Firefly Creative Launch

Ever since the early 2000s, I’ve been building software solutions with web technologies. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the early growth of the internet. Over the years, I’ve helped companies and individuals use the web to solve a wide array of problems. From online auto malls to customized content management systems, I’ve developed solutions on both the client and server sides. I’ve always eagerly awaited the newest technologies available for websites, and I’ve stood in awe of the endless possibilities that I knew were ahead of us.

Unfortunately, in the early 2010s, I encountered a significant obstacle that I initially believed would completely derail my career. I developed a strange and terrible pain in both my arms. For over a year, I woke up with searing pain that could only be slightly alleviated by soaking in the bathtub. I distinctly remember the doctor telling me to sit down as he delivered the news: that I was going to have to “not use my arms” for an indefinite period due to a repetitive strain injury affecting both my arms, neck, and upper back.

That took the wind completely out of my sails, and I had to leave the tech industry altogether. I had to stay completely away from a mouse and keyboard for an indefinite amount of time. Utterly crushed, I cut my losses and didn’t have any idea what I was going to do next. At the time, my son was in preschool, and I volunteered once a week to help him. During that process, I discovered I had a knack for working with children. For the next six years, I worked in a completely different line of work that didn’t put the same strain on the parts of my body that were injured.

During that time, I read a book about reversing the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome and similar injuries. I learned about my body as I rehabilitated it and worked to establish good habits. Over the years, my injuries subsided, and I was able to get behind the keyboard again without near-immediate searing pain that endured for hours.

In 2018, I was at a vacation clubhouse on the coast when my journey back to tech began. I sat down with my laptop next to a window with a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, and I started to write CSS, which is one of the technologies that power the web. It was a simple exercise, but it felt good to be building again and learning how to make beautiful, functional interfaces.

While working with children was awesome, it didn’t provide the financial means to reliably take care of my family’s needs. So I dove back into the world of tech, and it was a difficult transition. The industry is fast-moving, and I had a lot to catch up on. Little by little, brick by brick, I built projects and helped people and organizations get a web presence.

And now here I am writing this website launch blog as the owner of Firefly Creative. This isn’t just any ordinary blog, but one hosted on a platform that I designed myself. The choices I made while developing this platform are based on my extensive experience in web development since the early 2000s. Today, websites are often bloated with unnecessary systems and layers of abstraction. I aim to eliminate that by offering cutting-edge web software that doesn’t rely on a myriad of black boxes, expensive APIs, or dependencies.

Our primary goal is simple: to own the platform we use rather than place our trust in tools that often fade into obscurity, get bought out, or crumble under external pressure. Our website development framework is built to be lightweight and scalable without sacrificing functionality or creating dependencies. At the end of the development process, our clients receive ownership of the deliverable free of any strings. This means that our products are independent software that will stand the test of time, and we am excited to offer them to those who wish for lasting success on the web.

We can do anything that’s possible on the web for you. I invite you to explore our website, and if you’re interested, you can fill out our contact form or request a quote directly. I offer a free website consultation to show you how Firefly can help, just as we have assisted many others in the past.