Threads of Trust: Stitching Myself Into the Shopify Tapestry

In every thread, one constant: merchants come first

After another energizing week at Shopify Editions, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be part of this ever-evolving, deeply interconnected ecosystem.
This was my second time attending Editions. Only two years in — and still, in many ways — I feel like an outsider. But something’s changed.

Year 1: Admiring from Afar

When I attended Editions for the first time, I walked in wide-eyed. It felt like standing in front of something intricate and layered — a tapestry of builders, merchants, and products already deeply woven into the Shopify universe.

We were building Wishlist Plus at Swym, we had customers, and we believed in our product — but the ecosystem felt like a massive insider club. People knew each other, had shared Slack channels, inside jokes, and partnerships that went years back. I felt like I was peeking in from the outside.

And yet — I also saw threads unfurl. Conversations that pulled me in. Partners willing to chat. Shopify folks who stayed behind after sessions to answer questions. Builders who, like me, were trying to figure things out. That first trip planted the seeds.

That year, our team began a habit of visiting merchant stores — just to explore. How were they using Shopify? Where did Wishlist CTAs sit? How did they structure collections? We started learning from the wild — observing what worked and what didn’t. That mindset shift — from shipping features to understanding how they’re used — would quietly reshape how we built everything.

Every conversation — even the technical ones — ultimately circled back to the same question: What would this do for a merchant? That filter started becoming core to how we thought.

Year 2: Contributing, Not Just Consuming

This year, I came back with a slightly different lens. I still feel like I’m figuring things out — but I’ve started to recognize faces. Conversations picked up where they left off. I wasn’t peeking through the glass anymore — I was in the room.

We got our Built for Shopify badge in between those two trips — a milestone that came directly from connections made during my first Editions experience. That tiny step — one conversation, one follow-up — led to something much larger. Adrian Anderson and Riley Zammit were key in reviewing our app for BFS and continued to stay in touch. That kind of support made a real difference.

This time, I had deeper conversations — with Trudy from Design Packs, whom I first met at last year’s Women’s Breakfast. This year, we exchanged ideas, shared notes on storefronts, and found exciting common ground. I met many other builders — each conversation shaping how we think about partnerships, extensibility, and the next wave of Shopify experiences.

And again — almost every conversation came back to one anchor: What will this unlock for a merchant?

We also looked back — last year, we were a launch partner for Customer Accounts, and how Patrick Millegan (PM Customer Accounts @Shopify) was so warm and welcoming. That launch got us featured and brought in a wave of organic installs. These moments matter.

It didn’t feel like visiting anymore — it felt like shaping what’s next.

Takeaways from This Edition:

• Horizon is a game changer — Shopify’s new theme architecture is fast, opinionated (in the best way), and opens up storefront development like never before. The direction is clear — faster launches, less boilerplate, more creativity. For embedded apps like ours, it’s a call to reimagine how we integrate into the merchant’s creative flow.

• The frontend-backend divide is dissolving — With tools like Functions, Metaobjects, and Hydrogen maturing, the Shopify platform is finally making it easier to build seamless, deeply contextual experiences — without duct tape.

• Simplified global selling is here — From Shopify Markets to Global Catalogs, the platform is making merchant-focused internationalization simpler. We’re excited to lean into this with Wishlist Plus.

• Partnerships thrive on trust — Real relationships are what turn features into ecosystems. From shared Slack channels to late-night debug threads, the community shows up with generosity and intent.

• The funnel is no longer linear — The shopping journey is evolving. Shopify’s extensibility is enabling more personalized, dynamic paths — blurring traditional stages and opening new engagement possibilities across online and offline.

• Build with Shopify is more than a motto — It’s a mindset. Whether it's through Functions or BFS or collaborative working sessions, the platform is nudging all of us to think bigger and build with a deeper understanding of merchant needs.

What Hasn’t Changed

Even as the tools evolve and the architecture shifts, some things remain loud and clear:

• Shopify is moving fast — and it’s the place to build for ecommerce.

• It continues to bring together an incredible, global community of builders, designers, merchants, and tinkerers.

• And above all else — merchants still come first. Every conversation, every session, every launch reflects that focus. Thinking from the merchant’s point of view isn’t optional — it’s foundational.

Still Learning

I’m still an outsider in many ways. There are still rooms I don’t fully understand, conversations I don’t always feel fluent in. But I’ve come to realize: belonging isn’t about arriving — it’s about contributing.
Thread by thread, we find our way in.
Here’s to everyone building their own path in the Shopify ecosystem.