© Crown Communications. Reprinted with permission from The Bottom Line (April 2001).
When design company emedia were looking to expand from a home office operation, they simply moved next door.
A small retail building in the outer parishes has been a benchmark of the Bermuda economy for the last 200 years. It wasn’t that long ago when the building on the corner of Middle Road and Cobbs Hill in Warwick was a shop, specialising in cedar souvenirs for visitors, an indication of the strength of our tourism market. Today, it is the home of emedia (www.emedia.bm), a website, graphic design and marketing strategies company part-owned by the granddaughter of that retailer (see BL, Fall 2000).
She is Jennifer Ward and her associate is fellow Bermudian Colin Murdoch. But their relationship goes further than that — they describe themselves as "partners outside the work environment as well as in". When the couple decided to go into business together — Murdoch is the designer, while Ward runs the business side — Ward remembered her grandmother’s gift shop, which had been home to a bed and bath shop in the intervening years. "I thought we could convert it into an office," she said.
Sitting in their newly renovated premises, Ward says: "The irony is this building used to be a grocery store which Colin’s great-grandfather used to run!"
The economy may have changed drastically since the days when it was a grocery store, and since Ward’s grandmother ran a gift shop in this building, but the sense of community is still the same. "Our families have been friends for years," says Murdoch. "And we both went to Warwick Academy."
And in keeping with that sense of continuity, the conversion from shop to high-tech multi-media company has been a smooth one.
Their new premises have the ambience of a New York loft: the big open room filled with light is an environment designed to encourage creativity. And to help these young entrepreneurs on the job, they have a few of their favourite things on hand: a professional deejay rig with a prized pair of Technics turntables has pride of place in the centre of this space. "If you go into any art department you will find music, but not to this extent," says Murdoch. "Late at night, you need some tunes!"
A major piece of computer-generated art created by Murdoch hangs on the wall, along with other similar works. There are model vintage motorcycles on display as well, a tip of the hat to a passion shared by the partners.
The new company shares the building with another web designer, Mike Hind, whose company is called stickstuff Ltd. Amongst other things, Hind designs and maintains the Bermuda.com site.
Murdoch says: "We’re helping each other build up. The web is like that — there are so many different aspects to it. The team work is essential."
Murdoch has been a graphic designer for 11 years now, and like so many people in today’s technology industries, he is self-taught. Ward explains: "Colin’s been doing web site design for three or four years. He’s worked for various agencies on the Island and then he freelanced for a year and a half.
"I did hospitality management in school, and I worked in restaurants. Then, when Colin said he couldn’t do it all on his own, I said I would deal with the clients, and I took the plunge into the design world!"
Murdoch explains: "When you’re freelancing, there is only so much you can get done in a day. My strengths are really design and conceptual work."
The renovation was a major project, but as Murdoch and Ward live next door to the building, it made the process easier. "We totally renovated it and knocked walls down. We put a computer network in. We put in new windows and new ceilings and new bathrooms," says Ward. "Because we live right next door, if there was a question we could answer it right away."
They found signs of the building’s previous incarnations. "The main entrance used to lead into a butcher’s shop, and the storage room we have today was a meat fridge. The grocery store was in the large, central room."
After they gutted the building, they found they had much more space than they had anticipated. "We really didn’t know how big it was," says Ward. The couple did a lot of work themselves and their family members also pitched in. "My father, who helped us, went through six gallons of dry wall plaster to fill up all the holes in the wall!"
They hired a contractor who, like themselves, had a small business. "Corry and Jill Cowalchuk of CNK Enterprises came in and did a great job. They did all the masonry, window installations, dry wall and ceiling installations.
"Corry is in a similar situation to us and so we had lots of talks! Nick Watson, who worked for CNK, put up practically the whole ceiling himself. Tom Whayman did all the wiring. He is incredible. There isn’t anything left from before except one storeroom light switch!
"There are telephone outlets every six feet, and electrics. It’s all done to code, and it’s given us lots of room for expansion. Tom made a bet we would not have to use extension cords! He did an awesome job," she said.
"Everything is networked so a new person just plugs their computer in and they’re just about ready to go! Rick Kempe of Office Cabling Technology helped us with our network. "Chris McLeod helped us in terms of software and computers, and making them talk to each other. He configured the network." emedia runs Macs in the office: a G4 Tower, a G3 and an iMac.
"Chris’s company is Decisions Ltd. and he’s a network consultant guy. It’s a company like ours, very small. He’s just got three staff. They’re the background guys!
"So we’re all small companies and we all complement each other, which makes it fun. And we’re all friends as well."
At emedia, the partners have just one person on their staff: Libby Cook, who Ward called "a great advocate. She’s a graphic designer and works with me on marketing strategies for many of our clients." Business is going well, says Murdoch. "For the past two years it has really picked up. But this coming year is really the one!"
And they’re excited about the future. Ward says: "We have so many diverse, different things we are going to be doing with websites. All the jobs we do are so different."
Kodak Express is one, an innovative company which has an extensive website with lots of new, digital products. It provides a postcard section, so customers can send Bermuda Greetings on line. "Kodak customers are emailed with new specials when they come out," said Ms Ward.
"We’re also doing a logo and website for the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, a charity which are building a training sail ship for young Bermudians. This is a first for them."
Having a website has multifold advantages: great technology means your site can be colourful, exciting and full of movement; web users can be directed onto your site in many different ways and today’s web, explains Murdoch, is "very easy" to update. "We can put in new products and sections without much delay. A website is just a really good marketing tool."