Photo Shoot Loving

Have I mentioned that I love working on jewellery photo shoots? So much goes on behind the scenes. The research - products, style, location, model. The gathering of props, the organisation of people, the dash of 'unknown' that each shoot brings with it. I'm always awash with excitement and nerves when we get started, worried that my ideas won't work together, and I'll have nothing to show for everyone's hard work. Even with six successful shoots under my belt now, those nerves are just as crazy each time. I like to think that nervousness is what keeps you on your toes and shows you that it is important to you. Once the shoot starts the nerves melt away and only the excitement and satisfaction remain.

I was heady with excitement and butterflies twice recently, as I worked on a Mother's Day and Easter photo shoot with photographer Trudi Le Brese. The first, we collaborated with the talented Louise of Floralovely Calligraphy at Vieille Branche to create a floral feast of creativity. Louise shone in my jewellery as she hosted one of her sold out calligraphy workshops. Beautiful, talented and generous, she was a dream to work with. Once a florist, she styled my jewellery, flowers and props with professional flair. It was such a joy to share the shoot with her. 

Last Monday I spent two hours sourcing quail eggs in order to fulfill my creative vision for Easter inspired images. I was up in the early hours of the morning polishing the final pieces, before driving around to three shops and one warehouse on the hunt for quail eggs. It was well worth the effort, as we shot more beautiful, original content, featuring the Wilderness Collection.

Keep your eyes peeled on my newsletter and Instagram account for the finished images!

Workshop Tour

My unassuming workshop means the world to me. It's my space. My office/ studio/ workshop. My workshop was once a very ugly bar area in a rented house that had seen better days. That's how I first saw it, when I came to view our home during the pest and building inspection. My husband and I were both so over looking at houses at that stage. We'd sold our last house and were living with family, I was pregnant with Emerson, and we just wanted to find our new home. But the right home eluded us. We knew where we wanted to live, we knew what we wanted to find, it was just a matter of finding it. We thought we had found it a couple of times, but highway noise and gigantic cracks had put us off a few properties. In the end my husband viewed the house without me, on his way home from work. He put in an offer and signed the paper work before I had even seen it. But I trusted him.

The first time I saw my workshop I was a little in shock. We had wanted a house that was a fixer-upper. But I had not bargained for a home that was full of asbestos and needed a new roof and ceiling. As the building inspector pointed out all the faults, I walked around the weed filled back yard with it's millions of pot holes from a bored staffy, thinking I might cry. Dave was enthusiastic, despite the fact that we couldn't move in until the asbestos had been cleared, carpets removed, floor polished, walls painted and so on and so on.

When we viewed under the house I saw my workshop with it's marine grade carpet, large wooden bar and brick walls. And I saw it's potential. Dave and I argued discussed in the car on the way home as to who had rights to the bar area. Dave saw it as having great man cave potential, and had mentally relegated my tools to the garage. I on the other hand had the financial argument on my side - that my workshop was capable of returning money, while his man cave was not. My husband is a good man, and I got my workshop. 

Many thanks to the lovely Trudi Le Brese for coming and photographing my unassuming, well loved space. 

Christmas Photo Shoot

There are so many things to love about running your own business (although a guaranteed income is not always one of them) high on the list of pros is most certainly creative freedom. Only in my own business can I be a designer one moment, jeweller the next, social media marketer before lunch and a copy writer after lunch. Much like Mothering really, where one moment I am referee, next I am nurse, then I am counselor, and then cook. If I wasn't born this way, then having three children has definitely made me a multiskilled multitasker. 

I remember when I was an employee at jewellery stores, I watched with interest as photographers picked up and returned jewellery, then returned once more with product and lifestyle photos. It was all very exciting and out of the ordinary for me. Especially seeing those images in print, and having brides-to-be bring in magazines and point out our ads. I once watched on from the sidelines as a high end jewellery catalogue was produced - models and locations chosen, jewellery pieces designed and created, days spent photographing on location and in a studio while the Marketing Manager apparently sat around bored, as she was bound by insurance to wait with the jewellery. 

But now, as a multiskilled multitasking small business owner, I can create my own photo shoots for my own jewellery pieces, and have an absolute ball while doing it! There is a lot of tea and laughter involved when photographer Trudi Le Brese and I get together for a photo shoot. While Trudi specialises in portrait and family photography, she was brave enough to throw herself in the deep end with me when I proposed our first photo shoot - a product and lifestyle Look Book of my jewellery. I bribed my beautiful yoga teacher at the time, Harriet, with jewellery so that she would model for us, another friend allowed us use of her library and garden as our location, and together we stumbled our way through our first shoot and produced photos that I am still so proud of!

This time around, with a little more confidence, I decided to tackle a Christmas shoot to create content for the holiday season, and broke the rule again about working with children and animals! As Harriet had moved overseas (please note jealousy) I put myself in the firing line, together with my youngest two, with my kitchen and dining room as our location. Together we baked, decorated, faffed and styled our way through the shoot. And I think, for two self taught multiskilled multitasking Mama's we did a darn good job at creating some amazing images!

Conquering Creative Block

I'm always trying to better understand my own creative process. Creativity is never constant. It comes and it goes. You can train yourself to turn it on when you need to - like designing to a brief for a customer. But when it kicks in on it's own time, those are the precious time when my mind starts spilling over with ideas and my main aim is to catch as many on paper as possible before that tap switches off again.

I cherish those creative streaks. I believe that feeding your creative self is the first way to make sure that well doesn't run dry. Keep consuming new books, blogs and podcasts that excite you. Make contact with other creatives. Take time to make things unrelated to your creative field. Visit galleries and museums. Fill your bucket with pebbles each time you nourish your creative self and eventually that bucket will over flow and all your authentic ideas spill out.

And so it has been lately. I have been reading books like Lisa Messenger and Sophia Amoruso, I have joined The Thriver Circle, and as a result I have critiqued and revamped my online shop, I have designed my next three collections, I have been planning my next two photo shoots with my photographer, I have purchased a new collection of gemstones, and I have been taking notes and sketching ideas and planning blog posts constantly. Once the flow begins to peter out, it is time to truly get to work making all those ideas a reality.

This week my bench time is reserved for resizing a pair of custom made engagement rings, hand making a pair of while gold wedding rings, and crafting a white gold sapphire and diamond pendant to match a custom made ring I made earlier in the year. Then I will be back to working on my latest collection - gents wedding rings - and planning the photo shoot, location, model etc. I can't wait!

The key to conquering creative block? I think it is to love what you are doing, and feed your creative self!

Here's to a creative week! xx

-

Photos by Trudi Le Brese.
Model: Harriet McAtee

New Postcards

My new postcards have arrived! I chose two of my favourite shots from the photo shoot, as I couldn't narrow it down to just one. These images make me smile from ear to ear and I'm so thankful to photographer Trudi Le Brese and model Harriet McAtee for their amazing work.

You will find a couple of these sweet cards in every parcel I send out from the shop, and I will be handing them out at the Red Hill Fair in Brisbane on the 25th of July.

Which is your favourite?

Winter 2015 Look Book

How gradually my little business has evolved. I hadn't imagined at University that I would one day be my own boss and work from home around my children. I didn't think as an apprentice that I would ever stop working for others. I couldn't have imagined how the internet would allow me to share my work with my tribe and create pieces for the special moments in their lives. But little by little I have been building, creating, learning, investing and making, in order to grow a seed of a dream in to a reality.

And now I am one step closer to a bigger dream, as I share with you images from my first ever photo shoot and my very first Look Book. I am so excited about these images! It's wonderful to see the ideas I sketched on paper and then brought to life in metal, being worn and so beautifully photographed. It feels like quite the achievement for this independent jeweller and small business owner, let me tell you. The images just seem so 'me' and so in tune with my brand. I love that Trudi and Harriet were able to interpret my vision. I am thrilled and I would love for you to take a look and share your thoughts with me. 

And if I could be so bold, perhaps you could share the Pinterest pin of my Look Book too?

Many thanks! 

xx

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Winter 2015 Look Book

Photographer: Trudi Le Brese

Model: Harriet McAtee

Location: Residence of Brisbane poet Carmen Keates

Photo Shoot Sneak Peek

Props gathered from around my home

The library - sigh

Experimenting with flat lays

Cuddling chickens

It's a rather troublesome thing, running an online business without a laptop, after it gave up on the idea of turning on two weeks ago. The repair man informed me that fixing was the same price as replacing. It's also troublesome to have to dip in to the 'rainy day' funds. I have managed to get by on my phone alone in the meantime, but I was quite pleased when the courier arrived today.

So, here I am, tapping on my new keys, having missed my blog. The blogging hey-day may have passed, and I'm sure I get more eyes on my Instagram account than on my dear old blog, but I still think of this space as my online home. I have returned once more in order to update you on recent going-ons.

I had my first jewellery photo shoot recently. The above images are iPhone photos I took on the day. I am excitedly waiting to receive the edited images and share them with you. I was so nervous before the shoot. There had been delays in completing the new collection, I'd had to reschedule the photographer, the model and our booked location three times before it went ahead. I'd collected a file of images for inspiration. I had a picture in my head of the style and look I wanted to achieve. I collected props, packed up the jewellery and brought champagne and flowers for the day. Then I put my trust in photographer Trudi Le Brese and model Harriet McAtee, and in return I was rewarded by their creativity and amazing shots.

The afternoon went off without a hitch, thanks to all the lovely ladies (and possibly the champagne.) My nerves quickly disappeared. Brisbane poet Carmen Keates welcomed us in to her home and library, while her sister Kylie took over chief baby holding duties with my dear little Oscar. We laughed, chatted, and experimented with different angles, props, lighting and back grounds until we ran out of daylight. I had so much fun. I actually can't wait to shoot another collection now!

If you haven't seen the new collection yet, pop over to the shop.
And if you are thinking of doing a photo shoot, do it! Have fun with it, make a list of what you want to shoot, print out your inspiration pics, get your model to sign a release form, bring champagne, and you can't go wrong.

xx