The SUMO Heavy Industries Blog

Design / eCommerce / Business / Culture / Life

Say Hey to Sean Kennedy, Our Newest SUMO

January 4, 2012 by John Suder

This week we’re seriously excited to have Web Slinger Sean Kennedy join the SUMO Team.

Sean is your friendly neighborhood web developer, navigating the tubes of the internet so others don’t have to. When he’s not busy eating PHP for breakfast, he can be found playing games or reading books – generally geeky ones.

He’ll be assisting the team with various code-like duties and picking up Bob Brodie’s lunch making snarky comments whenever possible.

Sean's got a real ear for coding and a face made for radio.

 

Sean’s Quick Stats:

Born: Willingboro, NJ

Currently lives: Philadelphia, PA

Education:  Art Institute of Philadelphia, Bachelor’s in Multimedia and Web Development.

Sean is exceptionally nerdy: He writes code at work, goes home and writes more code. When not writing code, he’s most likely thinking about it.

Life-changing event: Getting an internship at a small company called Atrixware. “It was my first programming job — being new to web development, I knew next to nothing about programming. My boss at the time, Anthony, took me under his wing and spent the next 9 months teaching me everything I needed to know to succeed in the business.”

Obsessed with: Eating. Seriously, this guy will try eating anything at least once.

Likes: Programming, Video Games (mostly on the iPhone these days) and Coffee. Especially Coffee.

Dislikes: Cold Weather, Long Sleeves and small, annoyingly loud children.

Send Sean some love at sean@sumoheavy.com.

Happy New Year 2012: Our Mission

January 3, 2012 by John Suder

We’d like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2012!

The new year signifies a fresh start and new beginnings (at least that’s what the calendar says). You resolve to be better, do better, or do less.

We decided that instead of coming up with a list of resolutions we’ll probably break in a week or two (I’m looking at you, Bob Brodie) we’d set the bar a little higher and share with you our goals and mission for the coming year. As with any goal, the first step is to write it down, because if it’s not on paper, it’s not a goal. It’s a wish.

We realized that as a growing company we needed to create a unified mission – something that describes what we do but also describes what we plan to achieve. Something to hang on the wall. Something to shoot for. Something that will keep us on track:


O U R   M I S S I O N   f o r   2 0 1 2 :

SUMO Heavy Industries is committed to providing the best service to customers in the marketplace and strives to be the premier eCommerce agency in Philadelphia.


We realize a mission statement isn’t the be-all and end-all of what we do. A mission statement is meaningless if there’s a lack of commitment – the true ‘mission’ springs from the dedication behind it. But we feel we’ve got the right team and the right energy to make big things happen in 2012. We’re going to strap ourselves in and enjoy the ride.

Unless, of course, the Mayans were right and the world will end on 12/21/12 – then all bets are off and we’re headed to the beach.

Things We Like: The Friday Five for December 23, 2011

December 23, 2011 by John Suder

Today we present our special ‘Holiday Edition’ of the Friday Five:

 

What People Wanted for Christmas in 1975

It’s actually just a collection of scans from a 1975 Sears ‘Wish Book’, but still a great look at what we were into ‘back in the olden days’. Modern Kiddo via Buzz Feed

 

Awww: Cute Puppies Destroying Christmas Gifts

A film of cute Christmas overload directed and edited by Devin Graham.

 

Let It Snow: Google’s Holiday Easter Egg

Type ‘Let it Snow’ in Google’s search box and watch the snow fall (Chrome or Firefox only).

 

The Candy Cane Car

A Christmas Art Car built on the body of a 1991 Toyota Camry LE. It’s been ‘hand taped’ with reflective tape which gives the amazing Candy Cane Car over 900 Candlepower of reflection brightness and features a rooftop gym for working out “on the go”. It’s for sale on eBay. Makes a great gift!


 

How To: Make Yourself a Tasty Bacon Ornament

A delicious how-to from Craft:

 

 

The Friday Five is curated and written by John Suder, SUMO Heavy’s Head of User Experience and Minister of Propoganda. If you’ve got a story idea or see something  feature-worthy for the Friday Five, contact John at john@sumoheavy.com. 

 

 

Siri: The Holiday Horror Movie

December 23, 2011 by John Suder

That gift you’re tearing into…is actually…tearing into you!


2011: Our Year By The Numbers

December 22, 2011 by John Suder

We’re wrapping up the year with a giant bow and seven miles of Scotch® tape, so we decided to throw together an infographic showing you ‘Our Year By The Numbers’. Enjoy.

See you on the other side in 2012!

 

Happy Holidays from SUMO Heavy Industries!

December 19, 2011 by Bart Mroz

SUMO Heavy Holiday Card

As the year draws to a close, I’d like to take a moment to wish a happy and joyful holiday season to our clients, partners and friends.

It’s been an amazing year here at SUMO HQ. New faces, new clients, new challenges.

2012 is already shaping up to be our biggest year yet. We’ve added staff and resources to better serve our clients and we’re also looking forward to some really exciting projects in the new year (both internal and external).

As we always do, we’ll be giving our fellow SUMOs time off for the holidays to spend with friends and family and recharge their batteries. Please note that our offices will be closed starting December 24, 2011 and reopen Monday, January 2, 2012

All the best to you and yours.

Wesołych Świąt!

– Bart Mroz, CEO, SUMO Heavy Industries

Things We Like: The Friday Five for December 16, 2011

December 16, 2011 by John Suder

iBend: The Thinnest, Lightest iPhone Stand Ever

“Use your iBend™ on a plane, bus, or train – whilst lifting weights, eating breakfast, waiting at the sushi bar, getting your teeth cleaned, at a business meeting, sitting in traffic, serving on a jury or practicing yoga. The slenderness of the iBend™ allows you to easily store it in your wallet, pocket or purse so you’ll always have one (or two) handy.” iBend

The Comic Sans Project

Making the world Comic Sans.  Because Helvetica is so 2011. Comic Sans Project

Devastating Explosions

Who doesn’t like a good explosion? Push the button and be prepared to watch a good portion of your day evaporate with this collection of explosions. A viral site from the folks at Old Spice. Devastating Explosions at the Touch of a Button.

 

Knuckle Meat Pounder

Pound your meat into submission with this stylish brass-knuckle-style Meat Pounder from What on Earth. via Uncrate

 

HTTP Status Cats

Flickr user GirlieMac has compiled this totes adorbs set of HTTP status errors using cute kittehs. HTTP Status Cats

 

 

The Friday Five is curated and written by John Suder, SUMO Heavy’s Head of User Experience and Minister of Propoganda. If you’ve got a story idea or see something  feature-worthy for the Friday Five, contact John at john@sumoheavy.com. 

 

 

Magento imagine eCommerce 2012 Dates Announced

December 13, 2011 by John Suder


Magento has officially announced the dates and location for the imagine eCommerce 2012 Worldwide Developer Conference. This time we’ll be heading to Las Vegas, the dates are April 23-25, 2011. The conference is being held at the Forbes-rated Four-Star M Resort.

3 days of networking, product announcements and inspiring keynotes as well as some great parties make the conference well worth the trip. We’ve met and connected with so many great people in our industry at these conferences, so you can rest assured we’ll be there.

Tickets go on sale January 18th, 2012. See you in Vegas!

Website: imagine eCommerce WorldWide Conference

We’re Hiring: PHP Developers Wanted

December 12, 2011 by John Suder

SUMO Heavy Industries is growing and once again we’re seeking talented PHP developers. This is a location-independent, contract-to-hire position.

Job Description

As a Team Member, you’ll be involved in working with us to build and customize ecommerce sites and building new tools for retailers. You’ll be working with our global team of branding, design, development, and marketing professionals designing, developing, implementing and maintaining web software applications under the direction of Senior Technical staff.

Some of the things you’ll be doing:

• Debugging and troubleshooting software defects • Creating and maintaining code documentation • Participating in the review of business requirements and functional specifications providing analysis and feedback • Delivering software code that is built to scope and within the agreed upon goals • Working as a team member on large accounts, understanding how a team operates and what is expected of the various roles on the project • Shifting between a creative and a technical focus depending on the project need and/or the type of project • Rapidly producing interim deliverables (such as prototypes, proofs of concept, etc.) in addition to the final live site or application. • Providing day-to-day support, troubleshooting and bug fixing for our existing clients • Reporting to project managers any risks or possible delays • Taking initiative to research and learn emerging technologies

What we need you to know:

• 1-3 years experience working with PHP5.x and MySQL • 1+ years experience with MVC frameworks and CMS platforms (Drupal, WordPress, Zend Framework, etc) • Good understanding of object oriented programming concepts • Comfortable developing and debugging applications in a Unix/Linux environment • Experience with AJAX techniques using modern JavaScript libraries • Knowledge of web application security considerations • Experience with source control software • Comfortable documenting code • Comfortable working closely with a UX team • Basic Knowledge of SEO best practices • Effective verbal and written communication skills

We’d love it if you have these skills:

• Experience with the Magento Platform or Zend Framework • Capable of debugging a web application from hardware to client browser • Familiar with UML and ERD • Experience with unit testing, specifically phpUnit • Interactive web agency experience

Apply Now

To Apply please send the following to careers@sumoheavy.com

• Name* • Email* • Cover Letter * (briefly tell us who you are why we should hire you) • Linkedin* • Phone • Website • Twitter • Location (* – required)

About Us

SUMO Heavy Industries is an eCommerce Design, Development and Consulting firm located in Philadelphia. We’re a group of developers and designers focused on the eCommerce space. We help build successful brands and create online retail solutions with proven results. Meet our Team and check out our Work. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Things We Like: The Friday Five for December 9, 2011

December 9, 2011 by John Suder

Tasty Cheeseburger Wrapping paper from Gift Couture

Looks good enough to eat.

What Kind of Fish are You?

A photo series by New York based photographer Ted Sabarese. via Scientific American

 

The Sketchbook of Susan Kare

Susan Kare, part of the original Mac development team, developed the first proportionally spaced digital font family for the Macintosh as well as the legendary screen icons. via PLOS Blogs

 

Google Maps Street View Of Famous Album Covers

via BuzzFeed

 

How to Lose $2400 in 24 Seconds

Filmmaker Kurtis Hough regrettably shows us how.
 

 

The Friday Five is curated and written by John Suder, SUMO Heavy’s Head of User Experience and Minister of Propoganda. If you’ve got a story idea or see something  feature-worthy for the Friday Five, contact John at john@sumoheavy.com. 

 

 

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