Brella is reimagining childcare in every dimension: from its gorgeous physical spaces to its fully-flexible booking process. Meeting the needs of modern parents in a way no other childcare centers are and innovating in a crucial industry that hasn’t been reconsidered virtually since its inception, this recognition is well-deserved.

Amy and pumpspotting were featured in Google’s #WeArePlay campaign, a book and website that features the stories and founders behind best-in-class mobile apps on the Google Play platform.

For more than 10 years, the San Francisco-headquartered app development company WLCM (pronounced "Welcome") has grown at a rapid clip by providing end-to-end development and design for startups. Then, business came to a sudden halt. On February 24, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, which put all but two of WLCM's 24 employees in peril.

I have been sending a series of emails to those who supported the campaign, to tell them what they’ve made possible. Because some people miss these updates, and also because each story of generosity is proof that we can make a difference in a world that feels largely outside of our control, I am sharing them here, too. This page will be updated ongoing.

Inc. Magazine today revealed that, with a growth rate of 259%, WLCM App Studio is No. 55 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list. This regional list represents a unique look at the most successful private companies within the Pacific region.

On Feb 24th, after a sleepless night following Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, I shakily and quickly created a campaign to raise funds to support this team. Below is the content of that campaign and the updates I posted there.

WLCM is a team of parents — in fact, four of us had babies in the past year — so we know well the challenge of finding high-quality, flexible and reliable child care. Mission-alignment and the ease of working with the Brella team make this long-term partnership a joy for everyone.

Last month, the WLCM team was all together in Lviv, Ukraine. Among other activities, we went to the Craft Beer and Vinyl Festival. I tried not to think too much about how much my dad would have loved that festival, and apparently my team could read my mind, because Lilia and Sergey presented me with a beer there I knew...

At WLCM we are committed to creating work we’re proud of, every time, and that means making discerning choices about the projects we choose to take on. When it came to working with Lacy Young for her Shift Meditations app for iPhone and Android, it was a resounding and easy yes.

It’s a downright pleasure to work with Keith Hine and Brian Meares at Orgain Healthcare. Keith and Brian came to us with a desire to bring their web experience for Orgain Healthcare Ambassadors to mobile. They wanted to create a secure and easy way for Ambassadors to easily order samples and to access all of the other informative content Orgain creates to support these providers in their work.

I am often asked for a “rough estimate” of how much apps will cost to build. Here are some basic categories that can help you plan and understand what level of investment your project will require.

I hope the following four categories will help you determine the size of your project, the estimated cost, and the level of professionals you may want to hire to assist you.

Designing apps is about more than functionality. It’s about capturing the spirit and aesthetics of a company as well.

Find out how we took inspiration from Brella’s modern space to create an app that is truly in harmony with the Brella experience.

Alisa Vitti is helping women change the way they look at their periods through empowering them to better know and nurture their bodies.

Read more about the New York Times profile that highlights Alisa’s work and the way both Flo Living and the MyFlo app are helping woman reclaim their health and their hormones.

I’ve got three for you.

The Age of Instagram Face is an article I’ve thought about a lot. Beyond covering the facial manipulation we’re increasingly seeing online, the writer also reflects more generally on social media and specifically Instagram — founded at the beginning of the decade we’re now closing — as powerful engines of sameness, making “hundreds of millions of people learn to ‘see and feel and want the same things.’” I’m looking at you, fiddle leaf fig.

Amy Van Haren, CEO and Founder of Pumspotting talks about how important it is to be able to be able to travel and pump as a working mom.

With short maternity leaves and mommas heading back to work, it’s a full-time job to juggle pumping, working and your home life.

Discover more on this unique solution that Amy has discovered.

This issue is a hats off to two freedom fighters and one odd bird.

Gesell believed money should lose value the longer it sits in the bank. His idea makes my brain explode a bit trying to consider the implications. Try it for a second.

Lyubov Sobol is around my age, and also a mother, and her bravery gives me goosebumps. I’ve linked to two articles about her that take slightly different angles. Sobol is worth seeing from more than one.

This week brings histories I thought I knew — revised.

- All dinosaurs on the planet died in a matter of hours. All of them.
- Republicans were the first to argue and pass legislation to limit individuals’ right to bear arms in the US. 

Those would be spoilers except… when you sink into the details of both stories, it gets more interesting. A lot more interesting.

I’m not a collector of things generally, but I dutifully hoard my back issues of NatGeo, just like my Grandpa Grimm before me. I pulled the article on bird brains from one of them. After you read it, you won’t look at the birds in your life the same way again.

Also linked is a podcast to listen to when you have 30 minutes in the car, and a very long article about a 17-year-old who I think is very interesting.

I’ve re-launched under a new name, with a new site, wlcm.studio. We’re now WLCM (pronounced “Welcome”), a rearrangement of the original initials with an additional “m”.

I also had a baby in the interim, and this re-brand feels a bit like a re-emergence at the same time, or at least an excuse for one.

My mom used to save all the bread bags for me because I liked to fill them with rocks.

I grew up in a little town in Ohio, so my pickings were not all gravel but mostly gravel. I essentially curated the best of the gravel. You know those super sparkly, dusty white gravel rocks? Loved those.