Oregon

Launch of Community Works Redesigned Website!

Community Works logoI am so proud to announce the launch of Community Works redesigned website! It went live last Saturday evening and has already had a lot of visits, as one might expect from a non profit community service website like this. Please like Community Works on Facebook and visit their website to see the amazing work they do in Jackson County for abused women and victims of sexual assault/rape, abused children and families who are dealing with/recovering from severe trauma, homeless and runaway youth, and so much more for some of the most vulnerable and hurting people of Jackson County’s communities.

The programs this organization operate rock! Best known and with a great reputation for the Dunn House Shelter, many don’t know the name of this non profit that provides compassionate and effective help and support for women escaping abuse/domestic violence, or that they provide services for women, children, youth and families seeking to recover from sever traumas and connect them to resources that can help them further. Please visit the new website to learn more about the organization and its programs, volunteer and/or contribute to their work with a tax deductible donation, see their upcoming events and more!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this Friday at 4pm they are sponsoring a Walk to End Domestic Violence in Medford. Wear purple and join us at the Medford Courthouse to raise awareness of domestic violence!

Between working on Jennifer Faith’s website and this one for Community Works I have learned more than I ever thought I’d want to know about domestic violence. I had no idea that one in every three women around the world will suffer abuse and violence at some time during their lives. This statistic is consistent no matter what country, culture or religion you consider, and those women of faith are in the worst position of all since these patriarchal organizations tend to encourage the men and advise the women to keep silent and not try to leave under the threat of offending God. Most of the time the stigma of domestic violence and the fear of their abuser (and the fear of angering the God they love) keeps them silent and trapped in a situation that will only get worse and could even cost them their lives. Women who do finally work up the courage to make their escape still are not safe.

Problems with the justice system and the ongoing controlling behavior of their former partner results in another ugly statistic: 70% of the women who die from domestic violence are killed AFTER leaving their abusive partner. Women need help, guidance and support throughout all the stages of abuse until they are back on their feet and are truly safe from their abuser, and Community Works provides support for survivors as well as those still in an abusive situation.

You could very well know someone who is secretly hurting, and their life could be in danger right now. Please share the site with your network so they can find help without humiliation and you may save a life.

If you or someone you know needs help, call the HelpLine 24 hour crisis hotline at 541-779-4357 or toll free: 1-855-216-2111

Community Works: Strengthening Lives to Change Community – Strengthening Community to Change Lives

New Website for Jacksonville Chiropractic!

Jacksonville Chiropractic Clinic, Dr. Jason Williams,  Jacksonville, OregonI would like to thank Jacqueline Williams for entrusting me with the ground-up redesign of the website for Jacksonville Chiropractic Clinic, featuring Jacque’s husband, chiropractor Dr. Jason Williams, and the licensed massage therapists who practice alongside him!

Jacque was lovely to work with, and when she had to step aside for a couple of weeks for unrelated reasons, I felt I had enough information from our very productive first meeting to forge ahead on my own. When she returned, she was delighted to find the site ready for her review. We made a few adjustments, I did some housekeeping on the technical end, notified the search engines that the site had been revamped, and it was ready to go! Afterward, she said to me “Thank you so much, Hannah. I’m not very good about delegating, it’s just so much more efficient to do things myself most of the time. But I was really impressed with what you were able to accomplish without any input or participation from me while I was away. I thought it was going to be much more work on my part, but you made it so easy and painless! The site is beautiful, functional and easy to navigate, and I can’t wait to share it with our patients and the community!”

I am particularly proud of how this website came out in the end, and feel the layout and design is flexible enough to use for a number of different types of business. It even looks great on mobile devices!

We were careful to observe the new search engine optimization (SEO) techniques and hope it will be favored by the search engines as a result. You can help by leaving a comment on the blog post announcing the new site, by searching for Jville Chiropractic on Google or Bing and clicking through to the website, then lingering there or browsing the site for a little while, or by sharing the site with your favorite social network. 8.24.14 UPDATE: One of the things we did to boost Jacksonville Chiropractic’s SEO rating was to invest in a paid plugin by Yoast called Local SEO. Previously when we searched for “Jacksonville Chiropractic,” we saw mostly sites in Jacksonville, Florida in the search results. Now, and in record time, Jacksonville Chiropractic’s Oregon site dominates page one of the search results! Alternative searches have it either as #1 in the page one list, or lower on the page, but still on page 1. Even a search for “jason williams dc“, which predictably pulls up results with Jason Williamses from many walks of life, has OUR Jason Williams’ bio page at position #6, and the link to jacksonvillechiropracticclinic.com in position #7! Your help in lickcing the links you found in the search results made a huge difference in the amount of time this usually takes, too…Thank you!!

Please visit the site and take a look around. There is a lot of additional information, new patients can download patient registration forms to fill out and bring to their first visit, and the visual comparison between the previous site and this one…well, there’s no comparison! We would be very grateful if you would share their new site with anyone in the Jacksonville area who needs help from a chiropractor and/or therapeutic massage specialist, or travelers who have found themselves in need while visiting friends and family here. If you are a patient of Dr. Williams or one of his associates, please send them an email with a testimonial via their Contact page. We need current testimonials to make the site complete.

I can vouch for Mira, the resident therapeutic massage and Rolfing specialist. After one hour under Mira’s skilled and sensitive hands, I found a huge amount of pain relief that has remained with me since last November! Yes, sitting in front of a computer all day every day does have its drawbacks, but in no time she put me back in the saddle and ready to build more and better websites. I have a feeling Mira may become active on the blog, sharing information and special announcements.

Last but not least, we set up an online shop for the Clinic. It’s still under construction, but we hope to have it fully functional soon, and then you will be able to purchase the health products they use and recommend to their patients – either for shipment to your home or for local pickup!

We also set up the template for Jacksonville Chiropractic’s first newsletter. It’s pretty clean and simple – they do not plan to do a lot of emailing, but they are co-sponsoring Jacksonville’s First Annual Health Fair in October and would like to share the details with the community as the festival takes shape. In the near future we will set it up so that occasional news and announcements from their new blog can be delivered to your inbox.

I welcome your feedback, and if you would be interested in a quote on a website similar to this one, please send me an email via my Contact page.

More announcements to come soon, and hopefully a catch-up post with the many projects I’ve successfully completed this year but haven’t had time to write about, too.

Don’t miss Judy Elliott’s Dragonfly Designs West show at the GoodBean!

Note: I just started working with Judy Elliott of Dragonfly Designs West to take over the maintenance on her existing website, an exciting development that follows a year of getting to know her. I’m posting an edited version of the article we submitted to the Jacksonville Review to promote her current show at the GoodBean Cafe in Jacksonville to tell you more about her. This show comes down Friday afternoon (May 31), so be sure to stop in before the end of the month…and again after the first, when we will not only have a new featured artist on display, but one of Judy’s new large wall hangings will be installed on the rafter where the koi are now!  I’ll post a link to Judy’s website once it’s been updated (www.yourkimono.com), and more on the projects I worked on last month once we’ve finished wrapping them up.      ~ Hannah West

Calla Lilly with Frog and Gadflies Wall Hanging
“Calla Lilly with Frog and Gadflies” Wall Hanging

GoodBean owner Mary Kell and art curator Hannah West of Art Presence fell in love with the hand-painted silk creations from Judy Elliott’s Dragonfly Designs West last summer, featuring a handsewn kimono in the guest artist spot above the coffee counter and a spectacular hand-painted black and red hibiscus wall hanging that fluttered delicately above our heads when we opened the front doors. Judy didn’t have much work to share at that time since she was also exhibiting at Jacksonville Celebrates the Arts. She sold nearly all her inventory at the festival, became a member of Art Presence and the Southern Oregon Artists Resource, and we were so impressed we invited her to return the following spring for a featured exhibition.

Judy has since gotten married, moved into a new home, started a new career and painted a lot of silk ~ you’ll be treated to an array of stunning pieces that will make memorable gifts for someone special – or for yourself! – if you come in the cafe for a cup of something warm (for chilly spring days) or cold (for hot spring days – we’ve had plenty of both this year!). Along with handsewn cotton kimonos and Happi (pronounced “hoppy”) coats with authentic Japanese prints, hand-painted silk scarves, handheld fans and wall hangings, we can also expect to see hand-painted paper Japanese-style umbrellas!

Handsewn Happi (pronounced "hoppy") coats with handpainted silk fan
Handsewn Happi (pronounced “hoppy”) coats with handpainted silk fan, on display now at the GoodBean in Jacksonville.
Hand sewn kimono by Judy Elliott
Hand sewn kimono by Judy Elliott

Judy shares a glimpse into her past and highlights of the process behind her creations:
“Growing up in Hawaii, I absorbed the tastes and cultures of the Islands. My father, a photographer, blessed me with an artistic eye for exotic colors and shapes. Early on I developed an interest in Japanese fashion and design, particularly the Kimono and Happi (pronounced “Hoppi”) Coat, which I often wore as a child while dancing.

“In 1991 I brought these passions with me to Oregon. To expand on the skills I developed while attending interior design school in Hawaii, I began offering hand-painted silk scarves, wall hangings, and mid-length kimoros, often worn as a robe. Now I frequently receive commissions to create custom pieces to wear or to decorate a home or office.
“My line of kimonos are made from Japanese and Hawaiian printed polished cotton. I’ve found that cotton is a far more comfortable choice of fabric for everyday wear, and the variety of prints are more accessible.

Judy paints a silk wall hanging.
Judy paints a silk wall hanging.

“Silk comes from the silk worm and is spun into threads to weave into various items. While visiting a silk carpet manufacturing facility in Turkey, I learned more about how the threads are formed and used. While silk appears to be a very delicate fabric, it is actually very strong and durable. Silk is a unique item to paint on and requires trial and error before beginning the process. I enjoy working with silk, experimenting with new ways to use it. Some of my hand-painted scarves and wall hangings are outlined with gutta, a rubberized substance that prevents the dye from traveling from one section of the scarf to another. Some of my newer scarves are painted with dye and wax, accented with the use of salt to create beautiful effects. Each scarf must be heat-set after a four day process to prevent colors from bleeding. They can then be handwashed with a mild fabric soap.”

Hand painted silk scarves by Judy Elliott on display at the GoodBean
Hand painted silk scarves by Judy Elliott on display at the GoodBean

Though she didn’t get the Mother’s Day sales I expected with all those colorful and beautifully hand painted silk scarves on display, Judy has had a very successful show, selling two gorgeous kimonos (including the one pictured above) with magnificent Japanese crane prints to one enthusiastic buyer last week! Better check out those scarves before they’re gone…

When I asked Mary how she liked what Judy had done with her exhibition, she said “I feel so fortunate! Not everyone has beautiful art like this in their business!” A known mermaid who loves spending time by the ocean, it’s no surprise that Mary finds this show close to her heart. I’ll have to bring her to the reception for the Art Presence show in June, as Judy will be exhibiting two works not seen at the GoodBean now as part of the “Coastal, By the Sea” show of member works.

"Koi" handpainted silk wall hanging by Judy Elliott
“Koi” handpainted silk wall hanging by Judy Elliott
"Koi" handpainted silk wall hanging by Judy Elliott
“Koi” (reverse) swimming…overhead?!

 

 

 

This is a wonderfully colorful show with graceful designs that create a lovely ambience in the GoodBean’s cafe ~ please enjoy it enjoy while there’s still time as it comes down at the end of this month. If you miss it though, all is not lost, to calm her wedding day nerves, Judy created another spectacular wall hanging called “Tropical Splendor” which will replace the one pictured on the left.

Oktoberfest Flag Design for the City of Jacksonville

My friend Mary Kell, owner of the GoodBean Cafe in Jacksonville, Oregon, where I curate their monthly art exhibits, asked me to design a classic Oktoberfest Flag for the city to fly during this popular Autumn event. She wanted something similar to the Britt Flag that flies throughout the town during the Britt Music Festival and since this was for the town in general, different from the design used by the Frauhaus Brauhaus, a popular German restaurant in town. I found three traditional Bavarian/Oktoberfest designs online, modified them to comply with Jackonsville’s 4-color sign code restriction and added the headline in a classic German Black font to create a handsome, eye-catching flag for everyone to enjoy next year. ©2012 Hannah West Design

Oktoberfest Flag Design, Side 1, ©2012 Hannah West Design
Oktoberfest Flag Design, Side 1, ©2012 Hannah West Design
Oktoberfest Flag Design, Side 2, ©2012 Hannah West Design
Oktoberfest Flag Design, Side 2, ©2012 Hannah West Design

Three New Websites! evemargowithrow.com, mainstflowersmedford.com & wineoceroswineclub.com

Well I see I’ve been so busy that I’ve neglected to post the new websites I’ve just finished! Here are quick links, and I’ll post them to my portfolio along with a little about each project as soon as possible.

Eve Margo Withrow
Artist Eve Margo Withrow – www.evemargowithrow.com
Main Street Flowers, Medford, Oregon
Main Street Flowers, Medford, Oregon – www.mainstflowersmedford.com

 

Wineoceros Wine Club
Wineoceros Wine Club, Inc. – www.wineoceroswineclub.com