You have an idea. Let's figure out what it wants to be.
Websites, apps, design, and the occasional problem nobody else wants to touch. One person, a wide toolkit, and a habit of asking the right questions before building the right tools.
Things I've built
Nonprofit sites, small business rebuilds, apps, photography, records.
What I doServices
Six things I'm good at, plainly listed. No packages, no upsell ladder.
Why the tieAbout
It has nothing to do with tech. That's sort of the point.
No forms to fill firstEmail, call, or text
A real reply from a real person, usually same day.
Start a conversation
Before we get into it — what brought you here?
Pick whichever sounds most like your week. I'll skip the parts that don't apply to you.
Rather skip this? Just give me your contact info
"I have an idea, but no clue where to start."
Good. Starting is the part I'm actually best at.
Most people arrive with a solution already picked — "I need a website" — when the real problem is something else entirely. So the first conversation isn't about platforms or budgets. It's about what you're trying to make happen, and for whom.
Then I lay out two or three honest ways to get there, including the cheap one, including the one where you don't hire me. You choose. Then we build it.
An hour, free
We talk it through. No deck, no obligation, no pitch at the end.
Options, not a quote
Two or three paths with the tradeoffs said out loud.
A first small thing
Something real and testable, before anyone commits to the big build.
Ideas that turned into things
Tell me the half-formed version.
The messier it is, the more useful the conversation.
"My website is embarrassing me."
Usually it's not the design. It's the neglect.
A site gets built, someone leaves, and three years later nobody has the login. The fix isn't always a rebuild — sometimes it's an afternoon of cleanup and a way for you to make changes yourself without calling anyone.
When it does need a rebuild, it gets built to load fast, read clearly on a phone, and stay editable. And you'll own every account it touches.
A straight audit
What's actually wrong, what's fine, and what's costing you visitors.
Fix or rebuild
I'll tell you which, even when "fix" is the smaller invoice.
Keys handed over
Domain, host, analytics, the lot. In your name, not mine.
Sites that needed rescuing
Send me the URL. I'll tell you what I see.
Free, honest, and no strings if you'd rather fix it yourself.
"Something's broken and nobody will help."
This is the part where I'm the guy you call.
Support tickets that go nowhere, a host you can't reach, email landing in spam, a plugin that took the site down at 9pm. I've untangled a lot of these, and I'll talk to the companies you can't get through to.
No retainer required. Sometimes it's a twenty-minute fix, and I'll say so.
Tell me what happened
Even if the explanation is "it just stopped working."
I chase it down
Including the hold music, the vendor, and the account nobody can find.
Then I explain it
In plain language, so it's less mysterious next time.
Call. Seriously, just call.
Broken things are better described out loud than typed into a form.
"I need one person who can do a bit of everything."
That's the whole business model, on purpose.
I'm not the deepest specialist in any one field, and I don't pretend to be. What I am is broad enough to see when your website problem is really a photography problem, or when the app you asked for should have been a spreadsheet.
One person means one conversation, one invoice, and nobody blaming the other vendor.
Web & apps
Sites and small tools that stay fast and stay editable.
Brand & print
Marks, decks, signage. Enough identity, not a stale system.
Photo, video, audio
Real images and sound of your real business.
A cross-section
Bring me the list. All of it.
It's usually shorter than you think once we sort it.
"Honestly? I'm just being nosy."
Respect. Here's everything, no sales pitch.
I'm Sullivan Ripley. I build websites and apps, design brands, take photos, produce music, and fix technology that's quietly making someone's week worse. The orange tie has nothing to do with any of it — which is exactly why it works. People notice it, ask about it, and suddenly we're talking.
File me away for later.
Most people don't need me today. That's fine — I'll be here.
Selected work
What I do
I'd rather be useful across the board than expert in one narrow lane.
Web Design & Development
Sites that load fast, read clearly, and don't fight you when it's time to change something.
Apps & Automation
Small, snappy web and mobile apps. Often the thing you actually needed instead of a website.
Brand Kit / Graphics
Logos, print, decks, signage. Enough identity to look sure of yourself, not so much it goes stale.
IT (fix my tech)
Email that won't send, a host that won't renew, a site someone else abandoned. I'll untangle it.
Photo & Video
Real images of your real business. Sometimes that's the whole fix.
Talking it through
Time to talk through your idea, with no obligation to hire me for the rest.
Rates depend on scope, and I'll tell you when a cheaper or simpler option would serve you better. That happens more often than you'd expect.
Why the orange tie
The tie has nothing to do with any of this. That's the point.
People notice it, ask about it, and suddenly we're talking. That's the whole job, more or less: getting to a real conversation about what you're trying to do, before anyone starts building the wrong thing.
I'm Sullivan Ripley. I build websites and apps, design brands, take photos, produce music, and fix the technology that's quietly making your week worse. Not because I'm chasing a niche, but because most problems worth solving don't respect the boundaries between those things.
What you get working with me: someone who asks what you're actually trying to accomplish, lays out more than one way to get there, and will push back on the obvious approach when the obvious approach is wrong. Then builds it, hands it over, and makes sure you own it.
Talk it through
What's the real problem, and who's it for? Usually not what the brief said.
Show the options
Two or three honest paths, with the tradeoffs said out loud.
Build it
Fast, tested on a real phone, no mystery plugins.
Hand it over
You own the accounts, the files, and the ability to leave.
Orange Tie Studios is the trading name of The Guy in the Orange Tie — Sullivan Ripley, Hudson Valley, New York. If you've received an invoice, a contract, or a business card under either name, it's the same person and the same business.
Let's talk
Half-formed ideas welcome. Especially those.
You don't need a budget, a spec, or a finished idea to get in touch. If I'm not the right person for it, I'll say so and try to point you somewhere better.
Orange Tie Studios is the trading name of The Guy in the Orange Tie — Sullivan Ripley, Hudson Valley, New York. Either name on an invoice, a contract, or a business card is the same person and the same business.