Natasha Prentice
Web Designer / Developer / Shopify Specialist
Melbourne, Australia
www.natashaprentice.com
instagram @natashaprentice.studio
Pinterest
Q What do you do?
“I love to work with brand founders, specifically.. I love to get into the nitty gritty of how/why things come to fruition and get to know the passionate creative behind it all - there’s more love behind a product brought to life by someone who feels strongly about it’s purpose.”
This kind of passion is why I started doing what I do as a side hustle years ago, that is - Building Ecommerce Brands who are fun, bold, community focused and hold a strong point of view, backed by even stronger internal structure, through Ecommerce systems and Shopify design and development. I love a bold, immersive storefront that draws people in aesthetically, connects with them instantly and converts them into life-long brand fans.. There's an art to that and I freakin live for it!
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I'm a retail buyer ‘by trade’ - I'm still involved in the surf and lifestyle industry - who understands the importance of bringing brands to life on their digital channels in a way that feels as close to the real deal as possible; that is inspiring, intuitive and convenient for site visitors, but without forcing brand owners to have to take up a new career in ecommerce platform ops, where they lose precious time and energy that should be spent focusing on what they do best - creating and curating amazing products..
I saw the struggles first hand when I was juggling a million things as a full time buyer who's job description was - do everything that is necessary for the business.. I was buying, working the frontline, maintaining our local customer relationships, merchandising, managing the team and trying my hand at managing the ecommerce store - #smallbusinesslife. I LOVE design and I lOVE to share my favourite things and fun finds with others, so I learned how to design on Squarespace (Hello ILC SDC 😉) so that I could start a blog. From there, I had people reach out about building websites for their local business which I was doing on the side as little love jobs. Fast forward to the wake of the COVID outbreak in AUS - I had a lot of time on my hands after being laid off as a professional water skier on the Gold Coast and was in stuck in limbo waiting to see what would happen.. So I studied frontline web development and honed in on my skills as a retail veteran to start building Ecommerce stores that actually work FOR the brand and the team and feel like a digital colleague almost, not another chore on the list that they're just pocking and prodding at blindly until something works.. I still do a lot on Squarespace for the Service Providers that like my vibe, but primarily, I specialise in Shopify dev and helping businesses go from DIY store to a well rounded Ecommerce ecosystem built with intension and strategy in mind so that you can utilise Shoify for all that it's worth and really scale.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
As I mentioned, my background as a retail buyer means that I have a completely different outlook on Ecommerce design and builds than a designer without the commerce experience. Am I the most amazing designer? probs not - I'm self taught and totally lean into the fact that I have a creative eye because I always loved drawing and scrapbooking as a kid (I was always OBSESSED with editorial, I'd pore over magazine layouts) - but I understand the needs of the team working BTS and what they expect to be able to get a read on from the online store in order to do their jobs well.
It's all in the way you set up your ecosystem, how products enter in and what leads to them exiting out and landing in the hands of the target customer. There's SO MUCH you can do with Shopify - as a developer you have full control over the functionality and design to tailor it to your specific needs, there are apps that can help you streamline processes and customise your visitors shopping experience, there's customer nurturing opportunities that can't be ignored and so much product and sales data that help your ecommerce manager and your buyer make informed decisions. Designers doing mock ups for web do an amazing job, but if they don't have any experience in commerce, they aren't expected to fully understand what happens on the backend to help make use of the tools on offer and design for the platform specifically. When you're getting to the point where you're serious about scaling your online store, you really do need a strategic mind behind the scenes to help you map out a customer flow that converts and systemise your online store operations to save you time and headaches.That's where I come in 🙋🏼♀️
P.S Shopify should totally throw some commission my way for all these plugggssss 🤣
Q What are you working on right now?
I've actually just taken the Shopify Codex Course by Lea at Arc Studio to help me restructure my own Systems and flows now that I'm working with Shopify primarily - I'm learning Clickup and it's such a game changer!
I'm also about to launch the beta version of my sales page template on Squarespace - I've designed this for Service Providers who would love to work with me and need a cost effective, base template to start them off. It comes with a mini brand guide and the option for customisations!
Q What’s your style?
I've tried so hard in the past to design 'minimalist' websites - those super crisp, clean, beachy vibe sites that you see fashion boutiques repping - but it's just not me without some kind of funky animation or bold type to make it unique. I always manage to jump back in there and add something to jazz it up!
I love all things bold colour, bold type, fun and quirky imagery - I love hospitality brands for this! you can have sooo much fun with hospo biz branding and ecommerce layouts!
I also love working with edgy, eclectic fashion brands - whether it's homewares, clothing, shoes, jewellery.. I recently did a spec site mockup for one of my all time fav brands Fazeek - their glassware is so gorgeous it deserved the limelight.. I'll drop it in here!
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I wish I had more time to run photo/video shoots! I love the idea of trying my hand at doing the creative direction for a super fun brand shoot.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
I'm not very good at sales.. I am slowly learning from Kelsey at Coming Up Roses - she's a queen when it comes to acting as the 'CEO of your business' and driving your own brand forward rather than just focusing on your clients' brands. I'm practicing every day though and coming up with new ways to communicate my offerings and land dream clients.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Social Media and Admin! I'd love a right hand gal/guy to help me out here and there
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Invest. In. Help. Early. (If you can afford it OFC). I prioritised expanding my skills in an effort to try and compete with creative agencies as a freelancer (which I realise now is so unrealistic🤦🏼♀️ - These agencies outsource the talent or hire the team members with specific skills for a reason).. What I should have allocated my budget to was mentorship from the get go to focus on communicating what I already had to offer. I learned A LOT. I even did the ILC Video Editing Course (no regrets, it's so handy for content creation) - But I did that along with a million other courses - from graphic design to omni channel strategy to AR and animation design.. I wish I knew then that you don't have to be the jack of all trades.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I'm always up for talking to experts in business - I could pick the brain of any business mentor for hours, there's something so intriguing about the different ways people of all personality types look at operations, priorities and mindset in business.. From people who are bold, have fun, live for community and don't take themselves too seriously like Puno, to people who are a little more straight down the line but have a very realistic, 'tough love' approach and way of thinking like Mark Bouris.
Decentralisation, cryptocurrency and NFTs still confuse the shit outa me! So if someone could enlighten me on that front that'd be great too.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
As I mentioned - I love working with brand founders to either build their Ecommerce brand from scratch or do a necessary redesign and realignment to get them back on the right track and headed toward their north star. I like working with passionate people who are in it for the long haul, for their people who they're aiming to help, for the lifestyle change that their biz will offer, for the fulfilment it will provide them.. I want to work with people who are open to letting me in, fully, so that I can understand their needs and really help build a meaningful brand that becomes a household name, backed by a killer online store that facilitates that.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
Hmmm I don't like to 'pigeonhole' myself by choosing one brand type because I'm actually more focused on their story and the outcome they desire rather than the product they sell, but my ideal collaboration would be with someone who really believes in their idea and wants to make a really big impact with a go hard or go home attitude.
An example could be a handmade ceramics brand who's purpose is to support it's craftsman/women, operate ethically and sustainably, replace plastics in the home with their alternative products and become a household name that gets passed down through generations. The founder is someone who holds a handmade piece themselves that they could never part ways with and they truly believe most crockery and storage items in the kitchen have a better, cleaner alternative.
Q What is your rate?
Branding Projects start at 3k.
Shopify Projects start at 8k.
Shopify Systems sessions start at $2500.
I do have the option of VIP intensives where we can work together to workshop a bunch of random things you need help with - whether it's a branding refresh/realignment, social media or email templates, website in a day (Squarespace only), Development help and custom website sections and edits, a klaviyo flow or app integration on Shopify.. anything you need that's within my skillset we can work on! these are $2500.
I'm also about to launch a Sales Page Template for Service Providers on Squarespace that comes with tutorials and a mini brand guide, that will be 3k.
*This is in Beta ATM at a discounted rate (email me if you're interested - you'll be required to provide bulk feedback in exchange for the $$ savings).
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
www.natashaprentice.com
Fill out my web form or shoot me an email and we can have a chat about where you are now VS where you want to be.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
*Goes to Insta saves to check who's poppin'..
1. Kelsey at Coming Up Roses is such a gem 💎 she personally doesn't do a lot of design these days but has an agency that does and is a great mentor for service providers.
2. Alyssa Natoci is a beautiful writer (I think she still has a profile in here).
3. Tiny Disco (Chelsea and Stu Morely - MELB) is the creative direction 🐐.
4. The Funktion are an amazing animation studio (SYD).
5. Agathe Marty is the most amazing Illustrator **if you're a fashion designer who needs unique graphics 😉
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
I love getting inspo from books, magazines and packaging design! My greatest ideas come to me while I'm exercising or trying to sleep - super inconvenient 🙄
This member profile was originally published in November 2021, last updated March 2023