Brenda Storer is also a designer and developer and created our new Shopify theme "Whisk".
The “we” of Coquelicot is the singular me (for now), Brenda. She's the one writing this article. And it feels weird to write it in the third person.
So....👋 I'm Brenda. And I created this agency, Coquelicot, two years ago when I decided to go all-in as a freelancer instead of looking for a new full-time job. I was working as a Senior Software Engineer in the travel industry and our entire tech team was laid off — pandemic woes. I'm now focused on building beautiful, resilient, and performant Shopify themes. This goal blends my experiences as a web developer, designer, and avid online shopper. I love helping enable the success of small businesses by offering functional, creative, user-friendly, top-tier Shopify themes. I'm an entrepreneur just like my customers. And when you email for help and support at Coquelicot, you’ve got a direct line to me.
A little background
I'm a Silicon Valley, California to New York City transplant. I came to the city to pursue a creative career outside of the industry that dominated my hometown, only to realize that tech is actually pretty creative and awesome. I've been building websites since the 90s when I spent my free time creating Geocities fan pages for Leonardo DiCaprio, the Spice Girls, and Robbie Williams. Zig-a-zig, ah.
I graduated from college with degrees in Psychology and Communication Design and spent my formative professional years in customer service as a bartender, server, retail associate, and front-of-house staffperson at professional theaters in New York City and London. I wanted to try everything (and did), but always felt unsure about which long term career path to follow.
My first web project was designing an e-commerce site built on Magento for an ayurvedic spa skincare line in 2009. I didn't consider myself a professional developer at the time, but the original developers on the project were unreliable and ghosted me and the spa, abandoning the project already underway. I rolled up my sleeves and dug into the code. In doing so, I found out I loved building websites as much as I loved designing them. I took over managing the project and helped the spa hire an experienced, reputable developer to work alongside. In the end, the project was a massive success. The store has grown exponentially since (and it recently migrated to Shopify 💚).
In the 10+ years since, I worked with agencies, at product companies, and as an independent designer, developer, and project manager with companies of all industries and sizes. But my favorite projects always involved e-commerce. I especially loved working with new businesses just getting started. I've been a part of stores built 100% from scratch where we also built the administrative side of the site without using a service like Shopify (checkout Joydrive and Context Travel). And though those projects were incredibly successful, fun, and grew my knowledge, once I worked with Shopify, it was love at first byte. Lola, Hive Brands, Onggi, and Bijan Mustardson are a few of the Shopify stores I helped create in recent years.
I've been a speaker at developer conferences on three continents and was awarded “Best Conference Presentation” at CSSDevConf in 2017 — an honor bestowed on me by the conference attendees. I also write about more technical code subjects on my personal website brendastorer.com.
When not working on websites or online shopping, you can find me at a Broadway show, a hip-hop dance class, hiking, singing 80s hair metal jams at karaoke, making candles and soaps, or sipping drams of scotch (hopefully in the Scottish Highlands).
Coquelicot's first theme for the Shopify Theme Store “Whisk” is a culmination of not just my design and development experience, but my life experiences and personal interests. It’s a genuine passion project I'm excited to share to help you be successful bringing your own goals to fruition. Keep a lookout as there’s much more to come for Whisk and Coquelicot. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to hear about Whisk updates and new theme launches. Or, feel free to email me and just say hi.