Cheers to a new beginning

Last month, I published an article to announce that I was quitting freelancing after 4 years and explain the reasons behind this important decision.

This article got 3 000+ views and I received 100+ messages about it. A lot of people thanked me for sharing my experience, saying they were glad to read about the downsides of freelancing for once. Some told me they had a very similar experience, leading them to quit freelancing too a few years ago. Others said that they were currently experiencing the same things and that reading my article helped them put words on their feelings.

One question came up a lot: "So, what are you doing now?".

Let me explain how I envision this new chapter.

If there is one thing I knew for sure when I quit freelancing, it's that I wanted to keep working in the Shopify ecosystem. I love the company's vision, the challenges it lays out for me as a developer, and the people I get to meet and grow with everyday.

As a freelancer, I had the opportunity to touch on a lot of topics inside theShopify ecosystem: building or migrating stores, developing apps, teaching new merchants how to use the platform, offering consulting sessions and more generally create content to spread the word on how great of a solution Shopify is.

After this exploration phase, it’s time for me to choose one specific topic.

2023 is the year where I start to focus.

Focus on one Shopify subject that I will know inside and out.

As it’s very well said in the article "Focus to Win", “when you commit to living in a problem, you understand things about it that the tourist cannot”.

The problem I chose to live in is: how can we build the best Shopify themes?

Themes are the cornerstone of a merchant’s experience with Shopify. All Shopify merchants (except those who go headless) have to choose a theme. It’s often their firststep on the platform and it’s a very important one as they will keep this theme for many months, if not years.

Shopify themes are an area full of amazing challenges that make me very excited about the future.

In January, I joined Clean Canvas as a Shopify Theme Developer.

Clean Canvas was founded by John Llewellyn-Smith and Kevin Pierce in 2009. It’s the company behind 9 amazing themes: Alchemy, Boost, Canopy, Enterprise, Expression, Masonry, Mode, Showcase and Symmetry.

We’re a team of 13 people dedicated to one mission: building the best Shopify themes for merchants all around the world. One third of my team members are ex-Shopify and all of them have many years of experience. Most of all, they are a delight to work with. They welcomed me in the best way and made me feel like I was part of the team from day one.

After 3 months working at Clean Canvas, I can already say that I'm learning a lot more than I used to when I was a freelancer. I left my consultant hat on the side to fully dive into coding and play with Shopify’s latest features.

Overall, I’m still working in the Shopify ecosystem but, this time, it’s in a healthy environment with less pressure, less mental charge and a great team.

This career change also leaves more space for fulfillment on a personal level. I’ve rediscovered what it is to be able to disconnect from work and I’m making the most of my free time to relax and explore.

I’m spending more time with my loved ones and I’m enjoying very nice vacation times. At the beginning of April, I spent four days in Alicante, Spain. No laptop, just the beach, the sun y muchas tapas.

Finally, I spend time discovering topics that have nothing to do with Shopify or even with tech. I learn about interior design, tiny houses and carpentry. I find it very interesting and refreshing to go out of my tech bubble and open my eyes to creative and manual activities.