Birdfeed
Canary News: Announcing some changes & new opportunities
Today, we are announcing a transition at Canary Promotion. Canary co-owner and head of our design department, Mason Wendell, has taken a new position as Creative Director at another Philadelphia web development firm called Zivtech. We’re thrilled for Mason and this new opportunity to develop the newly created design department at Zivtech. And although Canary Promotion will no longer offer design services, we’re excited about the opportunity to focus fully on the “Promotion” side of our business and expand our publicity, marketing, social media and consulting services with some new clients and upcoming projects.
On a personal note, Mason and I have been working together in some form for about 17 years - pretty much since we met the first day of college. First, we worked together as musicians and songwriters, then as indie record label owners, and for the past nine years, as co-owners of Canary Promotion + Design. Most people say to us, “Oh, I could never work with my spouse.” But it’s always worked for us. We motivate and inspire each other to do our best work (even if the constructive criticism isn’t always easy to swallow).
I’ll miss having Mason in the Canary office, but thankfully we’ll still see each other at quitting time. And yes, as Technically Philly reported this morning, “marital bliss remains in place.”
Read on for our official press release on the transition.
-Megan Wendell
Owner, Publicity & Marketing Director
Mason Wendell of Canary Promotion + Design Joins Zivtech as Creative Director
Philadelphia Open Source web development shop to expand to offer full-service design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2010
PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia-based web development firm, Zivtech, has announced today the expansion of their services with the hiring of Mason Wendell as Creative Director of a newly created design department. Zivtech specializes in building powerful and scalable Web Applications and Enterprise Content Management systems using Drupal, an open source Content Management System, and Alfresco, an Open Source Document Management System.
Mason Wendell has been Co-Owner and Principal Designer & Developer of Canary Promotion + Design since 2001, during which time he has directed and created websites for a variety of clients including the Rosenbach Museum & Library, Future of Music Coalition, Ars Nova Workshop, The Design Center at Philadelphia University, and The Colbert Report, among many others.
While Canary will no longer offer web design and development services, partner Megan Wendell will remain at the helm of what will now be Canary Promotion, continuing to offer publicity, marketing, and communications consulting services for arts, culture, entertainment and nonprofit clients. Canary Promotion was most recently contracted by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in addition to existing contracts with clients such as the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe, Rosenbach Museum & Library, Fairmount Park Art Association, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, the Women’s Board of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Brat Productions, and others.
“Zivtech has swiftly emerged as a leading Drupal development shop that has earned a great reputation for delivering exceptional websites and technical solutions,” says Mason. “I’m excited for the opportunity to join their team and help them grow as a full-service web design shop that will offer creative, engaging and functional design work along with highly skilled Open Source development.”
”It would be an understatement to say that we’re excited to bring Mason onto our growing team,” says Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg, Business Lead and Partner at Zivtech. “It is rare to find a designer who has a deep understanding of the complex systems we work with, and with this addition we can now offer our clients the unified design and development process that they have been asking for. This change will allow us to serve larger clients with more complex needs entirely in-house and will also help us to perfect some of the new web products we are actively developing.”
Mason Wendell is a Design, CSS, HTML, and Drupal specialist who has been designing and building websites since the early days of the web – first as an adjunct to his musical endeavors, and then deeper and deeper into more specialized and interesting territory. He has designed countless sites, written a custom content management system, and built dozens of customized Drupal websites. He has been a pixel monkey, a Flash designer and developer, and a streaming media producer for museums, universities, theaters, nonprofits, and Wall Street. He’s an active member of the Drupal open-source community, especially in local Philadelphia activities. Mason has been a speaker at every Philadelphia Drupal Camp (Drupaldelphia) and at this year’s Design for Drupal Camp at MIT in Cambridge, MA. He loves content, grids, and enjoys discussing and arguing the finest points of HTML and CSS with anyone who will join in.
ABOUT ZIVTECH
Zivtech is an Open Source Web Development Shop located in Philadelphia, PA that specializes in building powerful and scalable Web Applications and Enterprise Content Management Systems. Zivtech was founded in January of 2008, and has quickly grown to one of the premiere Open Source Web Development companies in the region.
Zivtech is passionate about Drupal, Alfresco, and the Open Source Movement, and that creative energy infects everything we do. We love building robust and cutting edge online applications, creating and empowering communities, and working within two of the most amazing professional communities in the world. Our active participation in the Alfresco and Drupal communities pushes us to write and share great code, put on interesting and engaging events, and mentor and train new development talent. It also means we know about all of the latest trends in the direction of the platforms, which add-ons/modules work well, and what new and powerful capabilities are on the horizon.
www.zivtech.com
ABOUT CANARY PROMOTION
Established in 2001, Canary Promotion is committed to working with arts, culture, entertainment and mission-driven clients. Our personalized publicity, branding and marketing services specialize in integrating new media strategies and community outreach with traditional techniques to create wide-reaching media campaigns while encouraging more personal audience interactions. Our services include media relations, marketing, community outreach, social media promotions, and consulting & communications strategy.
Our extensive network includes long-standing relationships with influential editors and journalists – both national and regional – industry leaders, and community contacts ranging from independent artists, small companies and galleries to some of the most prominent cultural institutions, performing arts venues, and arts advocacy organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area. Canary-led campaigns produce real results, whether it’s for year-round campaigns, a recurring series or festival, or a one-time event.
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