Creastra

Great New Testimonial from Artist Portfolio Bundle Client

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:14:25 +0000

Last week we received a wonderful testimonial from artist and painter, Patrick Treacy, regarding the Artist Portfolio Bundle website Creastra built for his last summer. Check it out:

My experience with Creastra has been a positive one. I have received nothing but compliments from fellow artists and curators on how the website looks and its clarity and ease of navigation As a visual artist, the aesthetics of my website are important to me and Creastra worked with me to make it both attractive and user friendly. The website was up and running in a relatively short time, something I really appreciated. I enjoyed both the process of creating the website and the end product.

Patrick is a well known Winnipeg-based painter whose large scale paintings have hung in both private and gallery collections including the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Bank of Montreal (BMO), and the Richardson Family. We're so happy that Patrick still loves his website all these months later, that he's been getting such great feedback on it, and that he enjoyed working with Creastra so much!

If you're an artist - of any calling - and are looking for a place to showcase your work, check out the bundle Patrick chose, Creastra's Artist Portfolio Bundle, here.

And, finally, if you'd like to see Patrick's works (highly recommended), click here to visit his Portfolio.

Official Launch: Ndoto Strategies

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:39:38 +0000

Back in November we were very excited to start working with Chicago-based consulting firm Ndoto Strategies on a new website. That website was started in late November and launched in December, however Ndoto founder Corey Barnes wanted to do a 'soft launch', so we didn't announce the launch of the new Nodoto website .... until today!

Ndoto Strategies works with community-based not-for-profit and grassroots organizations; helping them focus their efforts, hone in on and attain their goals more quickly, and find new opportunities with larger organizations and government bodies. That is some good work I think just about anybody can get behind!

Ndoto chose to go with a Small Business Starter Bundle Website, which we built on a Wordpress + Gantry Framework architecture. The Website includes a dynamic image rotator on the front page, blog integration with tagging and comments, and we even setup a FAQ section that owner Corey Barnes can fill and update offline until he's ready to launch the new section later on in the year!

Check out the great work Ndoto Strategies does at http://www.nodotostrategies.com, click here to learn more about our affordable Small Business Starter Bundle, or check out our portfolio for information on this and all our other projects.

New Clients, and Resolved Billing System Issue

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 00:56:49 +0000

Well, our Fall "We Pay the Tax" Special is over, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot going on at Creastra.

In other news ...

Creastra is also working at the moment with Chicago-based Ndoto Strategies, with the creation of a new web presence to help them further facilitate all the amazing good works they do.
Client Mary Ratliff and her company Nine Hour Films, just completed the monumental task of funding Nine Hour FIlms' current film project over on Kickstarter with resounding success. Not only did Mary and NHF make their funding goal, but they surpassed the 100% funding mark by over 30%. Congratulations Mary and Nine Hour Films and Good Luck with the documentary.
The book, XXX NDN : Love and Lust in NDN Country, for which Creastra designed the cover art and promotionals can now be found on the shelves at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg.
After discovering some issues with our former billing system (clients were not receiving PDF receipts and invoices via the automated system) we've switched systems. If any client finds that they're missing an annual receipt or invoice for a payment due, please email help at creastra dot ca to let us know and we'll rectify the situation immediately.

Fall Special : We Pay the Tax!

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

The summer is over. It's time for the kids to go back to school, and it's time for the rest of us to go back to work. Having to put the white shoes and barbeque tongs away is always a bit of a downer; so to perk things up for everyone we've got a Great New Fall Special!

Between September 1 and October 31, 2011, Creastra will pay the tax on All New Custom contracts and Starter Bundles (see below for details). To take advantage of this Special, you must have a signed contract with deposit with Creastra before the Special ends on Hallowe'en, and even if your project doesn't launch before the deadline you will be discounted the GST, PST, or HST on your project!

This is a great time to start work on your Christmas marketing projects, or get a head start on Q1 2012!

Call Creastra at (204) 942-5517, email us at hello@creastra.ca or Request a Free Quote/Consultation to get the ball rolling!

Demo Area is Down (For Now)

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:49:27 +0000

Just a quick note to advise that the Demos Area has been taken down temporarily.

We want to give everyone who visits Creastra the best experience possible, and with September right around the corner and the summer lull dying down we just can't devote the time we need to getting all demo areas up and running at the moment. So, rather than only having half a demo section, we've decided to take it down for now. It will be coming back up soon and the demo websites are still available at the moment via direct URL.

If you are interested in test driving any (or all) of the Content Management Systems or E-Commerce Shopping Systems that Creastra develops for, please email us or call for information at (204) 942-5517.

Thank you for your understanding, and we hope to have a new and greatly improved Demos Area up and running for you before the end of the year.

Launch News: Artist Portfolio for Winnipeg Painter, Patrick Treacy

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:25:32 +0000

This morning we launched the brand new Artist Portfolio website for Winnipeg-based Painter, Patrick Treacy.

Patrick is a well-known Winnipeg artist with works in numerous collections including those of the Richardson Family, Bank of Montreal, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery. His work most recently showed in the Piano Nobile Gallery at the Centennial Concert Hall earlier this year.

Patrick's Artist Portfolio Bundle website features Shadowbox enhanced galleries, blog integration for event and news updates, custom fonts, dynamic slideshow features, and more.

You can visit the new website at http://www.patricktreacy.ca or learn more about Creastra's Artist Portfolio Website Bundle.

Creastra Bundles Prove their Versatility with Two New Launches

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:30:03 +0000

Summer is always a down time for small business, but the Art World picks up when school is out and the sun is hot (especially in Winnipeg!). That being the case, we're very pleased to announce the launching, and soon to be launching, of two Bundle websites - one a Small Business Bundle, one an Artist Portfolio Bundle - designed by Creastra.

Creastra Launches New Referral Program

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Creastra is really pleased to announce that we're instituting a new Referral Program for our clients and business associates as a way of saying thank you.

Every time you refer a new client to Creastra, you will have a choice of Thank You Gifts for the referral. And because we are grateful for all referrals (not just the big multi-thousand dollar ones) there are two sets of Referral Gifts: One for when your referral chooses a Website Starter Bundle, and one for when they choose either a Branding Bundle or to build a Custom Project with Creastra.

All the details can be found here, or scroll to the bottom of any page to check out our new Referral Program.

It's just our way of saying Thank You!

More xxx ndn Press Featuring Work by Creastra

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:00:00 +0000

The press for xxx ndn is heating up as we roll toward the Official Book Launch at the Windsor Hotel tonight. Maeengan Linklater, President of the Aboriginal Writers' Collective of Manitoba, spoke on the CBC Morning show this morning about the book, the AWC, and the politics of Aboriginal Erotica, which you can listen to over at the Manitoba Scene.

On a side note, I was just tickled pink to see that a photograph I'd taken of Maeengan at a reading earlier this year ended up on the Manitoba Scene again. Maeengan is known for being the member of AWC at every reading with his camera in hand, so I'm honoured he chose a photograph by myself (doing the marketing media thing for Creastra) to go up with his interview this morning.

xxx ndn: love and lust in ndn country will launch tonight at the Windsor Hotel downtown (8PM).

xxx ndn Cover Art Revealed at CBC.ca

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:00:00 +0000

It's a proud day in any Canadian artist's life when their work is published - in whatever capacity - by The CBC, and that day has finally come for me in the press build-up for the launch of xxx ndn.

The cover art for the book, designed by Creastra, appears for the first time publicly over at Manitoba Scene in an article written by AWCm alumna and xxx ndn Editor Katherena Vermette. This book isn't just a first for us, it's the first of it's kind in Canada as well, you know?

Check out Katherena's write up on the new ground-breaking anthology by the Aboriginal Writers' Collective of Manitoba over at The Manitoba Scene | CBC.ca.

Website Launch: Pizza Pan - Charley Biggs

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:38:10 +0000

Creastra is proud to announce the website launch for our latest client: Pizza Pan - Charley Biggs of Winnipeg, MB.

Pizza Pan is a family owned and operated restaurant specializing in chicken and pizza, but also offering more exotic fare like their Pakora, Samosa, and their delicious Chicken Tandoori. Pizza Pan wanted a cost effective online solution that would help them showcase their various specials, and expand their reach beyond their local neighbourhood.

The Pizza Pan- Charley Biggs website is a Small Business Starter Bundle Website.

Please check out this latest addition to the Creastra family of clients at http://www.pizzapanwpg.ca

Creastra Now Using CouchCMS

sscott@creastra.ca (Admin - Saffron Scott) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 02:48:13 +0000

As of today, Creastra is no longer offering website design and development with Movable Type Publishing System. Instead, we've decided to switch to Couch CMS.

Couch CMS has an easy to use editing interface for clients, and also allows your Web Designer and Developer much more freedom when it comes to the design of your website. What really won us over was the easy install and integration; which is super easy, fast, and clean.

This change is immediate, and effects all web design/development services and bundles including the Small Business Starter Bundle, and the Artist Portfolio Bundle.

Everyone here is very excited to start using this new Content Management System to build even more beautiful, dynamic websites for you - our clients.