UWSAG talks to Donna O'Smolloin-MacDhadhoc
of Celtic Castle Awards

Winner: UWSAG Award Seekers Pick! for July, 2003

1. What got you started in website design?
   
   "I had been admiring web sites since 1998 or so, and I always thought I could "create" a site with appeal ... My interests in Celtic history, mythology, & folklore, combined with my love for beautiful artwork, made my decision easy when it came to a theme for my web site, Lady Dorothea's Celtic Castle, which I started designing in September, 2001, right after the September 11th tragedy ... My site first began on the Angelfire free server, but as I grew to understand what makes a site "marketable", I moved it to a paid host, got my own domain name, and got serious about my web site and eventually, my awards programs."
   
   
2. What do you hope to accomplish with your award program?
   
   "My main goal, for both The Rose Awards and The Celtic Castle Awards, is to honor those hardworking designers who truly "shine" brightly among all the dross on the Internet ... There are so many sites out there which lack "heart-n-soul", personality, creativity, etc, and are merely taking up cyber space -- Then, there are the "jewels" which light up our Net existence, sites with creators who have poured their talents into beautiful gems which make us all smile ! Those are the web sites I love to honor with my awards, and I have been very fortunate to have some great web sites apply to both of my programs."
   
   
3. What advice would you give new program owners?
   
   "Take my advice and learn everything you can FIRST, before you build your awards program -- I built my Celtic Castle Awards long before I understood copyright laws, KB's and graphic size, ratings organizations, ethics, etc., and when I DID learn about all those important issues, I redesigned The Celtic Castle Awards to reflect my newly acquired knowledge -- The Rose Awards came after I had acquired all my new knowledge, applying what I had learned from the great AP's on the Net ... I just wish I had studied BEFORE I built my first AP, so that's my first & foremost advice to new AP owners -- learn all you can, study a multitude of AP's (rated, non-rated, "high" rated, lower rated, etc), and get involved in the AP forum world, where you will meet many wonderful people who are always willing to help you!"
   
   
4. What was the biggest problem you faced with your award program?
   
   "As I mentioned above, redesigning my first AP, The Celtic Castle Awards, to reflect copyright laws, ethics, COPPA, graphics' size and KB's, etc -- I gave that program a complete overhaul last November, 2002 .... The Rose Awards came into the Net world "compliant" with copyrights, ethics, etc., and I'm glad I had studied all the great AP's before I built the Rose Awards .... And when I say I studied all the great AP's, I mean it -- I looked over programs of all ratings' levels, including programs listed with UWSAG, AS!, Treasures of the Web, Webs Awards, etc -- I wanted to see what each organization *valued* in it's members -- There are some great AP's out there to study and learn from, at all levels of the game."
   
   
5. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
   
   "I hate to sound redundant here, but I would study first, build later :-) .... I would have all my "ducks in a row" first, then build my AP -- I look at the newer AP's, say like "American Awards" and "Gossamer Wings", and I am so impressed by what Megan Marsh and Cat Turner have done with their AP's -- it's evident that both Megan and Cat did all their homework before they built their new AP's, and the results are beautiful in each case !! ..... Then again, I learned so much with my mistakes that I really can't complain -- either way, I've had a blast building my two AP's!"
   
   
6. What plans do you have for the future?
   
   "Keep learning and growing !! .... I am sort of a Type A personality, so I'm never satisfied with my work -- I want to keep expanding my knowledge of HTML, graphics software, web site design, etc etc -- I plan to be W3C compliant by the end of the year, and I've just purchased Ulead PhotoImpact (to work alongside my Paint Shop Pro) in order to improve the graphics I design for my web site .... I also plan to add more personal stories to my web site, revamp the navigation system, expand my "tolerance and understanding of our Fellow Man" campaign, and hopefully, have The Rose Awards and The Celtic Castle Awards become two of the very best on the Net ! .... I don't ask for much from myself -- just perfection."
   
   
7. What else do you like to do?
   
   "Read, cook for friends, study Celtic/Medieval history, follow the American political scene (Yikes!), attend live theatre & the ballet, play with my kitty cat (Alexander) and my sun conure parrot (Daniel), watch good videos, listen to Celtic & Classical music, and of course, surf the Net ! .... I also enjoy surfing all the Awards forums, where there is rarely a dull moment!"