Just released the new site for Allens Of Mayfair. The shop has been in business since 1830, and with such a marvellous heritage, it was always going to be a challenge to retain the old-school intimacy of the shop with the modern design principles of e-commerce, but we are very pleased with the result.

The site was built in close collaboration with the mighty Stuart Johnston, the lead developer and director of Johnston North. His vast experience in usability came to the fore during the project – leading to dropping many of the so-called “features” of Magento, the e-commerce engine chosen to build the backend of the site.

One of the main features of the shop is the fact that there is no counter, and everything takes place on the old butcher’s block, a fantastic old octagonal table that sits there as various animals are skilfully butchered to customers’ exacting demands. We decided to model the table in 3D, and built it in PaperVision3D for the homepage… an oasis of e-commerce simplicity in what are traditionally massively cluttered homepages.

We also built a nice little “Cut Explorer” application to help users find their way round the amazing variety of cuts and meats available. So far, the reaction to this has been great.

The only downside of the project was working on it as lunch or dinner approached, as the sight of the bone-in rib steak was enough to get you into a terrible state of drooling. The knowledge of the master butchers was a lesson in itself, and we can all safely say we know a lot more about meat than when we started.