Between 2009 and 2016 I developed themes for Sandvox, a web authoring app from Karelia Software. This was my last post from the original BehindTheRabbit website.
Dear BtR customer,
Dear Sandvox user,
Dear surfer of the Interwebs,
BehindTheRabbit will be closing soon. It took some time to take this decision and to plan a way to leave the business which is fair to all my current customers and to the Sandvox community.
Seven years ago I started this adventure more as an hobby than as a job. As soon as I started selling designs though, I tried to keep a professional approach even if my “real”, full-time job was completely different. According to the amazingly kind feedback I received in all these years, I think I succeded.
As you noticed, the development of new designs slowed down and came to a full stop during the last two years. I was developing a third generation of brand new, responsive, modern designs but I realized I just didn’t have the time to work on them with the required care. I’m not a perfectionist (even if some friends of mine might disagree…) but I didn’t want to release any unfinished or unpolished project. So I got stuck.
In the meantime, a lot of things were going on in my personal life, keeping me even busier then before.
Starting a few months from now, I will be traveling a lot between Rome and London and I will be often unavailable for support. This means that not only I cannot develop designs anymore: I won’t even be able to reply to basic support requests for an unpredictable amount of time. So, this is probably the right time to let it go.
What happens next?
My plan is to disengage gradually.
- The first step is this announcement.
- Designs will be for sale until the end of the year, to protect the investment of current users but if you’re buying one now you know that support will be unreliable and that there will be no further development (compatibility updates will be guaranteed, though).
- The oldest designs are now released for free.
- If you purchased a design in the last 30 days (between April 29th and May 29th) and you think this news would change your mind about your purchase, you are entitled to a full refund. Just use the contact form and ask for one (it might take a few days to process).
- In early 2017 all designs and all their source files will be released for free. At the same time, support will end. The website will be kept up and running for at least a couple of years even if it will not be updated anymore (it still provides a lot of useful information).
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all my customers and the Sandvox community. I found an extremely kind, patient, loving community which nowadays is a rare and precious thing.
Thank you to Terrence Talbot and Mike Abdullah for their support to any of my needs.
A special “thank you” goes to Dan Wood, who “recruited” me seven years ago and who was very very patient with all my issues and prompt to help.
My deepest regret is that I see a lot of potential in Sandvox that I cannot express further. If you’re a developer, I would consider giving it a try because working on a Sandvox Design is really easy.
I had a good and rewarding time, thank you all and see you around!