Austin Abelkis · From Gothenburg, Sweden to Portland, Oregon
I produce
things that
have to work.
I help small businesses and nonprofits with the things they can’t quite hire a whole agency for — websites, custom software, events, design. One person, quick turnarounds, no account managers.
Four things, one person
Mostly for small businesses and nonprofits
Produce
Live events and sponsorships. Decks, deals, contracts, guestlists, activations — and the show itself.
Design
Brand and print. Sponsorship decks, one-sheets, identity, and the way a thing looks when it lands on a desk.
Build
Websites, and software built for how you actually work. Booking, enrollment, invoices — whatever the spreadsheet is currently pretending to do.
Serve
Food and wine, Santa Barbara to Gothenburg. ASI-certified sommelier — lists, programs, and staff training.
Selected work
Boulder Waldorf
Site + softwareA whole school online: the site families see, plus the admissions and paperwork system the office runs itself. Parents apply and sign online, and the reminders send themselves.
WagsWorks OS
Custom softwareA sponsorship agency’s whole back office in one app — deals, paperwork that chases itself, invoices, guestlists. Built because nothing off the shelf fit the job.
Sommeliers Academy
Site + strategyWebsite and growth strategy for the school training Sweden’s next sommeliers. Bilingual, and built by someone who has sat the exams.
WagsWorks
Brand + rebuildSwapping a tired template for something with a point of view — for the sponsorship agency I also produce for. Decks, partners, festivals, the lot.
What do you need?
Pick whichever sounds most like you.
A site that loads fast, reads properly on a phone, and that you can change yourself afterwards without calling anyone or paying a monthly fee.
Usually 3–6 weeks · a fixed price, agreed before I start
Talk to me about this →If it helps: this one’s a Chablis — no oak, no makeup, nowhere to hide — all structure.
Software built around the way you already work: the jobs, the paperwork, the invoices, the reminders. One place instead of six, and it nags itself instead of nagging you.
Usually 6–12 weeks · built to fit how you actually run things
Talk to me about this →If it helps: this one’s a Barolo — difficult early, worth it once someone gives it the time.
The look of the thing — logo, colors, decks, one-sheets, menus — and the words that go with it. Everything that has to survive being forwarded to somebody’s boss.
Usually 2–5 weeks · priced per piece
Talk to me about this →If it helps: this one’s a Orange wine — walks into a room and gets asked about.
Running the event: the schedule, the vendors, the sponsors, the budget, and somebody calm holding it together on the day.
Priced per event · sponsorship work can be on commission
Talk to me about this →If it helps: this one’s a Grower Champagne — same occasion as the big houses, made by whoever farmed it.
Building the list, pricing it, writing pairings, and training your staff so they can talk about it confidently instead of reciting a script.
One visit, or ongoing · ASI-certified sommelier
Talk to me about this →If it helps: this one’s a Fino Sherry — what sommeliers pour each other, and almost nobody lists.
A conversation, free, where I tell you honestly what I think you need — including when that’s nothing, or somebody other than me.
30 minutes · no sales pitch, no deck
Talk to me about this →If it helps: this one’s a Whatever’s open — most good projects start as a vague feeling that something isn’t working.
Have something that needs making?
austin@abelkis.comTell me what’s not working. I’ll tell you what I’d do and what it costs.