We have been in our studio space here in the Orchard Mall for about three years now and we really are living our dream. It hasn't always been easy building a young business but it's been a labor of love for sure, and today on the day after Thanksgiving was one of those days when you just realize how thankful you are.
We are humbled by the opportunity to be a part of the lives of our people who we lovingly refer to as the "frameables". We had so many people come by the studio to visit us over the last couple days - especially our high school seniors - some who are still in high school and just had a couple days off and some who are home visiting from college. They all make us smile!
When new parents bring babies to the studio to photograph and back to visit and photograph as they grow up, when a wonderful 90 year old lady brings a 90 year old photo in to restore and tells us stories, when families come together from out of town and gather in our studio to allow us to be a part of that reunion and document it for posterity, when a dog owner brings in their best friend for a session, these are the moments that have given us so much.
We are thankful for you. All of you. Thank you so much.
Ally and Doug
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Meditations on Buying Local...
BUY LOCAL - you hear this everywhere right? Save our local economy! It's pervasive. There are facebook and LinkedIn groups devoted to the idea, politicians throw the issue around to try to make each other look better than the opponent knowing that it's an emotional hot button for their constituents, businesses remind you at every turn almost as a sales pitch to get you to come in and buy something in their store. You start to become numb to it.
Listen - it's certainly an important issue to us being a local business ourselves but I like to keep these posts a bit lighter and more fun. I don't want to be a downer and I certainly don't want to get on a soap box to beat you over the head again to shop local..... (hmmmm wait Doug - this isn't a typical light fun Frameable Faces blog post - seems you already went there). Sorry. Big exhale..... Okay - I'm just gonna go with it then. But I'm going to try to make it as painless as possible.
The fact is there were three different things that put this in my head this week in particular which is why I'm thinking about it and felt the need to blog about it. The first thing happened at our last Orchard Mall tenants meeting. One of our fellow tenants alerted all of us to a project and website called The 3/50 Project whose mission is to strengthen independent brick and mortar businesses. What I like about this is that it appears to be a very sensible and practical call to action. The "3/50" part refers to the suggestion that everyone pick out 3 local businesses they would miss if they closed and commit to spending $50 per month collectively at those businesses. The studies suggest that for every 100 dollars spent at a local business 68 of them return to the community. For every 100 spent at a national chain only 43 stays here, and for every 100 spent online none of it stays here. Makes you think.
The second thing happened in Birmingham the other day while we were there photographing a senior. We drove past the Varsity Shop which is a sporting goods store that has been there since I was a kid. It is a small corner store that certainly would seem to be a relic from a bygone era when you compare it to stores like Dick's and The Sports Authority not to mention Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart and all the other big box stores who sell sporting goods. I don't know the people at the Varsity Shop and I haven't been in there forever. I don't know what they specialize in and I have no stake in spotlighting them, but my point is when I pondered how they've managed to stay in business when so many others couldn't it dawned on me - they certainly didn't do it because I shop there. I felt a pang of guilt - I have good memories of that place and they deserve better from me. Now to totally beat myself up over this isn't fair because I do buy local - a lot. And with online commerce and the economies of scale that a Target or a Costco brings to the table I'd be nuts to not make sure I looked for the best deals from time to time as we try to support our family with a still-young business in this wonderful economy of ours. Indeed, the 3/50 Project doesn't suggest you stop buying from chains, they just suggest that you make sure your healthy balance includes a helping of local merchants. I personally think I can do better and I'm going to buy something from the Varsity Shop when I get a chance. Meanwhile the Orchard Mall is filled with many local merchants. We've got a Panera here sure (love their breakfast power sandwich - hold the ham, extra egg), but we've also got a couple local eateries, a very cool local toy store, a couple boutiques, a linen store, clothing stores, a bridal couture, a dance studio, a locally based supermarket chain, a jeweler, a gift shop, a few spa/salons - all local. Most of the businesses here are local and not many malls can say that.
The third thing that happened was we received a nice thank you gift from a Michigan based company we order our albums from called Finao (the link is to their blog and much of it is targeted at their clients who are professional photography studios like us - lots of shop talk). This made us feel great and appreciated - this company really gets it. A very inspiring move on their part. It makes us happy to do business with such a great company and it gives us even greater comfort that they are based in Michigan and everything they produce is made from stuff made in the USA. This is not by accident - we have always made a point of using local vendors for the business wherever possible and most of our vendors - our framer, our printer, our canvas folks and many others are based in Michigan.
So, I suppose if I had to give myself a grade with an "A" representing a full commitment to spending as many of my dollars as possible with local businesses (within reason), and being conscious of it whenever I make my choices of what to purchase, I would probably give myself a "B". I can do better. What about you?
Listen - it's certainly an important issue to us being a local business ourselves but I like to keep these posts a bit lighter and more fun. I don't want to be a downer and I certainly don't want to get on a soap box to beat you over the head again to shop local..... (hmmmm wait Doug - this isn't a typical light fun Frameable Faces blog post - seems you already went there). Sorry. Big exhale..... Okay - I'm just gonna go with it then. But I'm going to try to make it as painless as possible.
The fact is there were three different things that put this in my head this week in particular which is why I'm thinking about it and felt the need to blog about it. The first thing happened at our last Orchard Mall tenants meeting. One of our fellow tenants alerted all of us to a project and website called The 3/50 Project whose mission is to strengthen independent brick and mortar businesses. What I like about this is that it appears to be a very sensible and practical call to action. The "3/50" part refers to the suggestion that everyone pick out 3 local businesses they would miss if they closed and commit to spending $50 per month collectively at those businesses. The studies suggest that for every 100 dollars spent at a local business 68 of them return to the community. For every 100 spent at a national chain only 43 stays here, and for every 100 spent online none of it stays here. Makes you think.
The second thing happened in Birmingham the other day while we were there photographing a senior. We drove past the Varsity Shop which is a sporting goods store that has been there since I was a kid. It is a small corner store that certainly would seem to be a relic from a bygone era when you compare it to stores like Dick's and The Sports Authority not to mention Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart and all the other big box stores who sell sporting goods. I don't know the people at the Varsity Shop and I haven't been in there forever. I don't know what they specialize in and I have no stake in spotlighting them, but my point is when I pondered how they've managed to stay in business when so many others couldn't it dawned on me - they certainly didn't do it because I shop there. I felt a pang of guilt - I have good memories of that place and they deserve better from me. Now to totally beat myself up over this isn't fair because I do buy local - a lot. And with online commerce and the economies of scale that a Target or a Costco brings to the table I'd be nuts to not make sure I looked for the best deals from time to time as we try to support our family with a still-young business in this wonderful economy of ours. Indeed, the 3/50 Project doesn't suggest you stop buying from chains, they just suggest that you make sure your healthy balance includes a helping of local merchants. I personally think I can do better and I'm going to buy something from the Varsity Shop when I get a chance. Meanwhile the Orchard Mall is filled with many local merchants. We've got a Panera here sure (love their breakfast power sandwich - hold the ham, extra egg), but we've also got a couple local eateries, a very cool local toy store, a couple boutiques, a linen store, clothing stores, a bridal couture, a dance studio, a locally based supermarket chain, a jeweler, a gift shop, a few spa/salons - all local. Most of the businesses here are local and not many malls can say that.
The third thing that happened was we received a nice thank you gift from a Michigan based company we order our albums from called Finao (the link is to their blog and much of it is targeted at their clients who are professional photography studios like us - lots of shop talk). This made us feel great and appreciated - this company really gets it. A very inspiring move on their part. It makes us happy to do business with such a great company and it gives us even greater comfort that they are based in Michigan and everything they produce is made from stuff made in the USA. This is not by accident - we have always made a point of using local vendors for the business wherever possible and most of our vendors - our framer, our printer, our canvas folks and many others are based in Michigan.
So, I suppose if I had to give myself a grade with an "A" representing a full commitment to spending as many of my dollars as possible with local businesses (within reason), and being conscious of it whenever I make my choices of what to purchase, I would probably give myself a "B". I can do better. What about you?
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Samira's Baking Journey
We've had the good fortune to be called upon for some very interesting photo shoots over the years and we thought it would be fun to share some "frameable things" - not just faces...
So cue the music - "These are a few of our frameable things....."
You've probably seen or heard us gushing about Samira Cholagh and her cookbooks, one of which (Treasured Middle Eastern Cookbook) is available at our studio here in the Orchard Mall in West Bloomfield. We met Samira in 2009 as she was working extremely hard on her third book, and she needed someone to photograph the dishes she was going to feature. A special friendship was born (Believe that - Doug and food? Do you know Doug?) as we spent a good chunk of that summer at Samira's home photographing and eating. It was incredible - this book focuses mostly on baking so we were eating pies, tarts, pastries, and cookies pretty much daily..... oy. Samira is the genuine article - sweet, generous, full of life, and her recipes are fantastic. We think the Food Network needs to discover her and have a show that focuses on middle eastern cuisine. Indeed, her show Samira's Kitchen can be seen on MEA TV & Radio every Thursday at 7:00 PM and you can go to her YouTube channel or Middle Eastern American TV & Radio for more details.
We were very excited to see Samira on Detroit's Fox 2 News again yesterday morning doing a cooking demonstration and promoting the new book A Baking Journey, and you can watch the clip from the show right HERE from the myFOXdetroit website!
Meanwhile here are 4 photographs we took which appear in Samira's book!
Yes - this is what we did with our summer that year....
Pineapple and coconut - one of Doug's favorites from the book...
Beautiful - and yummy...
The fig pie is incredible - Doug's other favorite - we just made this one ourselves a few weeks ago...
Monday, November 14, 2011
Blogging Revisited
So..... we had a meeting with my friend and new guru Melissa Brodsky this morning and I am very excited! You see, Missy is an incredible and very accomplished writer and blogger and she knows her way around social media. I've mentioned her blog www.rockanddrool.com before and if you don't follow it then you can't be my friend anymore. Okay maybe that was a little strong. But you really should check it out - it's fantabulous.
As most of you know I spend a lot of time updating our facebook pages and scouring the web for cool content that I think y'all will enjoy and get some use from. I tweet, I set us up with a page on LinkedIn and connect with people there, I've got Frameable Faces going on Foursquare, Yelp, YouTube......
It's now time to revisit and take our blog seriously.
Little by little our online presence has morphed and grown quite a bit and this blog will once again become an important piece to the puzzle that should allow us a more robust platform and outlet for our creative energies (read - Doug can write and post more stuff), help us expand our reach, and help tie the strategy together.
All of those details might not mean a ton to all of you, but I know there are a decent number of frameables who are into this subject and regardless we just like to let you know what we're doing and why. The blog gives us some additional flexibility and another way to build relationships online. We will continue to post on facebook and we will let you know when there is something to see here (which will be often) and we will ask you to continue to leave your comments, feedback, questions and come along for the ride! Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think! The frameables are the reason we are here and we look forward to giving back to you!
As most of you know I spend a lot of time updating our facebook pages and scouring the web for cool content that I think y'all will enjoy and get some use from. I tweet, I set us up with a page on LinkedIn and connect with people there, I've got Frameable Faces going on Foursquare, Yelp, YouTube......
It's now time to revisit and take our blog seriously.
Little by little our online presence has morphed and grown quite a bit and this blog will once again become an important piece to the puzzle that should allow us a more robust platform and outlet for our creative energies (read - Doug can write and post more stuff), help us expand our reach, and help tie the strategy together.
All of those details might not mean a ton to all of you, but I know there are a decent number of frameables who are into this subject and regardless we just like to let you know what we're doing and why. The blog gives us some additional flexibility and another way to build relationships online. We will continue to post on facebook and we will let you know when there is something to see here (which will be often) and we will ask you to continue to leave your comments, feedback, questions and come along for the ride! Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what you think! The frameables are the reason we are here and we look forward to giving back to you!
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