FAQ

Cobaltmaize is a small studio run by two people in two countries. Inna creates original artwork and teaches languages from Ukraine; Shaun builds custom software and offers IT consulting from the United States. Cobalt is for the sky and maize is for the fields — the colors of the Ukrainian flag — and the work we share through this site reflects both of us.

Inna is a photographer, painter, and language teacher (English, Ukrainian, German, Russian) based in Ukraine. Shaun is an IT consultant and macOS / iOS / web developer based in the United States. We are partners in life and in this studio.

Both cobaltmaize.com and cobaltmaize.org point to the same site. The .com is the canonical address; the .org redirects to it so we hold the brand consistently across the web.

Hand-crafted macOS, iOS, and web applications; small-business IT consulting; legacy-system review and modernization; and ongoing maintenance contracts. If you have a problem that touches code or infrastructure, we will be honest about whether we are the right fit.

Yes. Inna accepts a limited number of commissioned paintings and photo series each year. Tell us the subject, the size you have in mind, the budget you are working with, and a few examples of pieces of hers you have responded to. She will reply with a proposed direction, timeline, and price.

Inna teaches one-on-one and small-group sessions over video. We schedule lessons in blocks; pricing depends on language, level, and frequency. Reach out and tell us what you are studying and why and we will design a plan with you.

For consulting and custom software we usually quote a fixed scope or a weekly retainer once we understand the problem. For art we price per piece, based on size, medium, and time required. There is no automated checkout — every engagement starts with a conversation.

Yes. We can sign your NDA before any substantive discussion, or send you ours.

ArcLight Pro is a Mac and iOS app built and published by Shaun. You can find it on the Apple App Store. The app runs entirely on your device and does not collect or transmit any personal data.

Email us through the contact form on this site with the version of the app you are running, the version of macOS or iOS, and a short description of what happened. We respond personally — there is no support ticket queue.

Refunds for App Store purchases are handled by Apple. Visit reportaproblem.apple.com and follow the steps for the purchase you want refunded. We will support reasonable refund requests when Apple asks us about them.

Because we live the war's impact every day in our family, and because we have done the homework on which organizations are doing the work. Pointing visitors to vetted aid groups is the highest-value use of this small piece of the web for us.

No. The Donate for Ukraine page lists organizations and links to their own donation pages. You give directly to them, on their site, under their terms. We earn nothing from those clicks and we hold no donor information.

We look for groups with a clear mission, a track record on the ground in Ukraine, transparent reporting, and independent ratings where available (Charity Navigator, GuideStar/Candid, ProPublica). We also list whether donations are tax-deductible in the United States and how the organization is structured.

Use the language switcher in the top-right of the page (the globe icon). English is the default; Ukrainian translation is being added page by page. If a page has not been translated yet, the switcher will take you to the closest available equivalent.

No advertising trackers, no behavioral profiling, no third-party analytics. The website is hosted on Network Solutions; their server logs and a small functional cookie for the language switcher are the only things we touch. See the Privacy Policy for the complete picture.

Use the Contact Us link in the header or send mail to hello@cobaltmaize.com. We answer ourselves, usually within a few business days.