Well, hello friends! We have a winner for Bonnie Christine’s Roost Tribe membership and it is (insert drumroll)– Beth | Fatesallow! We are so happy so many of you entered, it really is an incredible value (both Michelle and I are members). Bonnie is one of the nicest, most motivated and inspiring individuals and we know that the ‘Tribe’ is the perfect place to jump start your surface pattern design career! Congrats!
On another note, we haven’t done an ‘Around here…’ post in a while, but we have been up to so much and are learning so much that we thought we would share some of our inspiration and findings. Tomorrow Michelle and I have our first fashion photo shoot! This is a huge deal, we have done a ton of product photography (even created a product photography editing software), but we don’t have a lot of model work in our portfolio and we are thrilled to be able to add this to it! The client is special as we have been able to work with their branding on a whole other level.
Last year we decided to focus on photography + design and our professional world has really opened up and grown exponentially, in ways I couldn’t have imagined. We have also learned a lot about what we don’t like doing within that realm and and how to switch gears to do more of what we love. We wholeheartedly believe if we do more of what we love, we will attract more like minded collaborations and be able to take on projects we feel passionately about (even more self-started ones), which in turn means more income. The income bit has been slow going, which of course for anyone struggling is really scary and frustrating, but I am happy to report each month our little enterprise grows a little bit more. This would not have happened if we didn’t focus, so a big lesson learned, maybe a little late in the game, but better late than never, right? We would love to hear any of your stories about focusing, it’s something we are super curious about and it’s so motivating to hear other people’s stories and experiences!
//RESOURCES//
Product photography editing software
Our pro shoot supplies (Michelle will be be shooting with a Fuji and I’ll shoot with the full frame this time)
Michelle missed the famed photographer Irving Penn Centennial exhibit when she was in NYC by a week, so when I found the Met had a huge retrospective book I had to make sure Michelle had it!
Unlike myself who is still a little too stressed out, Michelle has been doing daily guided meditation with the help of this app, ‘5 minutes to peace’ is their tagline.
I’m on a huge floral kick right now (more than usual) and have been having a ton of fun using our digital cyanotype to create little beauties. I love that I can do this quickly and easily (most of the time with my toddler on my lap). I have been feeling really inspired! Here and here.
Speaking of florals, I took a couple excellent (easy to follow) loose floral watercolor classes! They are short and you will be able to create some easy florals for your project right after taking the classes. If you have been struggling with watercolor these little victories will be so satisfying and will give you a modicum of watercolor confidence (I’ll take what I can get). Watercolor floral classese here and here.
We have missed popping in, we hope you are all well, let us know if you use any of the resources, we’d love to see what you come up with!
digital cyanotype by tristan b.
I don’t think the links to the watercolor floral classes are showing up – can you relink? ThankS!
I’m a winner?! That’s so fantastic! Thank you.
I’m doing a lot of thinking about focusing right now because I’m in the middle of redesigning my site and thinking about what I want to offer as services. It can be scary to narrow down or go in a different direction, but I totally agree with you: doing what you love brings more of it to you.
Thanks again. I love reading your blog! (I especially love reading about your journey with drawing/painting because I’m in the same boat of wanting to explore that creative side but needing to add the skills. You’ve had great recommendations.)