leaving aardman for love!
January 6th, 2009news flash
having spent a fun filled 6 months with the aardman online team, it was announced to the team yesterday that i will be leaving to pursue another web based project.
i’d love to start out by saying that the aardman team have been such a delight to work with. i consider each and every member of the team to be really close friends and there is no doubt that i will stay in touch with them. if you’re ever looking for web design / development / game projects i couldn’t recommend them highly enough - such a talented bunch!
whilst at aardman i’ve focussed on building a community around their new animation site 4mations. this was a great project to be involved with and i find it particularly rewarding to see the tight knit community that has formed and actively uses the site. i’m so proud of the team for all that we’ve achieved.
why the move?
i originally had a 6 month contract with aardman which they were planning to extend to march. with the current climate, i wanted to pursue something of a more permanent nature and to move back to more of a tech background. you can take the girl out of the web app industry, but that passion and love for it never fades!
working with a traditional broadcaster has taught me a lot, not least a great deal of patience and the ability to listen to lawyers! i really thrive in an environment in which i have creative freedom though and i’m looking forward to having more of that with my next project.
so what next?
2009 brings great changes for me.
i’m really excited to have accepted the role of partner marketing manager with global personals, best known for whitelabeldating.com. i’m good friends with ross williams and gus goodall so the opportunity to work with such great people that i have a lot of respect for is something that i’m over the moon about. plus the fact that it’s dating related and i’m single is always a bonus 
this does mean the end of an era for me. i’ve spent all of my life in bristol and will be leaving to relocate to windsor. at this stage, i’m very concerned i’m going to be billy no mates, but if all else fails, i’m taking my kitties with me for company. if you’re in or around windsor though, i’d love to hear from you.
for those of you that live near bristol, i am arranging a twitter meetup /farewell drinks soire on 15th january - details of which can be found here. i’d love it if you could come.
thanks to everyone for your continued support, it’s you guys that make the web such a great place to work!
The Aardman Online Team
January 6th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Best of luck to you with your future endeavors!
January 6th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Windsor’s a great town. We look forward to welcoming you to this neck of the woods!
January 6th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Congratulations! Sounds like a great move in both ways.
I don’t need to wish you luck as you’ll fantastic!
January 6th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Best of luck with everything Mel! I’ve loved your Aardman tweets and I’m hoping your next set will be equally as enjoyable.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Best of luck with the change Mel. At least you’ll have that regal wave to make friends in Windsor.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Mel no need to say it, you’ll do great with your new project. Listening to lawyers is a good skill to have learned…life is full of them …=)
Well, I’ll still be around twitter, watching the thursday videos and etc. If i ever move to the UK I’m going to use that dating system ….100% sure
January 6th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Excellent news, Mel! Stoked for you. I’m sure you’ll do really well down there and you’ll settle in with no problems.
Best of luck.
Dan
January 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
All the best with your new project. No doubt you will be fantastic.
January 6th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Thanks for all of the lovely comments guys - you really do bring a smile to my face
January 6th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Mel,
Best of luck with the new job! Windsor’s a great place (I went to uni nearby). I do recall a smart shopping centre being constructed in one of the train stations, with lots of designer shops. Admit it: that’s the reason you’re leaving
Cheers,
Tim
January 6th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Best of luck with the new adventure Mel.
Slightly amusing with your recent tweets on dating that you’re going to work with a dating company!
You’ll love Windsor, it’s close enough to London (for shoes, and the Apple store), but is pretty much in the country - the great park used to be my hangover cure when I lived there.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Good luck with the new job & new town. Change is good and you will succeed in your new role as you always do.
January 6th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
Good luck with your move and the new job, don’t worry the Apple Store Kingston is but a short train or car trip away
January 6th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Congratulations, Mel! Good luck in 2009.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Congrats Mel!
Good look with the fab new job. You will love Windsor! Lots of places to buy shoes!!
Hope you continue with the great videos on the random mel blog!
January 7th, 2009 at 8:45 am
That’s great Mel. Congratulations!
You know what you want and you’re going after it. Moving to a new city can be challenging. Just be open to opportunity and you’ll be fine. meetup.com help me meet people when i moved to seattle, but Twitter had the biggest impact. Hope that helps.
Good luck!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Good Luck Mel! We’ll miss you loads, work won’t be the same without you!
Looking forward to visiting you in Windsor and causing havoc together!
R x