Gravel
Weekly notes on design, business, and building a studio.
- October 26, 2026$1M Ecomm Teams vs $20M Ecomm TeamsHigher-revenue brands wait 30–90 days on performance data after a redesign launch; smaller brands often redesign within days. How Shovel stays aligned.
- August 7, 2026Design Iterations vs Design WorkshopsWeekly feedback iterations suit clients moving from a 2/10 to an 8/10 website. Clients aiming for 8/10 to 10/10 do better with live 1.5-hour design workshops.
- July 24, 2026How I sell websitesShovel offers branding (4-week sprint), web design (6-week sprint) and web development (from 6 weeks) for elevated ecommerce brands on Shopify.
- July 16, 20267 Reasons to Fire a DesignerI’m growing fast. The struggles with studio positioning and hires are real. Here are my notes that you can learn from:
- July 6, 2026Claude Projects that run my design studioSix Claude Projects Shovel uses for proposals, Shopify build plans, design tokens, SOPs and UX, plus creator content takeaways from Cannes Lions.
- June 2, 2026Tastemakers will hate me for thisHow taste comes from subcultures, why client feedback should come through one channel, and the 50/50 rule for splitting time between leads and work.
- May 12, 2026Traits of creative winners I've picked up over the last 2 yearsWinning $1M–$15M brand founders know what their time is worth, trust their hires, test marketing channels and make data-driven decisions.
- April 29, 2026Genuinely great newsA Claude project helped plan a Buttz size finder, built in Liquid within 3 hours. The post argues small $400 Shopify function jobs are diminishing.
- April 21, 2026AI only replaces you if you let itA Role, Context, Command, Format prompt structure, Claude projects that build SOPs and proposals, and where AI fits in design and product content.
- April 7, 2026Design websites, get money, spend that money to design more websitesShovel works with recurring contractors, no full-time staff, runs about 8 projects at once and sells design systems to $1M–$20M brands.
- March 31, 2026Building a web design studio in 2026Shovel works with fashion brands at $1M–$20M a year, sells design systems rather than single websites, and backs quality with developer QA and a photo brief.
- March 26, 20253D Websites & Ascii ArtThreeJS adds 3D and ASCII effects but brings longer load times. Use it when experimental design fits your brand and load speed isn't a concern.
- March 19, 2025Site of the WeekA breakdown of Tank Air's headless Shopify build, and why brands under $10K+ a month should start with a Shopify theme before custom work.
- February 3, 2025Shovel Studio January ReviewShovel's January 2025 recap: +8,000 Instagram followers, a new YouTube channel, a new website, a Notion template, and plans for themes and apps.
