We knew that you would want to get to know the person behind this awesome brand a bit more – so we asked her a few questions:
How long have you been in business? 4 fantastic years
Why did you start your business? I was obsessed with taking pictures of people laughing and emoting and being themselves, and I really wanted to be devoting myself to something that made a real difference in other people’s lives. My desk job had lost all meaning for me, and being able to make people cry for a living was 100% what I wanted to be doing. So I did it! I also love spreadsheets and lists and accounting. I mean, I get excited about doing my taxes. So, it made sense to start a bidnaz, because it offers me countless opportunities to nerd out!
What is unique about your business? (Why would someone want to use your services) Maybe it’s because I’m the most organized free spirit you’ll ever meet. I mean really, what’s unique about my business is ME, ixi (rhymes with ‘pixie’)! There are a lot of people out there taking colorful, kinetic, fun, emotional photos. People hire me because they get those great photos, but they also feel comfortable and awesome in front of my lens. Because they genuinely think I’m funny and I genuinely think they’re funny, so we know we’re gonna laugh a lot! They know I respect them and I’ll be really great with their families and loved ones, too. They know I’ll get lots of great moments of their favorite people in the world. They know I’m the right person to capture their personalities (this is a big one). People seem to be themselves around me, which is why people that are doing things their way and having storm troopers at their wedding reception, or shamelessly integrating their love of cephalopods and mustaches into their decor, are drawn to me! I love people’s deep side, and I also love people’s sarcastic, silly side. The experience I want to create for people I work with is an experience of no hiding, no fear of judgment, and no censoring; just total safety and playfulness and authenticity. Feeling that way around another person is an amazing gift, and it’s one of my favorite things about interacting with other humans (that was my deep side!).
I also like to think I’m unique because of my lion’s mane of sunset hair, my awesome 20-year-old Lion King watch I wear everywhere (lions rule), and my propensity for pun-making.What is the process like to work with you? It’s kind of like online dating. We check each other out on the Interwebs, and if we have a good feeling about each other, we set up our first date. We stress over what we’re wearing but then remember that all we really need to do is BE OURSELVES. Then, we get to the coffee shop, and we’re awkward for the first 30 seconds, but then we can’t believe 90 minutes just flew by whilst eating cappuccino brownies and sipping kombucha. If we hit it off, I send an email like “oh my gosh, it was so much fun meeting you! You’re just what I’m looking for. Will you be mine? xoxoxo”. On the other side of that email is a mom or a couple thinking “yes, she’s the one! <3” and then we make our relationship official. I’m the type of photographer that you’ll be seeing more than once. I’m not going to just show up at your wedding or your session and then disappear into the fog. We’ll meet up to look through your photos, I’ll hand-deliver your goods and install your wall artz, and then you’ll probably find yourself inviting me to your Halloween party. Because for me, this is just as much about photography as it is about people.
Why did you decide to work with Doodle Dog? Because Nikki got really excited about my wacky brand and even started throwing out amaaaazing ideas, tag lines, and doodles on the fly! I knew she was the right person to take my brand and give it a playful kick in the the proverbial ass, even if it was scary. I really trusted her. Oh, also, I was really turned on by the questionnaire I filled out with sliders and color pickers AND the gorgeous package options matrix.
What’s your favorite part of your new look? The celebration of circles, especially on my new website’s homepage. It feels so ME and also I feel like it’s unique!
What advice would you give to someone considering a rebrand or relaunch? It might turn out to be emotionally confronting in a way. Because you’re having to really figure out who you are, what’s important to you, and what makes YOU different from everyone else. My advice is to be prepared for the process to bring up stuff you didn’t expect, and to just be open to it. DO IT!
About You:
What’s your desk/office look like? GIANT computer monitor. Big speakers for listening to music I groove to in my office chair. Organized chaos. Pictures from photo booths and thank-you cards from clients pinned all over my walls to make me laugh and cry 🙂
What’s on your Playlist? Slow, complex, wicked good electronic music that makes me feel like I’m at a club at 2am surrounded by psychedelic 270-degree projections, and I’m wearing a blue wig and something sparkly.
Where do you like to shop? The farmer’s market; bandcamp.com; Target; stores with a really epic sock and tights selection; Jerry’s Artarama
Describe yourself and your style. In-your-face, playful, very colorful (and coordinated), sometimes cartoony, sometimes bohemian, and often embellished with buttons and fabric paint and scissors. And crazy socks.
Where do you find inspiration? My profound answer is – If I can evoke some sort of real emotion in someone, or help someone heal something, or give them an experience that somehow changes them, I am beyond inspired to create. My quirky answer is – Stuff you’d throw away. I love repurposing junk, including candy wrappers, old toys, trinkets, clothes. Today I took a polka-dotted shirt and made all the dots into eyeballs, because that’s waaay better! Also I’m inspired by seeing or hearing or tasting something I like and not resting until I figure out how to make it myself. I like a good challenge.
Be sure to stop by and check out the new ixi photography site here!
