We are so excited that our crazy idea won two Robots for "Best of Entertainment" and "Best of Show" at the 2010 WebVisionary Awards, part of the WebVisions 10th anniversary conference!

THE STORY

Grabba Beast started almost two years ago in room 402 at the Modera Hotel in SW Portland. I was visiting from Chicago, finalizing the lease of our new Portland office. In the meantime, Sharon, Colby and I worked the first week of TWW/PDX out of this cozy hotel room.

The same day I executed the lease, we had set up a few "hi, we're new in town…" meetings, including one with Widmer Brothers Brewery. The meeting went great, and we somehow left with four free cases of Broken Halo and Drop Top.

Well, as you could imagine, one thing lead to another… And like most inebriated creatives, Colby and I started concepting. I remember saying, "Hey, Colby, what if…" and within 30 minutes, we basically had the same idea, form and function — even the name — that you see today.

Like most internal projects, Grabba Beast took forever to develop! A year and a half, actually. We finally launched the new beta site a couple months ago, and we continue to be amazed by the response (especially from educators).

In the past, we — okay, I — have avoided award shows. But when I heard about the WebVisionary Awards, I thought, a) Grabba Beast was our first project to be concepted, designed and developed almost entirely in Portland; b) we worked really, really hard on it; c) we really haven't had time to introduce ourselves to the Portland creative community; and d) those robot awards are way cooler than a chunk of molded gold!

THE AWARDS

We submitted Grabba Beast to the Entertainment category; we also submitted the Tangible site to the Personal/Blog category, basically for shits and giggles and to show our support. We were surprised to be nominated as finalists in both categories. Then our name was called for Best in Entertainment. Wow. We took in the applause and random comments from the crowd before realizing we should send someone up to accept the award. I'm pretty sure Bill now understands how hard it is to get up on stage sometimes :)

After the People's Choice awards were announced, I thought the show was over. I walked over to our new friends at StruckAxiom and Substance to congratulate them on their awards. They started to announce the Best of Show category, which was an unexpected category, so I excused myself and hurried back to the Tangible crew just as they started to announce Grabba Beast as the winner. Needless to say, we were all totally blown away. Absolutely insane!

We are just getting started with Grabba Beast, so this win is a big confidence boost for pushing the franchise forward. Soon we will have on-demand posters/shirts, toys, education tools, animated TV show… all sorts of goodies, so stay tuned! Maybe the next award will be an Emmy?

OUR FUTURE IN PORTLAND

Although we have officially been in Portland since September of 2008, I look at this award show and conference as our first, real introduction to Portland. So thank you all — judges, agencies, random people — for welcoming us so kindly! We promise to be a far more active member of this community moving forward. I even have an announcement or two in the works that will ensure that last point.

Thanks again!

We are in immediate need of a full-time designer/animator; someone who can design boards and see them through to animation. Full-time, staff positions are available in our quickly-growing Portland office. Relocation is available.

We are a finalist in two categories at this year's Webvisionary Awards in Portland. Grabba Beast is up for best in Entertainment and our own site is up for best in Blog/Personal. The show is Thursday, May 20th at Someday Lounge.

We will also be attending the 10th Webvisions conference and parties next week. If you see a burly, tattooed guy or a beanpole with a silly rat tail that seriously looks like this guy, stop and say hi!

We are in immediate need of a full-time Flash developer. Full-time, staff positions are available in our quickly-growing Portland office. Relocation is available.

These frames were edited out of an upcoming video piece. Mid-century era artwork and storyline; can't wait to reveal the final piece!

Our "To Kill A Mocking Bird" poster for ALA's Banned Book Week was spotted on Glee during a song and dance to Madonna's Open Your Heart.

Scrub to about 16:28 for the first sighting.