Big Time Website Award for Shambhala

On Monday, October 3rd, 2011, Shambhala Music Festival was awarded the IFEA / Haas & Wilkerson Gold Pinnacle Award for Best Event Website, for events with a budget of $1.5M plus, at the 56th Annual International Festival & Events Association (IFEA) Convention & Expo in Fort Worth, Texas.

The IFEA website reads, “This prestigious awards competition strives for the highest degree of excellence in festival and event promotions and operations, and in doing so, has raised the standards and quality of the festivals and events industry to new levels.” Each award has a Gold, Silver and Bronze level.

Shambhala has been a member of the International Festival & Events Association since 2008. The Pinnacle Award is the second international award Shambhala has received in 2011, following the “Best Large Event” award won by the festival at the Breakspoll International Breakbeat Awards in March.

Check out their award winning website at:
www.shambhalamusicfestival.com

PB Pro Audio Gets Funktionized

For Those About To Rock…. we’re stoked to be designing and developing a new site for PB Pro-Audio, Western Canada’s leading sound and lighting production company. We’ll be working closely with Ben and his team to deliver a fresh, content-rich site showcasing this powerhouse company. Watch for a late summer launch.

For over a decade, PB Pro-Audio & Lighting has been a leader in sound reinforcement. As a full-service firm, they provide high-end sound systems for use in concert tours, as well as sound, video & lighting equipment for use in corporate theatre, special events & trade shows.

Mountain Modern – Site in Development

We’re excited to announce the development of a new website for Mountain Modern Interior. Already deep into development, the new site is being built using the WordPress platform, and will feature a number of custom Funk-ified modules and plugins. Stay tuned for a launch date.

Mountain Modern Interior is Nelson BC’s premier stop for eminent home furnishings. Since the doors opened in the spring of 2008, Mountain Modern has strongly impacted the flourishing Kootenay market, featuring pieces which emphasize relationships to nature, within a contemporary context. Solid natural woods, top grain leathers, premier fabrics and accessories which span the globe.

Mountain Modern Interior is committed to providing their clients with a high-end furniture experience without having to travel to get the service, options, or pricing often associated with bigger centers.

New Shambhala Website Launched

After many weeks of hard work, we’re proud to announce the launch of the 2011 Shambhala Music Festival website.  We’re very fond of our long-standing relationship with Shambhala and have assisted in growing their website to the gem it is today.  Shambhala relies heavily on their online systems to manage many facets of their business, and we’re proud to have created many of the tools they still use today.

A Little History

In 2003, with their vision and our knowledge, we assisted with the creation of their first online message board and integrated their online payment processing.  Over the following years, their message board is still a large hub of activity, and their website has generated more sales than all ticket retailers combined.

In 2006 we expanded our focus into ticket and wristband tracking for their patrons, developing a custom software package to verify ticket & wristband validity, track cash collected at the gate,  create internal controls and provide advanced statistics while facilitating the wristband and cash reconciliation process.    Four years later, our system is still in use and has become an indispensable tool for gate activities.  Aside from the time-savings in reconciliation, our custom system quickly identifies errors and fraudulent activity as it occurs allowing production staff to quickly deal with situations while having good statistics and background information.  In the fast paced environment of the Shambhala gate, instant identification of problems is critical, and our system has delivered.

Here we are in 2011, and the innovation has not slowed down.  Their new site integrates the very best of the pre-packaged and custom programmed world, allowing us to create a professional WordPress website with a large assortment of the great custom programmed elements we are known for.

More than just Websites

In a consulting role, we have assisted Shambhala with a payment systems and merchant account review,  identifying the perfect merchant service provider for their unique business.  The end result saves them hundreds of dollars a month in transaction processing fees and thousands in compliance and integration fees, while allowing a more expandable and flexible payment solution through PayPal.  We have also been busy assisting them with the integration of  PhotoID software, and facilitating connections between their other software solutions which has in turn saved them thousands more in 3rd party licensing fees.

We began our work with Shambhala in 2001 when it was a 1600 person festival, and have watched over the years as it has grown to be the 10,000 strong Best Large Event in the World.  Congratulations Shambhala, and thank you for all your support over the years.

www.shambhalamusicfestival.com

Retallack.com :: New Site Launches

Retallack provides world-class cat skiing, snowboarding, and summer mountain experiences in the remote wilderness high up in the Selkirk Mountains of BC, Canada. It’s one of those out-of-the-way places that you’ll never forget. Retallack was also are fortunate to have been recently ranked as “The Best Heli or Catskiing Operation in the World” by Freeskier Magazine. In 2009 and 2010, they also hosted Red Bull’s largest skiing event, “Red Bull Cold Rush,” designed to determine the “World’s Best All Round Skier.”

Working closely with the Retallack team, Funktion faced a serious challenge in meeting the varied needs of this unique company. Chock full of dazzling imagery, well-organized information, and seriously cool features (e-comm store, booking and availability systems, radio station and media galleries – just to name a few), the Retallack site has been an overwhelming success, and stands as one of our strongest efforts to date. Our thanks to Phil, Mac, Jake and the rest of the Retallicats – the future’s so bright we gotta wear shades…

www.retallack.com