Hi, I’m Justyna.

I’ve been self-employed as a co-owner of a small, local retail store in Chicago since 1993, when together with my husband I opened Chicago’s first (now closed) transportation oriented bicycle store. We currently operate Cosmic Bikes, which we opened in May of 2016 on Chicago’s NW side.

Our very first website was put together sometime before the turn of the century by a tinkerer friend. As part of our business philosophy it featured some golden nuggets he dreamed up on our behalf, such as:

• “We believe coffee tastes better with a little cream and sugar.”

• “Helmets are very stylish, but —more importantly— they keep your head from getting squished.”

• “We believe all people are created equal. And naked. We believe in treating every customer with complete respect. We further believe that people who steal other peoples’ bikes are not equal anymore. In fact, they are creeps.”

Although our friend put these words online for us, he knew they were words we would actually say, because he understood who we were. Our customers responded to the quirky personality that came through our website, and reflected the unique character of our business. Those early days of website building taught me the importance of having your own voice, and not hesitating to use it.

In 2006 I discovered blogging, and I was hooked. I was moonlighting as a Realtor at the time, and I quickly built an alternative real estate blog that won a small but loyal cult following. I have since built quite a few websites for my old business, for the current one, a biking blog, a homeschooling blog, and various online projects I experimented with over the years.

Although I still love matching people to their perfect bicycle, I also discovered that I love building websites. Specifically, I love building websites that are nice to look at, uncomplicated, uncluttered, get to the point quickly and elegantly, and show some personality.

Let’s talk if you’d like me to build yours.