From behind the bar,
to behind the brand
A decade in hospitality. Years running its marketing. Now building websites for the rooms I used to work in.
Behind a bar.
First proper job in hospitality was a Saturday-night shift at a wine bar in Adelaide, learning to pour beer at speed and remember orders without writing them down. The room was warm, the customers were forgiving, and I was hooked. Hospitality teaches you to read a room in a way no marketing degree ever will.
Behind a coffee machine.
Five years as a barista taught me that the best venues are obsessive about the small things — the angle of the saucer, the rhythm of the queue, the regular's name on a napkin. The same principles apply to good websites: tiny details adding up to a feeling that someone gave a damn.
Group Marketing Manager.
Spent five years running marketing for the group behind Fugazzi, Osteria Oggi, Shobosho, ShoSho and NIDO. Every week, an opening to plan, a campaign to brief, a website to update, a journalist to host. Learnt the difference between marketing that looks good and marketing that fills tables on a Tuesday.
Independent.
Moved to Melbourne, started JT Digital as a side business and watched it become the main one. The brief is the same as it was at the bar — read the room, deliver something good, leave a small mark.
Building, mostly.
Currently working with venues across Australia — mostly hospitality, some service-led businesses. Two open slots, currently booking from June 2026. Always interested in the well-briefed, the considered, the slightly weird ones.
A website is part of front-of-house. It just opens earlier than the door does.
A few working principles.
The things I think about while working. Stated as plainly as I can manage.
Specific beats impressive.
A website that names the chef, lists the suppliers, shows the actual room — that earns trust faster than any superlative ever will. Specificity is the hospitality equivalent of doing the work.
Voice should sound like someone.
Every venue has a voice. Most websites flatten it into agency-speak. The job is to listen for the real one and put it on the page — not invent something it isn't.
Slow is intentional.
Considered work takes time. I'd rather build three good sites a year than twelve mediocre ones. The work has to do work — that requires actually thinking about it.
Honest about what I don't do.
No app development, no SEO black-hat, no design awards entries, no AI slop content. Three things, done properly. Anything outside that, I'll tell you and recommend someone better.
Past, present, & next.
A small list of recent and current clients. The unifying thread is care — for the room, for the customer, for the work.
— Past + current
— What I'm looking for next
Available from June 2026