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We spill all of our magic beans (aka strategies) for working and living creatively here in, The Gooseberry Review, our monthly letter series.

Month: June 2018

TORONTO FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER: “AS YOU WERE” | NO MAKEUP SHOOT 01 | COURTNEY

Would you ever think that a 13-year-old girl looked terrible because she wasn’t wearing eye-shadow and lipstick to school? Would you ever think of an 82-year-old woman as ugly because she has wrinkles and doesn’t wear foundation? Of course not, because we universally recognize natural beauty in children and seniors.

So ladies, why are we devastatingly critical of ourselves during those in between ages? Aka – the majority of our lives?

This heavy question has been peculating through my thoughts for several months now. Why do women (in general) feel like we need makeup for any sort of public occasion when a man can throw on a nice outfit and be good to go?

We all begin our journey in this world with the same fresh faced approach to life, yet somewhere along the way half of us feel the pressure to cover up (or accentuate) with makeup. What would we look like if we decided to refute that expectation and instead show up as we were?

This is the concept for Gooseberry and Gotham + Grace’s latest partnership, a new on-going photo series called As You Were. The campaign is an effort to show women a stylish, organic and confident way to embrace their face exactly as it is. (more…)

TORONTO BRANDING PHOTOGRAPHER: GOOSEBERRY STUDIO’S 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Five years ago I was on a subway headed home, trying desperately to keep my composure as I moved further and further away from the job I then considered my dream. I arrived at my apartment and took my dog to the park where, at last alone, I broke down and sobbed on a somber picnic table, a swirl of panic, disappointment and shame ricocheting through my thoughts. I had been laid off that morning and my career was suddenly an all-consuming black hole of doubt.

Faced with the decision to move cities and rebuild (again) or take a stand and try to avoid having to ever work for another corporation, I decided to open a teeny photography studio, then called LLB Creative. And I was terrified.

At the time, being your own boss wasn’t trendy. At the time, people didn’t understand what I was trying to do. At the time I felt a deep embarrassment for not being a part of the corporate career path that I had studied and trained so hard to be a part of. I faced a constant onslaught of questions: “How are you possibly going to make enough money?” “80% of all start ups fail you know.” “Photography is more of a hobby though, right? Nobody really makes it work professionally.” Needless to say, for a long time I was drowning in a sea of doubt.

What a difference between then and now. Now, half a decade later, after more work than I can possibly describe, that photography studio is called Gooseberry. It is a joyful, bustling place with lively commercial projects, an on-going agenda dedicated to exploring creativity, three full-time divisions (photography, branding and an art print shop) and daily adventures of all shapes and sizes.

I cannot believe that year five is here and because I’m an introspective sort of person, who loves to document life’s various milestones, I thought it would be fun to put some of my biggest business lessons learned through experience down on paper. So here goes, in no particular order: (more…)