JeffCroft.com

06.11.2007 // 66 Comments // News Center My Posse’s On Broadway

Or, I’m moving to Seattle. Yes, it seems it’s once again time to press the double-arrow and skip ahead to a new chapter of my life and career. There are only a handful of companies in the world I think I might enjoy working for more than The Lawrence Journal-World (where I’ve spent the past year and a half) — and my path just happened to cross with one of them on a recent trip to the Emerald City.

That company is Blue Flavor, and I couldn’t be more excited to announce that I’ve accepted a position with them in their office overlooking Lake Union.

Readers of this blog are more than likely quite familiar with Blue Flavor, so I won’t go into a lot of details here about them. If you’re interested, check out their site, the list of people they’ve helped, and their blog. As for what I’ll be doing for them: mostly design, with a bit of development tossed in for fun, and also some community outreach (writing, blogging, speaking at events, etc.). Blue Flavor’s emphasis on people-centered design and the value they place on engaging with the web community were both key factors in their appeal to me. I’m really anxious to join Brian, Nick, Keith, Cyndi, Kevin, Tom, and Garrett on a day-to-day basis. I know we’ll do some amazing things together.

As someone who’s spent pretty much my entire life in Kansas, it’s both extremely exciting and a bit scary to move almost 2000 miles away, but I’ll be taking my longtime girlfriend Michelle along with me, and I’ve got a few friends in the area (even beyond the Blue Flavor crew), so that should make the change a bit easier. I’m leaving behind a huge group of friends here in the Kansas City, Lawrence, and Topeka areas, as well my 12-year old daughter (no doubt the hardest part of this decision — she will of course come visit me regularly), and most of my family. It’s not easy, but I think the time and opportunity are right for this.

Besides the personal life I’ll leave behind, I’m also leaving the best job I’ve ever had, and the most talented bunch of dudes I’ve ever seen coalesce in one place on a daily basis. But beyond their incredible talent, each and every one of them is a good personal friend. This makes it both easier and harder to leave them. On one hand, I know they’re happy for me and I know I’ll still communicate with them all the time and see them pretty regularly. On the other, I will miss all the day-to-day stuff that happens in our cozy little basement of the Newscenter. It’s a really extraordinary place to work and learn, and I can’t imagine any other place would have helped advance my career like World Online has. Dan, Jacob, Matt, David, Nathan, James, Tom, Joseph, Alex, Christian, Richard, Dustin, Dean, Adrian, Wilson, Simon — you guys have all been tremendous influences and inspirations to me, and I can’t thank you enough for that.

I’m super excited about Seattle. Even though I’d never been there, I’ve always counted it among the very few places in the US I thought I’d like to live. I visited there recently (actually for a different job interview, which didn’t end up working out) and really, really enjoyed the city. Michelle and I will have a plethora of new things to see and do, which should be great. With Vancouver and Portland nearby, there should be plenty of opportunity for nice weekend trips, as well.

I will officially start working for Blue Flavor July 2nd, but won’t move out to Seattle until the end of July. Meesh and I will be house hunting there during An Event Apart Seattle time, so hopefully we’ll get to see some of our friends from the industry then.

Bottom line: I’m anxious, nervous, and excited as hell.

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Comments

  1. 001 // Keith // 06.11.2007 // 12:36 PM

    You know we’re super excited to have you out here Jeff. Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you and I’m sure you’ll love it here.

  2. 002 // shelbybark // 06.11.2007 // 12:43 PM

    Wow! That’s exciting news! Congratulations, Jeff!

  3. 003 // Rob Weychert // 06.11.2007 // 12:49 PM

    Congratulations Jeff and Blue Flavor! I had to bite my tongue pretty hard to not make a stupid “Jeff, you’re not in Kansas anymore” joke. Oh. I guess I just did.

  4. 004 // Geof Harries // 06.11.2007 // 1:09 PM

    Awesome news, Jeff. Best wishes for the move; it’s always a lot of fun (and work, sigh) to move across multiple states/provinces to start fresh, but everybody needs to do once in a while. I know you’re going to love the change - the Pacific Northwest is where it’s at.

    So, does this mean you’re going to become a snowboarder? Oh, how I miss Mt. Baker.

  5. 005 // Tom Watson // 06.11.2007 // 1:15 PM

    So glad to have you on the team! Looking forward to you filling the new empty space.

  6. 006 // Jeff Croft // 06.11.2007 // 1:16 PM

    Thanks, guys! Geof — I already am a snowboarder! But this might mean I get to actually do it more often! :)

  7. 007 // Baxter // 06.11.2007 // 1:38 PM

    Congrats, Jeff. Blue Flavor couldn’t have picked a more talented, smarter and all-around good guy. Seattle’s a great town, too. You’ll like it.

    I still owe you the beverage of your choice, though.

  8. 008 // James Asher // 06.11.2007 // 1:43 PM

    Does anyone read ‘coalesce’ and automatically think SQL?

    Maybe that’s just me being nerdy…

    Anyways, congratulations Jeff.

  9. 009 // Nate Klaiber // 06.11.2007 // 1:48 PM

    Wow, thats big news. That’s great news. Congrats to both you and Blue Flavor. Making a move is never easy, especially (As you have expressed) when you love your current job.

    I am sure there are bigger and better things for you, so congrats for making the move.

  10. 010 // Ryan Pitts // 06.11.2007 // 2:04 PM

    Wow, congratulations! As a longtime reader of yours from Spokane, I was looking forward to meeting you in person when a few of us come down to Lawrence in July for some Ellington training. Guess we’ll miss out on that, but welcome to our corner of the States ;)

  11. 011 // Jeff Croft // 06.11.2007 // 2:11 PM

    @Ryan: Let me know when you’re going to be here and I’ll come by if I’m still here. I’ll still be in Lawrence through most of July (not quite sure when I’m moving, but it will probably be like the last week). I imagine the guys here won’t mind me coming by the office and I would love to meet you!

  12. 012 // Ryan Berg // 06.11.2007 // 2:18 PM

    Congrats Jeff! From visiting their blog over time, I’ve always thought they seemed like a great place to work. Good luck with the move!

  13. 013 // Sean S // 06.11.2007 // 2:32 PM

    Awesome, awesome, awesome. This has been a great day of news for me. I’m totally geeking out. WWDC with a new Apple.com, Safari and Leopard previews — and now this.

    Congratulations, Jeff! You’re going to love Seattle. It’s the coolest city on the face of the planet, and there’s lots going on.

    Of course, we’ve got some good churchin’ too … in case you wanna connect with Man Upstairs once you’re here. I’m just sayin’. ;)

  14. 014 // Thomas M. // 06.11.2007 // 2:43 PM

    Jeff,

    Congratulations on the new job - and the new location. I’d hoped to meet you in Lawrence when I was last there in April, unfortunately I got there at the end of the day and the lady at the front desk said you guys were in a meeting, busy, or something … c’est la vie.

    I really appreciate the help/time/feedback in judging our student Web Design competition and hope I still might call upon you next year, if your time permits. The students were overly awed that we had you as a judge.

    Once again, good luck, and look forward to following the new adventures of Jeff Croft

  15. 015 // Christian Watson // 06.11.2007 // 3 PM

    Having worked with Brian, Keith and Tom, I am confident that this will be a great move for you.

    Just be sure to only let Keith corner you with one of his “What is design?” conversations when you’re at the pub - otherwise you’ll never get any work done! Just kidding (sort of), Keith.

    Of course, I just moved from Seattle to Austin so I’m a little biased, but it is a great place to live.

    I am excited to see all the great things that you & BF produce!

  16. 016 // Keith // 06.11.2007 // 3:20 PM

    @Christian - Ha! The one he needs to look out for is Nick. And, anyway, we don’t work at the pub. We play at the pub.

  17. 017 // Nathan Smith // 06.11.2007 // 3:21 PM

    That’s awesome man, congrats. They’re a cool group o’ guys, for sure. My family is in Washington state, and my bro lives in Seattle. I was telling my wife that if we ever moved to be closer to family, BlueFlavor would be the first place I’d apply. If I’m ever up that way visiting family, I’ll be sure to crash the office!

  18. 018 // Lesser Seattle // 06.11.2007 // 3:48 PM

    Hey we’re always happy to have more people from the fly-over states move here. Just don’t bring your fucking car! or your bible! We don’t go out for much of that round here.

  19. 019 // Chip Diffendaffer // 06.11.2007 // 3:51 PM

    Congrats to both - that’s an amazing addition to an already stellar group!

  20. 020 // Brian Fling // 06.11.2007 // 4:03 PM

    We are super excited to have you join our little family! It is a brave, bold and scary thing to move across country, away from your friends and family. We will help in whatever way we can to get you settled comfortably in your new city…. uh oh, did I just volunteer the company to help you move?

  21. 021 // Chris Leach // 06.11.2007 // 4:11 PM

    Congrats on the new opportunity, Jeff. Don’t forget us WU folks….

  22. 022 // Rob Goodlatte // 06.11.2007 // 4:14 PM

    Congrats Jeff! Looking forward to kickin it with you at AEA

  23. 023 // Oliver Beattie // 06.11.2007 // 4:24 PM

    Wow, Jeff! Serious mega-über-congratulations on the new job! There’s nobody more talented I could think of for a position like this.

    All the best for the future… hope you enjoy city life away from ‘home’! :)

  24. 024 // Andrew Kumar // 06.11.2007 // 4:55 PM

    Congrats! Once you are nice and cozy, come join us up north for BarCamp Vancouver

  25. 025 // Jim Ray // 06.11.2007 // 4:56 PM

    Jeff, congrats on the new gig, it was great to meet you when you were up here (and I think I remember you buying me a drink so I hope to get to return that favor at some point). Blue Flavor is just down the street from my apartment, I’ll keep my eye out for you in the neighborhood.

  26. 026 // M. Jackson Wilkinson // 06.11.2007 // 4:57 PM

    Congratulations, Jeff – that’s fantastic! Is everyone moving to the west coast again? That’s SO eight years ago…

  27. 027 // Jeff Croft // 06.11.2007 // 5:05 PM

    @Jim: It was great meeting you, as well, and I hope the fact that it didn’t work out with your group doesn’t affect our relationship, because I definitely think you and I should hang out once I get up there. :)

  28. 028 // Janelle Corkill // 06.11.2007 // 5:09 PM

    Congratulations, Jeff. Glad to see you’re still on the rise! Keep up the awesome work and take care.

  29. 029 // Lea // 06.11.2007 // 7:15 PM

    Woo woo! Jeff is joining the west side. ;-) Congrats and all that jazz!

  30. 030 // Brad Dielman // 06.11.2007 // 8:28 PM

    Congrats on the move, Jeff. Seattle has always been one of my favorite cities so I’m very jealous right now.

  31. 031 // Miguel Angel Friginal // 06.11.2007 // 10:17 PM

    Congrats Jeff. You will like living in Seattle. It has not even rain (much) lately! As a person that came from 6,000 miles away, and also felt both excited and scared, I can assure you the fear will disappear in around a year… maybe two… maybe… Mom!!!

  32. 032 // Christain Metts // 06.11.2007 // 11:53 PM

    I didn’t mean to scare you off like that. Honest!

    But seriously. I have very glad I showed up here at WOL before you left. They’ve been a good few months. I am excited for you and I’ll be praying that your transition goes as smoothly as possible. And you can bet that we’ll come a’visiting. :)

  33. 033 // .sara // 06.11.2007 // 11:56 PM

    Woohoo! (:

  34. 034 // Jeff Wheeler // 06.12.2007 // 12:23 AM

    Wow, congratulations! Seattle’s one of my favorite cities in the States; that, Austin, and San Francisco are the only three I would want to live in (oh, and maybe Lawrence … maybe).

    Blue Flavor definitely won out. :)

  35. 035 // gb // 06.12.2007 // 4:50 AM

    Jeff, you have no idea how jealous I am of you right now. I’m currently lining up interviews in Seattle in prep of my big move (FINALLY… I’ve been trying to move for the better part of a year), and I can’t imagine how fantastic it would be to work with the Blue Flav kids. Here’s hoping I run into you up there. You can buy me a beer. ;)

  36. 036 // Adam Polselli // 06.12.2007 // 11:28 AM

    How exciting! Nothing like a cross-country move to stir up life’s stew. Good luck with the move, Jeff.

  37. 037 // Kim // 06.12.2007 // 12:27 PM

    Congratulations on your new job, Jeff. It was very nice meeting you during your recent visit. I know you will enjoy Seattle and the area, all wonderful. Hopefully we will all see each other again when you get settled in.

    Kim

  38. 038 // Andrea Arbogast // 06.12.2007 // 1:11 PM

    Congrats! I love Seattle— we lived there for a few years, and my sister still does. I’ll be up there for XMas— will have to buy you a beer. Good luck with the move.

  39. 039 // Jim Ray // 06.12.2007 // 1:47 PM

    Jeff, absolutely, we’re all bummed that you’re going to be working in Seattle proper instead of the majestic wonderland that is Redmond, but you can’t argue with that commute! Beers are on me when you get settled (p.s. Fremont really is the best neighborhood to live in - stay outta Belltown and Capitol Hill)

  40. 040 // Derek K. Miller // 06.12.2007 // 1:53 PM

    If you can possibly make it in mid-August, definitely go to Gnomedex 7.0 as well. Well worth the money for the best small tech conference anywhere. I won’t make it this year (surgery, alas), but my wife should be there.

  41. 041 // Kim // 06.12.2007 // 1:54 PM

    Jeff, don’t listen to Jim … Really the small town north of Seattle, Edmonds is where you want to live ;)

  42. 042 // Patrick Haney // 06.12.2007 // 3:28 PM

    Better late than never, but congrats on the new Blue Flavor position. It looks like I’ll have one more person to hang out with when I finally get myself up to Seattle later this year.

  43. 043 // Jeff Croft // 06.12.2007 // 3:51 PM

    Thanks again to everyone. You all are too kind!

    @Kim and Jim: I’m afraid Jim is gonna win this battle in my mind. Fremont is definitely on my list of neighborhoods to consider, but anyplace outside the city of Seattle won’t be. Sorry, Kim. :)

    @Patrick and the others who are in or will be in Seattle: Awesome! It’s nice to know I’ll have more people to hang out with up there! :)

  44. 044 // Nate Manderfeld // 06.12.2007 // 3:59 PM

    Jeff, congrats on the position at Blue Flavor. You better still make roll call for the Lawrencewebgeeks. If not, maybe a Skype/podcast mashup will take it’s place. Seattle is a wonderful place to call home.

  45. 045 // Matt Robin // 06.12.2007 // 6 PM

    What exciting news Jeff! Congratulations!! Blue Flavour have hired a great guy and an outstanding Web Designer - bargain! You must be thrilled to be working with too.

    (Note to self: Yet ‘another’ reason to visit Seattle sometime!)

    I hope the move and transition goes smoothly for you and your family. Moves never seem easy, but I’m wishing you the best with all of it.

  46. 046 // Matt Robin // 06.12.2007 // 6:13 PM

    Correction: I misspelt the company name! I spelled ‘Flavour’ the UK-English way…sorry!

    Blue Flavor rock - woooohooo! ;)

  47. 047 // Brad McGonigle // 06.12.2007 // 6:59 PM

    Congrats!!! I’m sure Blue Flavor is an amazing place to work. The variety and quality of projects you’ll get to work on is something we can all be fond of. Personally, I’m jealous that your able to take the plunge and move cross-country. One day, I’ll get serious and do the same.

  48. 048 // Dave Zille // 06.12.2007 // 8:37 PM

    We don’t know each other.. but I gotta say, love the Sir Mix-a-Lot reference!

  49. 049 // Jeff Croft // 06.12.2007 // 8:46 PM

    @Dave: I’m just glad someone got it! :)

  50. 050 // dale tan // 06.13.2007 // 12:14 AM

    Congrats, Jeff. If you can get past the grey skies out in seattle, you’ll love it out there. and you’re moving at a good time for Seattle has the best summers anywhere in the world. Not too humid, not to hot (usually, last summer’s heat comes around once every 10 years).

    Being from there originally and after living in Philly and NYC for the past 7 years (damn been a long time!), I still miss the atmosphere.

    Make sure to eat plenty of mini donuts at Daily Dozen Donuts in the Pike Place Market…mmm…donuts…………..

  51. 051 // dale tan // 06.13.2007 // 12:16 AM

    oh ya, can’t forget dick’s drive-in scattered around the city.

  52. 052 // Dave Lowe // 06.13.2007 // 3:32 PM

    Congrats Jeff! Now I really need to send some Biola projects over to Blue Flavor. :)

  53. 053 // Tomasz Gorski // 06.15.2007 // 6:37 AM

    Congratulations on the new job - and the new location Jeff, I think it’s a very good decision!

  54. 054 // mix alot // 06.16.2007 // 10:46 PM

    i second the awesome mix-a-lot reference.

  55. 055 // Ryan Freitas // 06.18.2007 // 6:10 PM

    jeff, this is awesome news! congrats on the move, and welcome to the west coast.

  56. 056 // Nicole // 06.19.2007 // 11:23 AM

    Big news — congrats on the new gig! I’m sure you will find the west coast agreeable. :)

  57. 057 // Kelvin Nicholson // 06.23.2007 // 3:55 AM

    Congrats Jeff! Seattle is a great place; I miss the Northwest all too often!

  58. 058 // Mike Papageorge // 06.24.2007 // 1:06 PM

    Hey Jeff, congrats on the new job! Seattle is a great place for sure. A great win-win story, this one :-)

  59. 059 // Mike R // 06.28.2007 // 8:45 PM

    There can’t be much of anything scarier than moving far away from your “home turf,” but you just gotta go for it. (I mean, what’s the very worst thing that could happen? You hate it. You move back. Not bloody likely.) Besides, that’s what Southwest Airlines is for…

    I’ve been all over this great-big land (with only the briefest time spent, so far, in Kansas) and travelling around it is an opportunity not to be missed.

  60. 060 // Daniel Craig Jallits // 07.21.2007 // 12:09 PM

    Better late than never….

    Congrats Jeff on moving onto what I am sure is going to be the next “best job [you will] ever [have]”!

  61. 061 // Lizunoff // 12.18.2007 // 2:04 PM

    Hello Jeff, Nice Article, nice blog! I connected 2 readers!

  62. 062 // Andrew Kiev // 02.03.2008 // 8:19 AM

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge. It’s really good written and I fully agree with You.

  63. 063 // Charly Briggs // 02.05.2008 // 10:43 PM

    i can understand that you was nervous. the whole thing sounds like a great adventure. i hope it went all well for you and you are now “at home”.

  64. 064 // gowner // 02.23.2008 // 4:26 AM

    Hey Jeff, congrats on the new job! Seattle is a great place for sure. A great win-win story, this one :-)

  65. 065 // Kaszub // 04.19.2008 // 2:07 AM

    Despite the fact it has been lots of time from your movement i am really curious how are you doing at BF, as far as i have seen the projects are fantastic. Pity i cannot subscribe to this post :/ Senciere greetings and cheers form polish “junor-supporter” :)

  66. 066 // Nokia N95 // 06.09.2008 // 1:58 PM

    Hello Jeff! Great Work!

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