TheSweetSetup – All the Things

Readers of The Sweet Setup are creative folks who want to make the most of their time and attention and who believe that computers are for creating.

Our readers want to use the best apps for their work and personal lives. They seek out new and interesting ways to get things done, and they want to find some joy and delight in the these that they use every day.

What to expect on TSS

Every day we publish articles and reviews of our our picks for the best apps, tutorials and workflows to help you be more productive and focused, and quick-tips for getting the most out of the apps you use.

We’ve been here since 2013. That’s why we’re trusted by half-a-million website readers every month, and more than 60,000 subscribers across RSS, Twitter, and our email newsletter.

We also have a library of video courses that have helped more than 14,000 folks just like you to become overnight experts in the best apps out there. (The same apps we, ourselves, use every single day.)

Shawn Blanc, Founder, Editor-in-Chief

Shawn has been writing about Apple-centric apps and gadgets since 2007. In the spring of 2011, he quit his job as the Creative and Marketing Director for a Christian non-profit to spend more time with his family and to write full-time from the comfort of his own corner in the basement.

He lives in Kansas City with his wife and their three boys. Shawn also writes at his eponymous tech- and design-centric website, shawnblanc.net, and is the founder of Tools & Toys and The Focus Course.

Mike Schmitz, Executive Editor

Mike Schmitz is a productivity coach and the creator of Faith-Based Productivity where he helps individuals connect to their calling, discover their destiny, and live the life they were created for. Links to all of Mike’s additional projects can be found at mikeschmitz.me.

Joanna Eitel, Customer Support

Joanna is an office administrator and event coordinator in Kansas City, combining her love for people with all things admin. She first read David Allen’s Getting Things Done in 2005 and has been a GTD fan-girl ever since. After being a part of the beta group of The Focus Course and applying the principles to her life at work and home she now serves the Blanc Media team doing customer support and event planning. Married with two kids, Joanna thrives on coffee, BBQ, post-its, and trips to IKEA.

Josh Ginter, Managing Editor

Josh is a writer and photographer who lives in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. Josh began writing for the Blanc Media team in October 2014 and worked as the Reviews and Deals Editor for Tools & Toys before moving to The Sweet Setup as Editor-in-Chief. By day, Josh works as a junior accountant at a local accounting firm and is working towards his CPA designation during non-tax-seasons.

Josh is married and has one child, a baby girl. During whatever time is left for downtime, he writes on The Newsprint (his own personal blog) and enjoys playing baseball, golf, and cutting his grass.

Isaac Smith, Production Manager

Isaac is a husband and father of three boys with somewhat high coffee standards (yolo). Resides in Kansas City, Missouri, does his best to avoid the summer heat while doing all things triathlon. He writes a bit here and occasional sends tweets @_isaacmsmith.

Jeffrey Abbott, Senior Editor

Jeffrey works as a project manager by day and spends his nights and weekends working on his photography and editing businesses. He made his editing services publicly available in 2012 through Draft Evolution, a service intended for individual writers who want to improve their craft. He lives in Huntsville, Alabama (don’t hold it against him) with his wife and three dogs.

Chris Gonzales, Writer and Editor

Chris is a writer and editor who hails from Oklahoma City but full-time RVs with his wife Chelsea and their son Brendon. He is mostly known for his work at The Spark Journal, a blog about creativity, writing, mindfulness, craftsmanship, and things that delight, with a splash of geekery thrown in for good measure.

In addition to his work here at The Sweet Setup, he also writes daily about cool stuff over at our sister site, Tools & Toys.

Erin Brooks, Contributing Author (Photography)

Erin is a photographer, occasional blogger, wife, and mom of 2 girls. Her photography work has been featured by Apple in their #shotoniphone World Gallery. Her byline at The Sweet Setup features photography-centric tips, tutorials, and workflows. You can find her on Instagram: @erinrbrooks

Rosemary Orchard, Contributing Author (Productivity, Automation, Shortcuts)

Rosemary lives in Vienna, Austria. She is a master of productivity apps and a nerd of the internet! She writes a regular column for The Sweet Setup focusing on quick tips for improving your productivity and efficiency with the best apps.

The Site

The Sweet Setup was built by some very talented people. Erik Olsen of Ink Blot Media Group did all the front-end design. Jonathan Christopher of Iron to Iron did the WordPress implementation and all the custom CMS wizzbangery. Curtis McHale did all our WooCommerce and course membership setup.

We run on a highly-customized WordPress framework. We host with Media Temple on their (dv) servers. Webfonts are from Hoefler & Co..