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About Us — Company Info

To be truthful, the page should be called “About Me” . My name is Laura Wilson and Enchanted Moon is my freelance computer services company. I offer website design, logo design and desktop publishing services. I have experience creating magazines and booklets using InDesign CS2.

Experience:

I had one class in high school in 1982-1983 that taught the BASIC language. Between 1983 and 1995, I ran my parent's video store and did all the computer work required for all operations, this included databases of customers and stock. Although I did not build the programs themselves, on several occasions I had to trouble shoot and fix problems that arose with them.

I began Enchanted Moon in 1995 as a desktop publishing service. My sister started teaching healthy cooking classes at the same time and was my first customer. I created flyers, brochures, and the recipe packets for her classes. There were other various clients I did some work for, one example is some signs I created for a small health food store.

In October of 1999 I logged onto the internet and knew right then I wanted to create websites. In February of 2000 I created my first website using BigStep’s free hosting. The site was for my sister's business, Macro Val, which had now grown to include her classes on VHS. I created all the printed materials for these tapes as well (package covers, booklets, labels). The BigStep site lasted until they started charging for hosting. I then created Val's new site with Bizhosting, this was my first experience with a web store. When I started hosting sites, she decided to go with my new hosting service for her webstore so the Bizhosting site is gone. Her main site was built with The Web Shop site builder. This site is now rebuilt with Dreamweaver.

During the same time as the above was happening, I created 2 one page sites for D & M Plumbing and Blue Spruce Trees, using ZDNet's site builder. I also created the The Kozi Line site which is built using Bizhosting's site builder as her business is in the UP and she needed to be able to manage some parts herself.

In June of 2005 I acquired Dreamweaver, the site builder preferred by professional, and taught myself how to use it. I have built this site along with the Infinite Flame site with it. Flying Cat Productions , which is owned by a friend, is also built with Dreamweaver. More of my sites are on the Enchanted Sites page.

In April of 2006 I decided to add hosting to my services. Hosting is only available for my clients at this time.

In 2007 I had the opportunity to work with a friend on her magazine, The Muse. To do this I had to learn how to use InDesign CS2. I also used this program to create an advertising booklet for her festival. You can download these from the Publications page.

I have created print ads, brochures, flyers, business cards, signs, and other printed materials for my clients. I create and send my own newsletter and help clients set up theirs. I can set up sites with online builders, like Bizhosting and Cafe Press, for clients who want to manage their own sales.

All sites are search engine optimized and I am studying marketing to help bring more hits to my client's sites and mine.

 

Skills:

I can:
  • build a site using any online sitebuilder or Dreamweaver
  • maintain a site already built
  • work with photos using tiff and jpeg
  • create clipart and logos in bmp, gif, tiff and png using Fireworks
  • maintain a newsletter database and manage the newsletter
  • help you purchase domain names and manage them including DNS and forwarding
  • set up email accounts
  • create flyers, brochures and other advertising aids
  • promote your site online using search engines and link exchanges
  • create a magazine, catalog, booklet, ect. using InDesign CS2
  • help you set up shop with CafePress.com if you are an artist
I know HTML and XHTML, and have some experience with CSS, flash buttons, and Java.

Education:

I am entirely self taught. I had one class in high school in 1982-1983 that taught the BASIC language. Between 1983 and 1995 I ran my parent's video store and although I did not build the programs themselves, on several occasions I had to trouble shoot and fix problems that arose with them. This gave me experience in DOS and Windows 3.1. I learned with the help of books, magazines, and good old trial & error.

In 1995 I bought my first computer with Windows 95 on it. I bought a Dummies book and taught myself how to use it. As far as the desktop publishing, I realized I had a talent for design when I redesigned my sister's flyer that another person had done. Design comes naturally to me and I enhanced this by reading any design tips and techniques I could find. I keep these references and consult them when working on a project.

In 2000 when I decided to become a web site designer, I did not have the funds to attend classes and did not want to take out a loan. So I took every free class online I could find. I have completed online classes with ThirdAge, About.com, plus a few others. I also have several web master newsletters I subscribe to that keep me current and up to date on the newest technology. I have “Sam's Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML 4”, “HTML 4 for Dummies”, “Mastering Dreamweaver 4 and Fireworks”, among other books that I have used.

In 2007 when Storm asked me to help her with her magazine, I was literally learning as I worked. I had never used this program before we started work on it. I purchased a book and had it beside me as we put the magazine together in two weeks to meet her publishing deadline. Yes there are typos in the first edition, but the layout came out beautifully. The second issue was much better.

I have mastered the art of problem solving on my own. I am obviously also self motivated. There is always something new to learn. I am open to learn new technologies and marketing techniques as I need them.

 

©2005 Enchanted Moon

Enchanted Moon Websites & Desktop Publishing
Novi, Michigan              (248) 960-7297
enchantmoon@cs.com