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Sonder Sites Crafting bespoke, high-performance Shopify Plus websites. Elevate your brand with innovation, creativity, and exceptional user experience. šŸŒāœØ

Some ideas get me out of bed.Tim here. When I'm excited about something I'm building, I get actual goosebumps.Ask Nicole...
17/10/2026

Some ideas get me out of bed.

Tim here. When I'm excited about something I'm building, I get actual goosebumps.

Ask Nicole. I'll be up at five because there's something I want to try. Music on. Straight into it.

A website, a new bit of technology, an experiment that might go somewhere. I can turn up with a million ideas and want to explore all of them.

I know that can be a lot for other people. It's a lot going on in my own head, too.

But that excitement is a huge part of why I do this. I love the moment an idea starts becoming something I can actually use or show someone.

Getting fired from the agency was frightening. One thing I knew, though, was that I wanted to spend more of my life building.

This is the feeling I was looking for.

I'm not suggesting everyone needs to get up at five. That's just what happens to me when I can't wait to get started.

What have you worked on that made you lose track of time?

Artwork: AI-assisted illustrated concept, a visual metaphor for the story.

Dad bought the best tools. I built a space station.Tim here. My dad always believed in buying the best tools for the job...
16/10/2026

Dad bought the best tools. I built a space station.

Tim here. My dad always believed in buying the best tools for the job. His thinking was simple: you can only be as good as the tools you're using.

That stuck with me.

For the work I do, my tools are the screens, the software, the technology and the space I sit down in every day. Apparently, my version of a good workspace looks like mission control.

Big screens. Lights. A microphone. A VR headset within reach. Things to build with, experiment with and get excited about.

I love walking into this room. It feels special to me. I sit down and want to make something.

When clients visit, they get a sense of how seriously I take this. They can see how much I'm into it before I've even opened their project.

There's a bit of Dad's mentality in all of that. Invest in the tools. Look after your workspace. Give yourself a proper chance to do work you're proud of.

Your space might look completely different. But I reckon it should make you feel good being there.

Dad's tools were his thing. This is mine.

What's the one thing in your workspace that makes it feel like yours?

Artwork: AI-assisted print treatment of my real photograph.

Tim here. This is one of the jobs behind Sonder that I'll never forget.It started with a website and ended with a trip t...
15/10/2026

Tim here. This is one of the jobs behind Sonder that I'll never forget.

It started with a website and ended with a trip to CES in Las Vegas.

AEV Robotics, now Applied EV, were getting ready for CES 2019 in Las Vegas. I helped with their website, video content, marketing and branding for the launch.

They were happy with the work and asked if I'd come along.

100%. Let's go.

I went over with the team and helped set up and run their space on the CES floor. Suddenly I was right there with the people building this thing, helping them show it to the world.

Somewhere in that week I got interviewed by IGN, met a bloke from Pawn Stars, ended up on a huge yacht indoors and visited a penthouse at the MGM Grand.

I also posed with an NVIDIA award I absolutely did not win. Important detail.

It was exhausting. It was ridiculous. I loved it.

The team went on to secure significant funding. In March 2020, ARENA announced $2 million for their next stage of electric vehicle development. That was their team's achievement. I was proud to have played a part in the digital work around their earlier launch.

Then I flew home.

After all those flights, I looked at Nicole and said something along the lines of, 'Jeez, you look more tired than me.'

She told me she was pregnant with our first son, Hugo.

I'd just had this enormous week in Vegas, and the moment I walked through the door, life got bigger again.

What I loved about that job was being invited into the team. I got to see what the website and videos were actually there to support, and help beyond the original brief.

That's the kind of work I want more of. Interesting people building something they care about, and a chance to get properly involved.

It started with VR.In 2022, I was part of a VR meetup showcasing shopping in virtual reality. I spoke at RMIT about the ...
14/10/2026

It started with VR.

In 2022, I was part of a VR meetup showcasing shopping in virtual reality. I spoke at RMIT about the future of shopping.

Later that year, conversations covered VR and the Shopify setup at RMIT's campus stores. Then came the practical part: understanding how the stores worked.

By December 2024, Ying and I were part of the wider team delivering the Clubs/Stores Shopify solution into production.

I still love trying new technology. The useful bit is finding where it fits the people doing the work.

Image: cinematic concept, not a photograph of the meetup or RMIT project.

I got fired from a big agency. I had no idea what I was going to do next.I was working in Little Collins Street, answeri...
13/10/2026

I got fired from a big agency. I had no idea what I was going to do next.

I was working in Little Collins Street, answering support calls and moving tables around for events.

I wanted to build things. Instead, it felt like I was watching everyone else live their dream.

Iā€™d never been to university. I felt like a fraud. Was I actually smart enough to be a project manager? A developer? Run my own business?

I knew I could make things. I just wasnā€™t sure I could make a living doing it.

So I started walking around Richmond, knocking on doors and talking to business owners.

One of those businesses was Purvis B**r. I knew them through the agency, which had outgrown their account. The CEO had said I could work with them.

I went into the shop three or four times. Bought some b**rs. Talked about how I could help.

They became one of my first clients. From memory, it was about $500 a week to look after their website, socials, LinkedIn and the other digital bits that needed doing.

I loved being part of it. And yes, I got to drink plenty of b**r.

Working together, their online store went from roughly $40,000 a year to $50,000 a month within three or four months.

That gave me a story to take to the next business owner. Hereā€™s what we did. Could I help you too?

Iā€™d been questioning whether I was good enough to do this. Now I had work I could point to.

Iā€™m Tim. This is one of the stories behind Sonder, and the place I want to start.

One of my longest client relationships started with a job I was told to leave alone.I was building Sonder and doing some...
13/10/2026

One of my longest client relationships started with a job I was told to leave alone.

I was building Sonder and doing some work for another Shopify agency to help pay the bills.

One of their clients was Twelve Board Store, just down the street from Purvis B**r in Richmond.

There was an unpaid invoice. When I asked about it, I found out there was still work the client was waiting on. It sounded like everyone had gone back and forth and got stuck.

I was told not to get involved.

I went into the shop anyway and spoke to Jamie. He showed me what wasn't working.

I went home that night and fixed it. The next day I went back and told him it was done. He paid the agency's invoice.

About six months later, Jamie got in touch. Could I help with a few more things?

That became more work, a full website rebuild and years of trying things together. Board builders. New ideas. Experiments Jamie was willing to hear me out on.

I loved the products, which made it pretty easy to keep finding reasons to drop into the shop. That's my son Hugo on a skateboard in this photo.

From memory, we've been working together for about five or six years now.

What stayed with me was how different the problem looked once I was standing in the shop, listening to Jamie.

I'd heard about an unpaid bill. He was waiting for something to work.

These days, when a job gets stuck, I want to understand what's happening at the other end before I decide what the problem is.

That's a big part of why I work for myself. I love getting close enough to a business to spot something useful, then actually doing it.

The missing photos were already there.We were working through a catalogue with missing product images. The files had bee...
13/10/2026

The missing photos were already there.

We were working through a catalogue with missing product images. The files had been uploaded. The connection between those files and the products needed fixing.

We used the supplied spreadsheet to correct the mapping and restore the images.

Before uploading everything again, check the file library, the product connection and the actual product page on a phone.

A missing image doesn't always mean a missing file.

Client details removed. Image: cinematic concept.

11/10/2026

We have all been working hard, letā€™s grab those insights and use them. ā™„ļø

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