Latest on the Blog

Squarespace

Where I tackle Squarespace related FAQ's, SEO, Squarespace hacks and more. 

Portfolio

A behind-the-scenes look at the Squarespace sites I've launched or am currently working on.

Digital DIY

I like to share what I'm learning when it comes to building a website, DIY design, and social media.

Creativity

I've been interviewing a bunch of photographers, painters, print-makers, illustrators, writers and musicians about what goes into completing a creative challenge. It's been an incredible process!

Instagram

Instagram is by far my favourite place to hang out online. It's also an incredible tool for marketing your business. Here you'll find interviews, inspiration, and tutorials.

Photography

Follow my photographic adventures (and mishaps). 

Claire-blue-background.jpg

Hello! I'm Claire. This is where I blog about digital DIY, Squarespace tips, creativity and what I’m currently working on.

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Do you ever start working on something and think, ‘ah, this won’t be too bad, I’ll get it done in no time!’ And then realise you’re in the deep end and you forgot your water wings? 💧 That’s a little bit how I feel right now as I’ve moved from the planning and copywriting phase of my online course to the video and design phase. Do I know what I’m doing? Not necessarily! Is it a little overwhelming? For sure! Am I learning a ridiculous amount? Yes! Am I having the best time? Absolutely! 😅🎉 Squarespace from Scratch is a course for people who want a professional online presence for their business, passion project, or NGO and just don’t have the budget to hire a web designer for the job. It’s a DIY course that will give you the tools to build your very own website, just the way you want it, and without the overwhelm. ☝🏻☝🏻 More behind the scenes stuff in my stories!
➕Squarespace from Scratch➕ I’m putting an online course together for those of you who need for a professional online presence and want to do it yourself, either because, like me, you’re a die hard D-I-Y-er, or because at this stage in your business you just don’t have the budget to pay a professional (as much as you’d like to!) • I’ve been working with Squarespace for over four years now, and have designed and built over 60 websites (and counting). I am absolutely convinced that Squarespace is the platform for you. Beautiful templates, award winning customer care, and an intuitive user interface with all the extras built right in are just some of the reasons I love building websites with Squarespace. • One of the reasons people come is me is that they started their website build on their own, but got overwhelmed in the process. If you’re asking questions like… ✔️Where do I get a domain name?
✔️How do I write my ‘About page?’ ✔️How big should the images on my website be? ✔️How do I set up a blog? … then this might be the course for you. • These are the types of questions I want to help you answer in a structured, easy to follow, easily accessible way without the technical jargon, and without the overwhelm. • I’ve led many clients through this process and this is the work I do on a daily basis. In this course I’m not holding back. I’m going to share my best resources, worksheets, tutorials with you so that you can finally build the website that really works for your business. • Sign up on my website www.bearista.co.za or click on the link above in my bio so that I can let you know when the course goes live!
Current Work | Kigali Photo Fest. • One of the projects I’ve been working on at the moment is a website for the Kigali Photo Fest. Hosted in Kigali, Rwanda from June 7-16, this festival is celebrating photography from Rwanda and beyond through exhibitions and events. The line-up of events include “Women in Photography: Where are we?”; "The Faces We Lost" Film Screening Q&A; “Remembering Bisi Silva: Celebrating African Curators” and more. • There’s a fabulous line up of artists who will be exhibiting as well across a range of genres from nature photography to documentary style. Swipe right to see the work of Sarah Waiswa, Tom Saater, and Jacques Nkinzingabo to name a few, and you can check out more details on the link below. • www.kigaliphotofest.com
Kia Ora from New Zealand! 🇳🇿👋🏻 Okay, it’s been a little while since I arrived, but I haven’t taken a minute to pop in on this account and say hello. So, what am I doing here? My sister, her hubby and their boys emigrated from South Africa to New Zealand about five years ago and this is the first time I’m visiting them since the big move. It’s been so great to catch up, hang out with my very grown up nephews, and to explore a bit of this beautiful country. ⏰ The time difference has been quite something to get used to - currently we’re 10 hours ahead of South Africa, so I’m saying good night while the rest of the world is waking up. It hasn’t been all holiday though. In fact, I’ve been working on a number of new projects since I’ve been here, which I will share with you soon. 🚌 In the meantime, I dug out an old photo (swipe across) from when I last visited New Zealand. Hint: it was so long ago that boot leg jeans were still a thing! One of my dearest friends and I hired a camper van we called ‘Gimley’ and chugged around the South Island marvelling at all the ridiculously beautiful places we saw. It feels like such a long time ago, and so great to be back in the land of the long white cloud!
Colour palette of the day 😍
And it’s live! 🎉 A made-with-love brand new site for Cornerstone Learning Centre. An online home they can call their own, put to work, manage with minimal fuss and zero headaches, and spread the good news of the important work they’re doing for kids with Autism. 📚 www.cornerstonelearningcentre.co.za
Cornerstone Learning Centre | Finishing up this lovely project today. 🤸🏼‍♀️ A school on the Kwazulu-Natal South Coast that focuses on learners on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder needed a website update - something that would help reflect the warm and nurturing environment of the school, as well as help with some of the practicalities of running a school - admissions processes and so on. 📚 Cornerstone Learning Centre is run by a dedicated team of professional teachers, and relies on the goodwill and support of their community, so the site is also somewhere for potential funders to get a better sense of who they are and the work they’re doing. 🎉 Launching soon.
Not all walls are create equal.
It’s been a day of font pairings, Pinterest inspiration, and designing layouts. It’s also been a day of crazy humidity and mosquito slapping. Summer, you’re definitely not over in our neck of the woods!
Up on my blog, a few good questions to ask before your website build. Questions like: ✏️ Why do I want a website? ✏️ What purpose will it serve? ✏️ Who will use it, and how? ✏️ What is the scope of this project? • The clearer your intentions, the more successful the process will be!

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Do you ever start working on something and think, ‘ah, this won’t be too bad, I’ll get it done in no time!’ And then realise you’re in the deep end and you forgot your water wings? 💧 That’s a little bit how I feel right now as I’ve moved from the planning and copywriting phase of my online course to the video and design phase. Do I know what I’m doing? Not necessarily! Is it a little overwhelming? For sure! Am I learning a ridiculous amount? Yes! Am I having the best time? Absolutely! 😅🎉 Squarespace from Scratch is a course for people who want a professional online presence for their business, passion project, or NGO and just don’t have the budget to hire a web designer for the job. It’s a DIY course that will give you the tools to build your very own website, just the way you want it, and without the overwhelm. ☝🏻☝🏻 More behind the scenes stuff in my stories!
➕Squarespace from Scratch➕ I’m putting an online course together for those of you who need for a professional online presence and want to do it yourself, either because, like me, you’re a die hard D-I-Y-er, or because at this stage in your business you just don’t have the budget to pay a professional (as much as you’d like to!) • I’ve been working with Squarespace for over four years now, and have designed and built over 60 websites (and counting). I am absolutely convinced that Squarespace is the platform for you. Beautiful templates, award winning customer care, and an intuitive user interface with all the extras built right in are just some of the reasons I love building websites with Squarespace. • One of the reasons people come is me is that they started their website build on their own, but got overwhelmed in the process. If you’re asking questions like… ✔️Where do I get a domain name?
✔️How do I write my ‘About page?’ ✔️How big should the images on my website be? ✔️How do I set up a blog? … then this might be the course for you. • These are the types of questions I want to help you answer in a structured, easy to follow, easily accessible way without the technical jargon, and without the overwhelm. • I’ve led many clients through this process and this is the work I do on a daily basis. In this course I’m not holding back. I’m going to share my best resources, worksheets, tutorials with you so that you can finally build the website that really works for your business. • Sign up on my website www.bearista.co.za or click on the link above in my bio so that I can let you know when the course goes live!
Current Work | Kigali Photo Fest. • One of the projects I’ve been working on at the moment is a website for the Kigali Photo Fest. Hosted in Kigali, Rwanda from June 7-16, this festival is celebrating photography from Rwanda and beyond through exhibitions and events. The line-up of events include “Women in Photography: Where are we?”; "The Faces We Lost" Film Screening Q&A; “Remembering Bisi Silva: Celebrating African Curators” and more. • There’s a fabulous line up of artists who will be exhibiting as well across a range of genres from nature photography to documentary style. Swipe right to see the work of Sarah Waiswa, Tom Saater, and Jacques Nkinzingabo to name a few, and you can check out more details on the link below. • www.kigaliphotofest.com
Kia Ora from New Zealand! 🇳🇿👋🏻 Okay, it’s been a little while since I arrived, but I haven’t taken a minute to pop in on this account and say hello. So, what am I doing here? My sister, her hubby and their boys emigrated from South Africa to New Zealand about five years ago and this is the first time I’m visiting them since the big move. It’s been so great to catch up, hang out with my very grown up nephews, and to explore a bit of this beautiful country. ⏰ The time difference has been quite something to get used to - currently we’re 10 hours ahead of South Africa, so I’m saying good night while the rest of the world is waking up. It hasn’t been all holiday though. In fact, I’ve been working on a number of new projects since I’ve been here, which I will share with you soon. 🚌 In the meantime, I dug out an old photo (swipe across) from when I last visited New Zealand. Hint: it was so long ago that boot leg jeans were still a thing! One of my dearest friends and I hired a camper van we called ‘Gimley’ and chugged around the South Island marvelling at all the ridiculously beautiful places we saw. It feels like such a long time ago, and so great to be back in the land of the long white cloud!
Colour palette of the day 😍
And it’s live! 🎉 A made-with-love brand new site for Cornerstone Learning Centre. An online home they can call their own, put to work, manage with minimal fuss and zero headaches, and spread the good news of the important work they’re doing for kids with Autism. 📚 www.cornerstonelearningcentre.co.za
Cornerstone Learning Centre | Finishing up this lovely project today. 🤸🏼‍♀️ A school on the Kwazulu-Natal South Coast that focuses on learners on the Autistic Spectrum Disorder needed a website update - something that would help reflect the warm and nurturing environment of the school, as well as help with some of the practicalities of running a school - admissions processes and so on. 📚 Cornerstone Learning Centre is run by a dedicated team of professional teachers, and relies on the goodwill and support of their community, so the site is also somewhere for potential funders to get a better sense of who they are and the work they’re doing. 🎉 Launching soon.