Presenting My New Sunny Raw Kitchen Website and a Housewarming Surprise

I'm super thrilled to announce that my brand spanking new website, Carmella's Sunny Raw Kitchen, is officially opening its virtual doors today! Woo hoo! *doing the ecstatic dance*

When I first began working on this project a few months ago I had a vague notion of what I wanted for the extension of my Sunny Raw Kitchen. Let me assure you that it has actually manifested into something even more vibrant and beautiful than I ever imagined!

A Brief Recap

Back in 2007 I started this Sunny Raw Kitchen blog as a medium to share my personal raw journey, what I learned along the way, as well as the delicious recipes to come out of my raw kitchen. What I didn’t expect back then was that this small step was to one day lead to my making a living doing what I love to do: playing with food and assisting others on their own healing journeys. I feel so very blessed for such an opportunity!

Kitchen Remodeling

Almost 6 years later here I am launching my new Sunny Raw Kitchen website. “Why now,” you ask? I’m still not entirely certain of the answer to that. All I can say is that I suddenly began to get small hints from Life that the time had come for me to take this next step. As I’ve been working closely on developing this website with my wonderful designer (Boti, you’re the BEST!!!) it has become increasingly clearer how much bringing everything under a single roof makes sense.

You see, over the years I’ve shared countless anecdotes, discoveries and a few hundred recipes, which are all buried somewhere in this blog’s archives. The new website will make it soooo much easier for you to browse through and/or locate the material. With just a few clicks you can now find helpful articles and techniques, learn more details about my various recipe books and upcoming events, discover which appliances and products by other raw chefs I recommend and trust, check out my free recipes, videos and food pics, and of course, read my latest blog entries.

Blog Here, Blog There

We're still trying to determine what's the best way to go about integrating my old blogging platform with the new one, so please bear with us for the coming weeks. Until we get it figured out I will be alternating between both. But don't worry, if I don't publish an actual post here on Blogger I'll make sure to announce the link so that you don't miss anything!

A Housewarming Surprise

As a little incentive to stroll about my new Sunny Raw Kitchen, for the next two weeks or so I'm offering a special housewarming surprise to my visitors. If you're curious as to what it is, you can find out for yourself by hopping over there. ;-)

It is my sincere hope that you have as much fun exploring the many nooks and crannies of my new Sunny Raw Kitchen as I've had helping to bring it to life! And please do let me know what you think of it; I'd love to get your feedback!

See you there! ;-)

Warm blessings,

Carmella

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for my new Sunny Raw Newsletter and receive a free recipe e-book!

About Boti and Syte Design

This post simply wouldn't be complete without saying a few words about my awesome graphic designer, web developer and also now friend, Boti. It goes without saying that my new Sunny Raw Kitchen could have never come into being as it is without him. When fellow raw food chef, Guylaine Lacerte, recommended him for my logo concept I had no idea that it was about to turn into such an exciting project!

I debated for a while whether I should tackle the gargantuan task of designing the website myself and I finally decided to hand it over to an expert instead. I had a sense that it would tie up virtually all of my waking hours and, frankly, I no longer enjoy spending most of my time in front of the computer. All I can say is "Thank goodness!" for doing that as I could have never managed to create something so special, plus I'd have undoubtedly made myself (and poor Donnie too!) very miserable in the process.

What Boti presented me with was more than I expected: to work on giving my Sunny Raw Kitchen a new image as well as a new home until I'm 100% satisfied. But that's not all. He also offered to show me the ropes about how to edit and add content to my website, as well as 24/7 lifetime support. I mean, "Wow!" And all that for a beyond reasonable price!

Boti and I hit it off right away. He's a super nice guy, funny, very dependable and conscientious, attentive to detail, professional and completely dedicated. And of course he's a veritable wizard on the computer! ;-) What's more he happens to be interested in health which is a big bonus, as this project felt more than just a job to him.

One Kitchen, Two Logos

We began with phase one; developing a logo concept, finally giving my Sunny Raw Kitchen a visual signature after all these years. When we were nearly done with it I had the insight that we were somehow going on the wrong track, that we needed something more simple and light. Boti, ever the good sport, didn't mind the sudden change of direction, but confided that what we now refer to as the "complex logo" was "the diamond of [his] portfolio"; feeling it was "detailed, interesting [and] beautiful." And so he proposed that we complete it first, then work on a simpler one.

However much I like the complex logo I'm utterly in love with the simple version of it! Not only does it feature the sun, an essential driving force in both our lives and in my Sunny Raw Kitchen, but also includes more personal touches such as the hummingbird - our favorite birdie - and the delicate filigree.

Our friend Ulla distinguished the two logos in an interesting way; she refers to them as the "summer" and "spring" logo. ;-)

What about you, do you have a favorite?

Anyhoo, it's been such a delight to work closely on both of these projects with Boti. In spite of him living on the other side of the planet in Romania, we were able to constantly brainstorm and exchange ideas via email, chat and Skype. He even gave me live training sessions thanks to Skype's screen sharing feature. Ah, the wonders of technology!

If you were considering having your own website or logo done, I really cannot recommend Boti enough!

Check out his website and various works:

Syte Design's Facebook Page

Boti's Behance portfolio

Syte Design website

By the way, his Syte Design website is presently under construction (that's what happens when you dedicate countless hours working on other people's projects!), but do make sure to drop by again later!