The Importance of Community

Shopify Dot Dev Toronto Guide, One Mainframe Escape, and the DNA Dating App That Never Was

Episode five is part Toronto travel guide, part career origin story, part unhinged client request hall of fame. Trudy MacNabb walks us through the killer guide to Toronto (sdatoronto.dev [http://sdatoronto.dev]) she built for dot.dev [http://dot.dev] this July. We also cover more in this episode like Shopify Row on Ossington, bike rides along the lakeshore, hidden ravines, a speakeasy disguised as an apothecary, and the eternal debate over whether the CN Tower is actually worth it. Then Diana pulls out the Barbara Walters questions: Trudy opens up about leaving a stable mainframe programming career at a big Canadian bank, co-founding Design Packs with Anne Thomas, and why shipping something imperfect beats waiting forever. And yes, someone once asked her to build a dating app based on DNA. We have so many questions. Featuring: Trudy MacNabb, Design Packs [https://design-packs.com/]: https://design-packs.com/ [https://design-packs.com/] Diana Birsan, Downpay [http://getdownpay.com]: https://getdownpay.com/ [https://getdownpay.com/] Brenda Storer, Founder of Coquelicot [https://coquelicot.io/], creator of Whisk [https://themes.shopify.com/themes/whisk/presets/whisk] Shopify Theme: https://coquelicot.io/ [https://coquelicot.io/] Anne Thomas, Design Packs [https://design-packs.com/]: https://design-packs.com/ [https://design-packs.com/] Cart to Cart is a podcast by and for people who build on Shopify. We talk about themes, apps, ecommerce, and the stuff happening at the edges of the ecosystem. New episodes pretty regularly. Follow us and subscribe so you don't miss the next one. And if you're a Shopify partner, merchant, or just someone who finds this stuff genuinely interesting, we would love to have you along for the ride.

Shopify Town Hall thoughts and the time Brenda was mistaken for Leonardo DiCaprio

The Shopify Partner Town Hall happened and we have thoughts: good signal, lingering questions, and why all the agentic talk left some people feeling like storefronts got forgotten. Then Diana did her homework on Brenda Storer and things got personal fast. Let's just say there's a 90s fan site involved, strangers got confused, and it escalated quickly from there. Also: a fake Italian olive oil family, and fifteen years of being told CSS isn't real development. Featuring: Brenda Storer, Founder of Coquelicot [https://coquelicot.io/], creator of Whisk [https://themes.shopify.com/themes/whisk/presets/whisk] Shopify Theme: https://coquelicot.io/ [https://coquelicot.io/] Diana Birsan, Downpay [http://getdownpay.com]: https://getdownpay.com/ [https://getdownpay.com/] Anne Thomas, Design Packs [https://design-packs.com/]: https://design-packs.com/ [https://design-packs.com/]Trudy MacNabb, Design Packs [https://design-packs.com/]: https://design-packs.com/ [https://design-packs.com/] Cart to Cart is a podcast by and for people who build on Shopify. We talk about themes, apps, ecommerce, and the stuff happening at the edges of the ecosystem. New episodes pretty regularly. Follow us and subscribe so you don't miss the next one. And if you're a Shopify partner, merchant, or just someone who finds this stuff genuinely interesting, we would love to have you along for the ride.

The Importance of Community

Just in time to celebrate the announcement of Shopify’s Edition Dot Dev 2026 Conference, the chat this week is all about community. Anne, Trudy, and Brenda share stories of how tech communities, both in-person and online, can be invaluable spaces for learning and growth, how they helped shape their careers, and the friends we met along the way (like each other!).

Trust, Trees, and Try-Ons: 2026 Shopify Predictions

This week we get into a classic New Year topic: predictions for 2026.Come for the takes on Shopify, AI shopping, and trust. Stay for Anne delivering the most definitive Canadian pronunciation of the word “about,” Brenda’s Christmas tree making what might be its final appearance of the season, and Trudy’s field report on Zara’s virtual try-on so we can stop playing roulette with their strange product photography.Plus [http://photography.Plus], a special intermission where you get to know Diana, and how she's played Hopscotch with her career before even thinking about building Downpay.

After Winter Editions Dropped, The Cart to Cart Inaugural Episode

Winter Editions dropped and we did what any reasonable Shopify nerds would do. We hit record immediately, argued about what year it even is for a solid minute, then jumped straight into the updates that actually matter if you build on Shopify or run a store on Shopify. P.S This is Cart to Cart, our new podcast, we just wanted to jump right into it! In this episode we get into: * The AI Renaissance site, the Easter eggs, and why Shopify’s launch pages are always a flex * Shopify Product Network and why it feels like the “marketplace pieces” are starting to click * Sidekick building basic apps (and why that is a huge unlock for small teams) * Sidekick connecting with partner apps, and why “native admin” is a win even if it hides the app a bit * Agentic shopping and the “new SEO” question every merchant is about to face * SIM Gym and A/B testing for stores that do not have big traffic * Shop Minis and whether the Shop app can become a real habit Featuring: Brenda Storer (Theme Partner, Whisk) Anne Thomas (Design Packs) Trudy MacNabb (Design Packs) Diana (Downpay) If you’re into Shopify, ecommerce, themes, apps, and the stuff that’s coming next, subscribe. We’ll keep shipping episodes and keep it real.