You may have noticed that we love WordPress. This started with Scott convincing me when we first joined together to build Illustrate that WordPress was a great platform to base our business around.
I resisted at first and then very quickly fell in love with the platform. It was everything I loved – simple, clean, active and most of all open-source. Now, open source isn’t always a good thing, but in the case of WordPress, it’s built by a community of people who are just like me. We love the internet, we want to make it accessible, we want to make a living from it but most of all, we just love being part of something bigger than ourselves.
Eventually, we decided to attend our first WordCamp – yup, it’s a conference for anyone interested and involved in WordPress. The moment I walked through the doors I was in love. There were developers, designers, thought leaders, average users, business owners and just about any type of person you could imagine – all freely sharing their knowledge and hanging out.
Everyone was important, everyone mattered and everyone could get involved. I couldn’t get enough and then something amazing happened. I discovered Wapuu! It was just a sticker on a table, that’s it. A little character that was dressed differently on each of the stickers. Why? Who was this??
What’s a Wapuu then?
I asked around and discovered that Wapuu is the official mascot of WordPress, first created by the Japanese WordPress community in 2011. It’s open-source – just like WordPress. Anyone can download the files to edit, share and make Wapuu their own. It’s is a true representation of why so many people have built their entire lives and businesses around WordPress.
What I love is that Wapuu is simply part of the community. Every region, country, some cities, businesses and WordCamps will have a Wapuu. Created by a fan because they can.
Naturally, I went straight home after that first WordCamp and found out everything I could, found all the versions, set Wapuu as my phone wallpaper, had a custom Wapuu mug made and annoyed the ENTIRE office with my obsession. So why wouldn’t we have one for Illustrate!?
Roll on WordCamp 2017 when Scott sat next to me in a session and made our own Illustrate Wapuu – a sign of our commitment to WordPress and everything it stands for.
