We created a minimal, elevated brand aesthetic where less truly is more. We’re talking clean lines, generous white space, and careful attention to detail. The earthy, natural colour palette gave subtle hints to sustainability without falling into clichés, whilst the typography and icons maintained that same understated elegance. Every element of the identity was designed to let the engineered stonework shine. Robust, resilient, always refined. 

Letting subtlety take centre stage

We defined a warm, conversational voice that feels honest and human. Think matter-of-fact, powerful, and peppered with purposeful repetition: form + function, elegance + endurance, and innovation + inspiration. All of this came together under a new tagline: "Made to matter". ‘Made’ as a nod to the nature of composite stonework and bespoke craftsmanship. ‘Matter’ to emphasise the importance of sustainable practices. Because everything Jonite does, from the decisions they make to the products they produce—all of it matters.

Matter-of-fact, modern—and “Made to matter”

The web design tied together every layer of the brand experience. Modular layouts and rich material textures created an experience that feels like flipping through a high-end architectural magazine—clean and precise, but packed with detail. Typography-driven layouts blended seamlessly with photography, iconography, and 3D elements to create one cohesive space. Plus, easy contact options let users quickly connect with Jonite or local partners when they're ready to move from inspiration to specification.

Creative canvas meets technical resource

We created interactions that were smooth and tactile—hover states and fluid transitions that mirror the craftsmanship of Jonite products. The design was animation-heavy, so we prototyped everything before bringing it all to life. Site performance was crucial given the animation load, so we split each section's JavaScript into separate files that only loaded when needed. The Async Alpine plugin let us control exactly when animations are loaded—eagerly, lazily, or triggered by specific events. We also built a custom timing system that queues animations until the previous one finishes, all using GSAP syntax to keep everything consistent.

Purposeful motion, powered by GSAP

We kept the CMS structure as clean and logical as possible. Complex fields were tucked into separate tabs, whilst we used Craft's custom sources to organise everything systematically—main pages in one section, reusable data like popups and architect profiles in another. For the intricate product hierarchy, we used nested entries down to variants, then switched to a matrix field for the final level. And because each layout was built to scale seamlessly on the front-end, architects working on large monitors could engage with every element, regardless of their screen size.

Fully scalable, in every sense

The art direction helped architects and interior designers visualise the full potential of each material. Close-up photography captured every texture and detail, showing exactly how the stone behaved. And to showcase versatility, we placed 3D renders in different settings—from sleek buildings to natural landscapes. Everything centered around authentic, thoughtful compositions, giving users the confidence to make the right decisions for their projects. 

From close-up details to big picture possibilities

Jonite

First up, we overhauled the existing user experience on the Dr Few site, creating something that was cleaner, simpler and way more streamlined. As well as refining the user journey, we elevated the look and feel across the homepage, product pages and overall shopping cart. We introduced new social proof content including testimonials and real-life before/after photos, plus—we made sure plenty of opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell were woven throughout the site.

A Shopify reskin for a revolutionary skincare brand

Alongside all the website updates, we brought in a brand-new email strategy. Our goal was to create an experience that went beyond the website—using detailed storytelling to drive brand awareness, increase average order value and, ultimately, encourage more repeat purchases. To make this happen, we designed and built an engaging welcome flow, set up abandoned cart notifications, and rolled out a new post-purchase journey. And to make sure everything was optimised across every touchpoint, we got to work on an in-depth a/b testing strategy, too.

An email strategy that engages and educates users 

A premium brand like Dr Few should look the part. So in line with the website refresh and marketing activity, we defined a new art direction that brought the products to life using a range of textures, background colours, props, and staging. Then, we took things into the S8 Studio to shoot new packaging, product and bundle photography, as well as playful stop-motion videos for ads, email flows, pop-ups and more. 

Elevating the entire brand—with brand-new visual assets

Dr Few

With heaps of product-related info, plus an entire area of the site dedicated to sex ed, we already had plenty of content to work with. But after a series of persona and TOV workshops, we defined a new visual identity – one that better represents the brand’s empowering, pleasure-first narrative and celebrates the joy of sex. 

Changing the narrative around sex talk

We collaborated with Smile Makers’ SEO agency throughout the project, from initial conversations around wireframes to ensuring all metadata was migrated to the new site. We also wove high-ranking search terms into the website copy and made sure the new site structure changed as little as possible. 

Ticking all the SEO-shaped boxes

We pushed the boundaries of standard e-commerce page layouts to create a premium site that’s playful, functional and puts accessibility first. We also found different ways to educate users about pleasure-first sex, from fun facts and vibrator comparison charts to more in depth how-to tips. 

Taking the stigma out of sex toy shopping

We overhauled the matchmaker quiz, creating a multi-step user flow that encourages users to talk about their pleasure preferences in order to find their perfect vibe. We added an Omnisend integration that allows users to receive a copy of results by email. Plus, with a custom Google Analytics/GTM setup that captures data at every step of the user flow, Smile Makers can gain a better understanding of their audience, perspectives on pleasure, and the most popular sex toys chosen. 

Translating a Typeform quiz into a bespoke digital experience

We added subtle, playful animations that align with Smile Makers’ joyful brand image. Think confetti cannon explosions, bouncing product imagery, and gentle, floating movements on scroll. Plus, we couldn’t resist having a little fun with some flying vibes on the 404.

Creating a site that moves and shakes

Ahead of go-live, we migrated Smile Makers’ entire library of blogs and sex ed content across to the new Shopify site. We used a custom script to ensure the content aligned with the brand-new design and Shopify article structure. Plus, we transferred all customer and order information and Yotpo reviews ahead of launch. 

Migrating from WooCommerce to Shopify

Smile Makers

Aescape empowers everybody to embrace self-care for better living. We went beyond functionality, crafting a narrative that invites everyone to envision themselves benefiting from Aescape's massage. Whether you're a member seeking relaxation, a partner exploring new wellness solutions, or an investor interested in cutting-edge innovations, the website demonstrates how Aescape enhances lives through accessible, inclusive self-care. 

A story-centric site design

We collaborated closely with Aescape on everything from custom icon creation to art direction. The goal was to create a deeper, more emotional connection with the user by illustrating how Aescape makes you feel: refreshed and rejuvenated. Throughout the site, we used compelling video and photography to show Aescape in action, maintaining an ultra-clean look and feel—and keeping text to a minimum.

Translating the brand story across every touchpoint

Aescape empowers users to embark on a personalised wellness journey. The brand is centred around boundless optimism, limitless possibilities, and finding the courage to transform—so we incorporated continuous scrolling to signify free-flowing movement. We explored subtle interactions, micro-animations and transitions across all components, and created a super-fluid web experience that engages the user and guides them seamlessly along their journey.

An experience made to move you

Each section of the site was tailored to communicate Aescape's benefits to every audience. We explored the best approach in terms of colour, structure and content, and mapped out the ideal architecture for each persona. From intuitive Aescape location searches to an interactive ROI calculator, every user journey was designed to be as frictionless as possible. Plus, we integrated multiple newsletter lists, contact forms, and the Aescape booking app to ensure the site was fully optimised for all business goals. 

A journey tailored to every audience

Aescape

We used continuously revolving 3D animations to reflect Fat Tuesday’s grab-and-go culture, as well as realistic film and photography, flyer-style torn edging, and bright neon signage - a nod to the fact that their Vegas stores are often first-stop vacation spots for those visiting the city. 

A brand that blends in, instead of just trying to fit in

To increase footfall, we created an interactive map to show users where they can grab their first (or their next) drink. Cup QR codes direct users to a location finder, and we integrated with Fat Tuesday’s third-party gift voucher platform to enable users to quickly and easily check their balance online.

A user journey that keeps the party going

Research showed that visiting Fat Tuesday was usually a group activity, and almost always part of a wider experience - be that partying, sightseeing, or hitting the beach. With a selfie-worthy selection of drinks and a ready-made audience of social media users, we added a live social feed that synced with in-store screens across all locations to show the good times never stop rolling.

A space for sharing the good times

After the go-live of the new Fat Tuesday site, we set to work on overhauling the sister brand - New Orleans Original Daiquiri. The premise and concept were the same (frozen cocktails to-go, a dated online presence), but with all outlets in the state of Louisiana, and an older more local audience to appeal to, we gave the brand a small-town, neighbourly feel. Think laid-back Southern vibes, a retro typeface and photography, and a feel-good colour palette and design that says “stop by and kick back with a cold one”.

A local, Louisiana-based little sister

Fat Tuesday

Our main goal was to modernise the brand by introducing a new look and feel that’s playful and youthful, but still gives a nod to its core values. We paired a new palette of contrasting colours with distinctive design elements such as badge stamps and image inktraps. Then, we went big and bold with typography.

220 years young: a traditional brand with a bold new energy

British style is all about independence and eclecticism. And when your history is as inspiring as Peregrine’s, it's only right that you write with flair. We outlined a new brand voice that brings together the wit of great British humour, the authenticity of storytelling, and the straight-talking tone of a brand that’s big on sustainability. In other words, charming, honest and rugged. Definitely no wooliness. 

A voice that speaks volumes

Our discovery work revealed that almost 3 in 4 users were returning visitors. And since these users are more likely to make a purchase, it only made sense to incorporate more upsell features in both the cart and the wishlist. Shoppers now see recommended products based on what they’ve purchased in the past. Or, they’re presented with suggestions of products that (based on data from past visitors) are frequently purchased together. 

Personal(ised) shopping, from the wishlist to the checkout

Peregrine’s a British-made brand, but its products are sold all over the world. Using Shopify Markets, we built a bespoke location switcher that groups countries into regions and enables shoppers to see specific pricing based on their location. Plus, the Peregrine team can customise pages depending on the season or campaign. 

We also went the extra mile to create more seamless user journeys. Users can browse clothing by size (and only see items that are in stock), as well as product type and material. The responsive image galleries are tailored to their chosen product colour. And, we also added quick buy functionality to the collections pages and blog, so users can easily add featured products to their basket. 

Making it better to browse and easier than ever to buy

Peregrine

Mixing up work and play, every day 

We design identities, build websites, and craft growth strategies that better connect e-commerce brands with customers. 

Brand and digital that cultivate connection, conversion and joy.

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Shopify just dropped Winter Editions 2026, and they're calling it the Renaissance Edition. Bold name—but for once, the hype might actually be justified.

The theme running through this release is clear: less burden for business owners, more sophisticated ways to sell. Not "sophisticated" in the buzzword sense, but as in "you can finally sell everywhere your buyers are actually shopping."

Here are the seven features we're most hyped about, and why they actually matter.

Real products are complicated, and workarounds are exhausting.

A furniture brand needs 6 wood finishes, 12 fabric options, 4 sizes, and left/right configurations. That's just their product. For years, us devs have been coding hacky solutions, and merchants have had to compromise with clunky checkout flows. This update removes one of Shopify's most frustrating constraints and lets complex catalogues exist natively—the way they always should have.

One product page, infinite options—and that's marketing gold.

When customers can explore every option from a single product page, you're concentrating all your SEO juice, ad spend, and social marketing onto one canonical URL. Previously, brands split variants across multiple listings, diluting search rankings and making campaigns a nightmare. Now you get better Google rankings, cleaner analytics, and ad campaigns that actually make sense.

The 2048 variant limit means merchants can use Shopify's native systems. Better performance, easier management, and developers spending time on features that actually move the needle instead of fighting platform limitations.

Test and time your launches with Rollouts

For years, proper split testing meant paying for Convert, Optimizely, or VWO—adding another monthly subscription and another potential point of failure. Rollouts brings native A/B testing into the admin, which means one less vendor to manage and testing that just works.

Anyone who's launched a Black Friday sale at midnight knows the stress—sitting at your laptop at 11:58pm, hovering over the "publish" button. Rollouts lets you schedule that two weeks in advance, preview exactly what goes live, and focus on more important stuff.

Make changes, like launching a new purchase flow, and watch the numbers to know if it’s boosting or reducing conversions. Without a third-party app, it used to be really difficult to know what impact your changes were having. But now you can be brave without being reckless.

You're designing a product page, you realise the price is wrong, you have to leave the theme editor, navigate to Products, find the SKU, update it, go back, refresh, and... you've lost your flow. Being able to edit products, collections, metafields, and markets without leaving the editor means you stay in the zone and get more done.

When a merchant says "can we try this product in that collection instead?"—you used to have to leave the editor, make the change, come back, and refresh. Now you just do it. Live. In front of them. It makes their feedback loop instant, which means better stores, faster.

Having to jump between sections to make one coherent change is draining. Consolidated editing means less clicking around, less confusion, and more "I just want to update my store and get back to running my business."

Secret URLs without the hacky workarounds.

Shopify devs have been jerry-rigging hidden products for years—unpublishing from channels, using weird collection logic, hacking noindex tags into templates. Unlisted status makes this a first-class feature: products are live at their URL but hidden from search, collections, and sitemaps.

Perfect for the stuff you sell, but don't want to advertise.

Warranty extensions, VIP-only items, wholesale catalogues, gift-with-purchase offers, or products you're sharing with specific customers via email. Before, you had to explain why Shopify made this so complicated. Now it's a dropdown.

Replacement parts, custom quote items, bundle components—these clutter the shopping experience but need to exist in your system. Unlisted status lets merchants keep their catalogue organised without creating confusing customer experiences.

The average person has 100+ online accounts—all with their own usernames and passwords. Google and Facebook sign-in using magic links removes that friction entirely. People click, they're in, they're buying.

Native integration means no sketchy third-party apps.

Social login apps have always been a bit janky—another monthly fee, another potential security concern, another thing that might break. Shopify building this natively means it's secure, maintained, and works properly with everything else.

The majority of e-commerce traffic is mobile. And this is where social login becomes especially useful. Tap Google, face ID confirms, you're done. For business owners worried about cart abandonment, this could genuinely move the needle.

This is where shopping is actually happening now.

People are already asking ChatGPT "what's a good gift for my dad who likes camping?" and getting product recommendations. If your products aren't in those conversations, you're invisible to an entire shopping channel.

Instead of building separate connections to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and whatever launches next month, you toggle it on once and Shopify's Catalog API does the rest. For developers, that's less integration work. For merchants, it's "set it and forget it."

You keep the customer relationship (that's huge).

With Agentic Storefronts, you're still the merchant of record, the order flows into your admin, you get proper attribution, and you own the post-purchase relationship. You get the discovery benefits of AI platforms without giving up what makes your business actually valuable.

. And watch this space for more news and updates from the world of dev.

Why Shopify's Renaissance Edition might actually live up to the hype

When October rolls around, we put our out-of-offices on and gather for our annual team retreat. This year, we headed to Rome for four days of core memory-making, S8-style.

The long-timers know the drill. Meet at Mama Shelter, sit down for drinks and dinner, and release the merch. But it’s also about meeting our newest faces in person for the first time. This year saw the welcome return of the Slack stickers. Lovingly made by Alistair, and as hilarious as they are haunting, this latest batch featured all the best team emojis to date—sam-facepalm, simon-sad, biel-chicken, and more.

After breakfast the next day, we got down to business with an all-hands meeting at Mama. Where we're at, where we're headed, and how we're getting there. The kind of big-picture planning that’s more powerful when you're all in the same room. By lunch, we'd mapped out the next chapter and were all feeling super energised about everything to come.

Later that day, we had a masterclass in Roman eating. Fried artichokes and codfish, traditional porchetta sandwiches, and supplì from family-owned eateries—all followed by a sit-down dinner of pizza, double pasta, and several vinos. And to finish? Gelato, obviously. Some went for the classics—chocolate, tiramisu, hazelnut, pistachio. Others went rogue with the locals’ recommendation of ginger, lemon, grapefruit and horseradish. But we all agreed that three hours of restaurant-hopping was one of the best ways to discover the Trastevere neighbourhood.

Afterwards, it was time for drinks at Freni e Frizoni. Part of the World Top 50 Bars, this car-garage-turned-cocktail-bar switches up its menu every 6 months. The current drinks list (FRENI 2.0), celebrates the bar’s 20th birthday by putting a punk twist on the classics. Tickle Pickles, Back to the Piscos, and Mexican Manhattans consumed, it was onwards for questionable shots—or back to Mama to call it a night.

The next day, we were all up bright and early for Gladiator School. Previous alumni include Shakira and Tom Brady—and on the morning’s agenda was a chaotic mash-up of myth-busting, ancient Roman bootcamp training and LARPing. We learned a lot. We laughed even more. And yes, we were entertained.

Scores settled in the arena, we downed foam weapons and headed across the city for our next lesson. Because a visit to Rome isn’t complete without pasta-making. We kneaded, rolled and shaped—and it wasn't long before we’d sat down to another feast, this time, featuring freshly-made bruschetta, two types of pasta and tiramisu.

What came next was an afternoon spent soaking up the sights, visiting the iconic Colosseum, and hitting up more of the city’s gelaterias and pizzerias. And before we knew it, it was time for our last night together—family-style dining and final catch-ups over some street-side cocktails.

As a remote agency, in-person get-togethers are always special. We regroup, we reconnect, and we celebrate all our successes so far. This year, more than ever, we came away feeling even more aligned and armed with a bunch of fresh ideas around how we can really up our game. Shout out to Ellie, Jasmine, and Tiago, who were with us in spirit. And as always, huge thanks to Fran and Mario for always going all in.

S8 Team retreat 2025: Rome

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We moved Somewhere Good from headless to a custom Shopify theme. Here’s what changed and why it matters for your brand.

Headless sounds great in theory: full flexibility, complete control, performance gains. In practice? For most growing brands though, it’s a maze of complexity, maintenance and dependency.

Somewhere Good—a clothing brand known for bold, graphic-led staples crafted from premium materials—learned that the hard way.

“We started out headless—lured by the promise of flexibility and performance—but quickly ran into all the usual pain points: rising dev costs, slow turnaround times.” – Somewhere Good

They came to us stuck in a setup they couldn’t manage. Every small update needed a developer. Nothing moved fast. So we rebuilt their site on Shopify—properly. Custom theme, intuitive tools, zero dev bottlenecks.

Here’s what we fixed, what changed and what to know before you go headless.

When your team can’t touch your site, that’s a problem

Somewhere Good had a sleek frontend. But they couldn’t:

Everything was hard-coded or buried in a CMS. Marketing ideas stalled while they waited on dev availability.

“A site that made simple updates a chore. For a start-up, it was unsustainable.”

We gave them full control—without the code:

App changes that don’t need developer support

Popups targeted by location and Klaviyo list

UK visitor? They see a 20% promo. EU visitor? A shipping update. All set up by the client, not us.

If you’re not a dev-led company, that gets expensive. Fast.

A streamlined Shopify theme. No plugins duct-taped together. No guesswork.

A site that’s easy to manage—and hard to break

Now their team can focus on the experience, not the architecture.

Headless doesn’t guarantee speed—or visibility

Somewhere Good’s headless build looked slick, but behind the scenes:

JavaScript-heavy pages that slowed load time and blocked indexing

Fixing it would’ve meant custom code and long-term dev cost.

Now they’re in control of how the site performs—and how it shows up in search.

If you can’t test apps without code, you’re stuck

They were locked into a single returns provider—not by choice, but because the content couldn’t be changed. Same with popups. Same with policies. Even testing a new tool was a dev project.

“Moving to Shopify and working with S8 has given us reliability, speed and freedom to focus on the business, not the backend.”

It can be. If you’re running multiple channels or serving custom user journeys—it might make sense.

But if what you actually need is control, flexibility and speed—without the technical baggage—Shopify isn’t just easier. It’s smarter. It gives your team the tools to move fast, test ideas and grow on your terms.

Somewhere Good made the switch. Now their site works harder so they don’t have to—with a platform that powers their growth, not their to-do list.

Brand and digital that cultivate connection, conversion and joy.

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Why Shopify's Renaissance Edition might actually live up to the hype

S8 Team retreat 2025: Rome

Shopify vs headless: what brands really need to know

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Why Shopify's Renaissance Edition might actually live up to the hype

S8 Team retreat 2025: Rome

Shopify vs headless: what brands really need to know

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