Darren WellsGet in touch

Now

What I'm actually doing this month, what's queued, and what I've said no to. It's a now page. If you're emailing me and want to know whether I've got room, this is the honest answer.

Updated
15 September 2026
Next update
Mid October, give or take
Where
Sussex, UK
Capacity
Up to 4 Blueprint slots in October

Working on

Three things get my hours. Anything else is a distraction until one of these ships.

Lab Build 02: moving digitopia.design off WordPress

The agency site has been on WordPress and Elementor since 2019. It's being rebuilt on Next.js, Supabase and Vercel as the living agency site, and the whole thing is being documented in public - 301 map, what to keep, what to bin, what it cost in days. Pre-build gates are done; build starts this fortnight.

Building

Blueprint delivery and warm outreach

One AI Blueprint delivered, a second in the works, and two conversations with people I've worked with before. This is the paid side of Labs and it gets first call on any morning where the build isn't blocked.

Ongoing

digitopia.app as the flagship case study

I've run the company on a tool I built for over a year now. Writing that up properly - what it replaced, what the AI team does with it, what I'd do differently - because it's the strongest proof I've got that any of this works.

Drafting

In the queue

Roughly in order. Things move up when a client pays for them and down when they don't.

  1. 1
    BanteredThe merch brand. Shopify's set up, the designs exist, it needs a launch and a bit of nerve.
  2. 2
    The Chilli Index grow tracker, season twoThis year's plants are being harvested. The tracker needs the lessons from a full season before the seeds go in for next year.
  3. 3
    A Christmas thingLaunching before December. That's all I'm saying until it's live.
  4. 4
    The AI Layer, properlyThe Labs newsletter exists in MailerLite and in my head. It needs a first proper issue and a cadence I'll actually keep.
  5. 5
    This site's /uses pageTools, setup, what I pay for and what I stopped paying for. Half written.

Not doing

Written down so I stop saying yes to them in a weak moment.

  • New WordPress builds. Existing finance clients are looked after and always will be. New sites are Next.js.
  • Hourly work with no scope. Fixed scopes and working days, or a retainer with a floor. Nothing in between.
  • YouTube. It's on the list every quarter and every quarter it loses to the blog. Deferred, not dead.
  • Instagram for the business. Meta stays for Dad Humor and Bantered, where people are actually laughing.
  • Anything before 8:45 or between 2:50 and 3:30 on a weekday. School run.

Outside work

The bits that keep the rest of it sane.

Growing

Harvest month. Several superhots I'll regret, and a fridge drawer that's gone fully red. Seed order for next year is being argued over.

Reading

One book or long read, updated each month. Right now, 'Unconstrained' by Brian Hill.

Watching

Nothing festive until the first of October. That's the rule. It gets broken around the twentieth of September every year.

Want to talk about any of this?

Email works best. If it's Labs work, the booking link on digitopialabs.com is quicker and I'll have read your scorecard before we speak.

Email Darren