hip hip shoe-ray gets a makeover

so, dear readers, let's have a chat.

you've probably noticed that hip hip shoe-ray has undergone a bit of a humongo makeover this past week. I'd like to tell you a little bit about how that transformation came to be.

I started this blog in november 2010 because a) I love shoes, b) I love blogging, and c) I wanted to invest in a creative online space where I could share my love of these things with the world at large.

little did I know that I would come to adore working on hip hip shoe-ray as much as I do! I genuinely look forward to posting every day, and I'm so excited about the content, the comments I get from you, and knowing that you're enjoying the blog, too.

when initially building hip hip shoe-ray, I'd quickly grabbed a freebie template from the web that I didn't love, didn't hate – but I figured it would do for the time being. as the months wore on, though, I became keenly aware of the disservice I was doing the blog by slapping on it some crappy, generic template. what I really wanted was a design that was smart and fun – something that would add to both the blog-writing and blog-reading experience.

so, I started shopping around online for someone who could build me a new template. I found a bunch of people who specialized not only in web design but also blog design, and while their samples were noteworthy, I felt compelled to continue searching for the perfect fit.

that's when I (quite randomly) stumbled upon the lindsay nicole design studio. I immediately loved lindsay's work (like this and this) – simple, charming and bursting with personality. I knew I'd found my designer.

the best part? it took her about two or three short days to come up with a design that I absolutely adore! I didn't want to change anything about what she proposed. and, she was a pleasure to work with – my questions were answered quickly, thoroughly and always with a smile (well, her tone suggested she was smiling, how's that?).

I highly recommend getting in touch with lindsay if you're looking to build or re-design a blog. and I hope you love the new hip hip shoe-ray as much as I do.

cheers and three hip hip shoe-rays to lindsay and my lovely readers!