It’s been officially announced and I wish I had filmed the happy dance I done this morning in my living room!

Let me set the scene…

To provide you with some context, this photo comes from my first ever collaboration photo shoot with my good sis Chanel at Mini Manes.

It was exactly two years ago, and I had spent most of the Christmas period drawing up and planning my ideas for different themes for my new photography business. I was adamant that I wanted to have themes for parents to choose from, and that they were to be child-friendly and playful in design. Their fun nature would inspire the different hairstyles curated by Chanel for our shoot.

We put out a model call and received a huge response. So much so that we had to spread the photo shoot across two full days. When it came to selecting our little models, it was simply a matter of availability and practicality. I was keen to give my new in-home photography studio a test drive, which meant that the shoot would take place in a home a little outside of London on this occasion.

The night before, I didn’t sleep. I racked my brain thinking of props and equipment I had forgotten to pack. I didn’t have a car at this point in my journey. So it was a matter of walking 30 minutes to collect a zipcar before coming back to load it up and head out again! We provided a lovely food spread, and made goodie bags for the kids. We made the living room our green room area, where our models along with their parents could chill out as they awaited their time slot. They would wait to have their hair gorgeously styled and then head upstairs to me, where I had set up my ‘Little Pop-Up Studio’.

Amongst the kids and parents, was my little girl with my mum. My daughter was barely 6 months old, so my mum kindly volunteered to come along for both days as I was still breastfeeding. Fun fact: My daughter actually sat up unaided for the first time after we wrapped up our shoot!

Chanel’s creative brilliance meant that all children on the day felt like they were being pampered and treated like royalty, with a fun and beautiful hairstyle to go home with too. Watching their confidence grow from the minute they walked through the door was so empowering to witness and is a talent that Chanel is truly gifted with. Her way with hair and young people has always inspired me, and has led us to continue to work together.

After a lot of singing, dancing and the help of our family and friends, both days were a complete success!

From Collab to Book Cover

I’ve gone down memory lane here I know, but I guess it was all just to say, “What a journey!” It can be easy to lose sight of just how far you’ve come in a short space of time. How many obstacles you actually had to overcome and I have definitely taken the time out to reflect. It’s also been interesting to see what ideas have stuck from two years ago and which I had to let go. Like with any business or skillset, there’s been a lot of trial and error, but I’m growing to wear my mistakes as a lesson learnt badge.

When your support system is as awesome and encouraging as mine, anything can happen: like one of your first ever photos being featured on the cover of a book two years later.

So very grateful.