, softball, mountain biking, and skiing, as well as gadgets and computer games.

Sean Toohey Application Chief Technical Officer
Sean Toohey - Application Chief Technical Officer

Sean is senior technical leader with over 15 years of experience developing complex web and mobile solutions for some of the largest companies in Canada. He has extensive knowledge of product development, mobile application development, agile project management and online marketing. Sean is certified in Crystal Enterprise, IBM Websphere, Open Ad Stream and Omniture Analytics, and has worked extensively within the Google product ecosystem.

Amelia Bennett Developer
Amelia Bennett - Developer

As a Web Developer, Amelia does a little bit of everything, from developing to theming, which as a visual perfectionist, is her favourite. Amelia arrived at northStudio after pursuing her unofficial hobby—computers. After trying out every occupation imaginable, she completed Drupal courses and a Web Development and Internet Marketing certificate at Q College (formerly VSBT).

With her hopeless addiction to the internet and a love of computers, art and problem solving, she is now in the world she belongs in. Amelia loves cartooning, doodling and messing around in Photoshop. She favours cartoon animals, but is also a real-life animal lover, having had cats, dogs, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and rats. If there’s something that can be a pet, she’s probably had it. She is considered to be rather eccentric, in a computer ninja/vampire sort of way.

When she’s not on the computer, she spends her time avoiding daylight. She loves art, books, video games, gaming and random internet browsing. Amelia is a self-professed nerd—it’s what she does. If you don’t believe it, ask her to show you her computer-nerd Barbie doll.

Chris Jeffery Developer
Chris Jeffery - Developer

Chris is a successful graduate of North Studio's sister company Q College from 2008. There, he completed the Web Developer Diploma program. After completing the Web Design and Internet Marketing course, Chris went on to explore the world of Drupal by taking the Drupal Open Source Developement course, where his initial interest soon became a loving addiction.

His love for Drupal and and web development has carried on though in his career with North Studio. Chris works full time as a developer, specializing in Site Building, where he takes an initial Drupal 7 install and makes each site their own.

In his "spare" time Chris is an Factory BMX racer competing throughout Canada at the local, provincial, and national levels.

Gregg Coppen Developer
Gregg Coppen - Developer

Gregg Coppen is a project manager/developer with a designer’s eye, but a developer’s mindset. Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, his passion for websites has propelled him around the world, with jobs in South Africa, New York and London. He’s driven around the United States, travelled through Morocco, roughed it around Southern Africa and even “technology bartered” his way around Central and South America. You need a website? I need a place to stay. Let’s make this work.

After the birth of his daughter, Gregg’s jet-setting lifestyle finally landed him and his wife in Canada, where they could be part of a larger Drupal community. Prior to moving, Gregg did some research on northStudio and became intrigued with the prospect of working with a talented, capable, much larger team. With 3 years of Drupal experience and a few large community sites under his belt, Gregg tracked us down at Drupal Camp Alberta and northStudio decided it was a perfect match.

Having run his own web design, animation and development company alongside his designer/illustrator wife for eight years, Gregg’s specialty, is, well, everything! He’s used to running every aspect of a business, so there’s nothing he can’t do. He has a passion for good design & animation, enjoys creative technical problem solving and loves crafting great looking, standards driven web sites, powered by open source software like Drupal. He is also interested in iphone/ipad app development and is always looking for excuses to explore emerging technologies. All in all, this multi-talented guy is looking forward to settling in with a much larger team with a wide range of interests.

Gregg brings to us his massive skill-set, his attention to detail and his inexhaustible need to challenge himself. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, surfing, hiking and soon, snowboarding. He also enjoys longboarding, but not when he breaks his hand and the doctors remove the pins without anesthetic.
Tell us a random fact about yourself.

I also enjoy being a visualist (VJ) and have created and played animations and motion graphics live for a wide range of gigs & live events. I collect strange and interesting footage and animations from a broad range of sources and like to mash them up on the fly with live feeds to create interesting new compositions.

Ray Kuyvenhoven Developer
Ray Kuyvenhoven - Developer

As a Drupal Developer, Ray is responsible for writing and enhancing the custom software required to meet the specific needs of clients.

Ray was born and raised in Victoria, but spent 17 years in Hamilton, Ontario where he developed custom business software (sales analysis, inventory, invoicing and POS systems) for local companies. His foray into Drupal began in early 2008, when he was looking to get away from Microsoft based web solutions and into the Linux & Open Source world. After investigating a several content management systems, he settled on Drupal because it gave him the features and flexibility he was looking for.

Ray’s first Drupal website was a sports team stock exchange game, and even today he still has a strong interest in building sports (and music) related websites. His first website ever, a sports pool website, originally built with Perl, was rebuilt using DotNetNuke, and in 2010, rebuilt again on Drupal, and is still alive and well today.

Outside of work, Ray continues to dabble in all things tech. He loves finding out what’s going on in the world, especially the tech startup world and the music industry. He loves listening to his extensive music collection and enjoys making interesting contraptions, from circuit boards to Halloween props to elaborate lock boxes reminiscent of the classic Simon memory game.

Scott Morrison Developer
Scott Morrison - Developer

Scott has always been passionate about web development, particularly Drupal. He doesn't like to reinvent the wheel, so he loves how Drupal gives web developers a starting point with everything done correctly, but allows them to spend time producing what they really want, and what their customers really want. Scott is active in the Drupal community and has met some of Drupal's biggest players at conventions in the US—he’s a big fan.

Having been a “computer guy” for various companies (as well as friends and family members), Scott’s a patient guy. He listens, clarifies and ensures the conversation moves forward in equilibrium. And although he’s a Drupal instructor, he’s happy to assist students with the many steps that lead up to the real development. He has an open door policy, helping anyone before and after class and providing 24-hour email support.

Outside of work, Scott plays hockey in the winter (he’s an Edmonton-born Oilers fan), plays softball in the summer and travels to Costa Rica whenever possible. Now that he’s in Victoria, he plans to add surfing to his list of hobbies. Scott’s also big on the gym—after working at a computer for so long, he knows a strong body equals a strong mind.

Harley Acheson Developer
Harley Acheson - Developer

Harley has 22 years of professional experience in programming and network administration. He has a keen interest in human interface design, process automation, social media, and the use of 3D.  He is a passionate supporter of open-source software and is a contributing developer for the Blender 3D project.  He loves to spend time on his bike, as long as the weather is nice...

Nolan Walker Developer
Nolan Walker - Developer

Nolan is a professional web application developer, with over 12 years of experience. He specializes in custom development, including the creation of WordPress themes and plugins. Unlike many developers, Nolan also has years of experience as a project manager and user experience expert.

Nolan lives in Victoria with his family, and enjoys camping, travelling and playing hockey.

Shane Robinson Developer
Shane Robinson - Developer

Shane is a professional web developer, with a specialty in Drupal and Wordpress theming and development. Not only does he have years of experience in web development and design, he has many years of experience in the visual arts industry as a digital artist, creating 3D models, animations, and the like, for television and other mediums.

A lover of arts, when he is not developing for the web, his time is spent creating digital paintings and sculptures, drawing, reading, walking his Boston terrier, and trying to travel the globe, one country or city at a time.

amee nijjar Designer
amee nijjar - Designer

As North Studio’s graphic designer, Amee is responsible for web design, marketing materials and everything in between. On any given day, you can find her creating templates and logos, editing photos, designing infographics and putting the finishing touches on websites before they go live. She also designs for mediums other than the web, including brochures, banners, posters and promotional videos.

Amee has always admired good graphic design. Growing up, she spent a lot of time online playing around with her own designs and admiring the work of others. So when she saw the Applied Communications Program at Camosun, a course offering everything from writing to photography to desktop design, she knew she was headed in the right direction. Amee finished her degree in Professional Communications at Royal Roads University, knowing she wanted to focus on graphic design. She loves making things visually appealing, being a part of the transformation process and seeing her designs go live on the web.

Outside of work, Amee is just as artistic. When she’s not eating or drinking coffee, she likes to paint, draw and take photos, and does freelance photography and design on the side. She also attends as many concerts, shows and festivals as possible and is currently planning her dream trip to South America.

Zackary Yu Designer
Zackary Yu - Designer

Zackary Yu is an UI/UX designer whose past projects involved designing engaging medical devices, mobile apps, and web graphic user interface. He moved to Canada in 2004, where his design philosophies and styles embark to encompass a wide range of international experiences.

Zackary's design practice is deeply rooted in three foundations: function, usability, and elegant aesthetics. Whether the design opportunities are product, web, packaging, or brand identity, Zackary would be able to apply these three practices and come up with insightful outcomes.

A passion for traveling, food, and photography continually inspires his creative practice. When Zack is not at work you probably will find him kicking foosball with a beer in his hand.

See examples of Zacks work

Anabelle Bernard Fournier Copywriter
Anabelle Bernar... - Copywriter

Anabelle's world has always revolved around words. Fluently bilingual at 15, she attended an English-speaking university in Montréal for her BA and moved to Victoria to study for her master's degree in English. Since then, she has lived in Edmonton and Vancouver (only to come back to Victoria), has done translation, ghostwriting, professional blogging and communication planning as well as teaching undergraduate writing courses.

She has been an addict of everything Internet since she was a teenager (she coded websites at 14 and even handed out a project in HTML form in high school) and could not be happier contributing to this amazing repository of information and knowledge. She loves to learn about new topics and to spread passion and joy through her writing.

Outside of work, Anabelle is an avid knitter, a science-fiction fiend and the local library branch's #1 fan.

Victoria Office
301-771 Vernon Avenue,
Victoria, BC. V8X 5A7

tel: 1-250-721-9991
info@northstudio.com

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