Prepping for Autumn with Laura Bee and SuzyBuzz

Anyone who knows or has worked with me in the past several months has probably heard me rave about my collaborative relationship with creative wonder Laura Buzard of Laura Bee Designs in Seattle. Since our first contact in February, Laura and I have forged a win-win arrangement in which she gets professional photographs of her goods for her website and other projects, and I get beautifully crafted, custom designed bags and accessories to show off to anyone I can get to take a look : ) Before I go too far with this entry, if you are unfamiliar with my previous work with Laura and need to be brought up to speed, you can read all about my discovery of and first photo shoot at Laura's Ballard shop in a blog entry here, as well as see my own bags in entries here and here.

When Laura and I first met last spring, we discussed the idea of doing a shoot involving a variety of bags in use in multiple locations around Ballard as a way to showcase her designs in their birthplace. Laura decided to have me do the photos of her fall designs, which worked out perfectly as her fashionista sister Susannah was planning an August visit from Boston- which meant she (and her many adorable outfits) could serve as our model. With the shoot date set, Laura got to work on the bags and we crossed fingers for some autumn like weather!

When I arrived at the shop, (on a bright, warm, sunny day, mind you) Laura and Susannah had bags and outfits laid out and ready to go. Once SuzyBuzz and I were introduced, we loaded up the back of my car and hit the streets of Ballard where for weeks Laura had been scoping out good backdrops for photos.

Our first stop was the red & black exterior of Copper Gate on 24th Avenue where we showcased a snappy Beatrice bag and a beautiful version of the Helen Hobo. I admit I was a bit nervous for this shoot because I'm so used to photographing people and facial expressions. The need to focus on the bags rather than the model carrying them presented a new challenge for me, but once I got rolling I didn't think anything of it!

Our second stop was Abraxus Books where, after a few more shots of the Helen Hobo, a wardrobe change for Suzy Buzz was in order. Next up? Laura's latest clutch design, Olivia.


After disrupting the browsers in the bookstore long enough, we headed down to Ballard Avenue for some shots of this Veronica bag outside the green tiled entrance of Hattie's Hat.

While there, we discovered the side wall of the restaurant made a perfect backdrop for another Beatrice bag, this time in tones of brown, orange and golden yellow!

Next we wandered a few doors down to Bop Street Records where all three of us first poured adoration onto Senna the shop dog, then had fun reminiscing about the days of vinyl while simultaneously getting shots of Laura's different wristlet designs and some super fun Sock Monkey mini wallets!By the time we were done exploring the seemingly never ending shelves & bins of records at Bop Street, we decided we were ready for a break. We said goodbye to Senna and headed over to The Hi-Life for a little dinner, but my mind didn't stop looking for places to shoot. As soon as I saw the rich colors of the mushroom pizza I'd ordered, I knew I had to get another shot of this gorgeous Celeste clutch alongside it and my glass of delicious wine.


Before we left the Hi-Life, SuzyBuzz made friends with Maya, a gorgeous Bernese Mountain Dog. In the spirit of the day, Maya posed for a few photos of her own! (Seriously, with three bigtime dog lovers and all the great pooches in Ballard, it's really a wonder we got so much accomplished!)

With full bellies and a few remaining bags to photograph, we wandered up to Market Street to scout for locations. As soon as I saw the copper color of this little section of wall, I knew it provided just the right contrast for SuzyBuzz's blue dress and the browns of the Lola Clutch, the Harriet bag and the Ruched Clutch. We made ourselves at home using a street sign as a clothes rack and got back to work!

Last up, I insisted we get a few shots of SuzyBuzz with my Chelsea bag! And let me tell you, with the hundreds of photos I created for her, I was so excited to see that Laura used a shot of MY bag on the slide show on the front page of her website!

I had an idea that it would be fun to get some shots going into a movie theater with contraband candy peaking out of the top (I've learned my LBD bags are *great* for this purpose!) It didn't quite work out the way I envisioned it, but the Red Vines made a great prop for some fun shots of our patient model once the bags were put away : )

And finally... since they live on opposite coasts and don't get to see each other too often, I had fully intended to do a quick shoot with Laura and Susannah together before we called it quits, but this shutter bug got carried away and we ran out of light before we got the chance, so I popped off a few of the sisters back at the shop before I headed home. This one is my favorite : )
You can read Laura's account of our shoot together on her blog here and see an entry she wrote about me a few months ago here!

To LauraBee and SuzyBuzz...Oh girls, what fun we had! Our shoot was definitely a highlight of my summer as collaborating with fellow creative souls has become such an inspiring part of my work. I am very thankful for the opportunity to challenge myself in a new way and am already brainstorming for our next adventure!