Developing Story: Kelsey Gilbert-Kreiling
From bytes to bites, here’s what makes our developers tick.
Name: Kelsey Gilbert-Kreiling
Role: Co-founder and lead developer
Current residence:
Chicago, IL and Ripon, WI
How did you get into web development?
I rode the Blogspot train to Tumblr town, then transferred in the 2010s to Squarespace. I first built sites for personal projects, then for restaurants while working for a restaurant group.
Favorite WOTW site you’ve designed and why?
After 6 years of designing sites, I have hundreds of favorites. How can I choose? Recently, I’m most fond of Ashlyperez.com and Clementinetogo.com (pictured below), probably because both clients were absolutely wonderful and their goodness shines through their sites.
Where do you work best?
In my recliner at my cabin at like, 6 a.m., with a cup of coffee by my side, headphones on, and the sun peeking in the windows.
Workspace essentials?
AirPods & a Nespresso machine. I also swear by these Thyme Is Honey Daily Page notepads and these LePen pens.
Best learning resources?
I learn so much from my Squarespace buds like Christy Price. Also, Ghost is a total Squarespace Haven — their plugins are the foundation for a lot of the cool stuff we do.
Favorite Squarespace feature?
After yEaRs, Squarespace commerce finally has subcategories to organize products and I’m not over it yet. It’s the best.
Best source of creative inspiration?
Alex Lucke, who is one of our developers and our social media manager, is always finding the coolest stuff. I feel like she brings a lot of neat things into my sphere of creativity. We’re often going back and forth on new things we want to try for clients, and it’s fun to have someone to fuel that creativity.
I'm also really lucky to have super creative friends like Chelsea Lavin. We created a mood board on her site, because inspiration is such a core of who she is. She is always sending me beautiful things. In a pre-pandemic world, I was a big traveler and definitely tried to bring the things I’ve experienced into my creative space.
Favorite shortcut or tip of the trade?
🎶 Add a Favicon! 🎶 It helps your site looks so much more polished and complete. It's a major pet peeve of mine when you see a beautiful website with the standard Squarespace black box in the top left-hand corner. I also am really fond of a good social sharing logo so your site looks alluring when your friends share it!
What are you binge-watching?
We just started re-watching “Veep,” finished “The Flight Attendant” in a weekend, and are on season 11 of “The Amazing Race.”
Favorite meal?
Any meal I eat with Mallory, my cofounder. She is the best person to go to a restaurant with. We both really lean into “for the table” ordering, and I am chomping at the bit to get back to our culinary adventures post-pandemic.
What are you hoping for in 2021?
Less volatility. I see the toll this last year has taken on our team, who work SO hard, and our clients, who are trying to keep going through a lot of chaos. I hope all of us get to have a year with the support we need and the peace we deserve.