Studio Visit: Ina Grau

When it comes to my dress I keep it fairly simple, and this extends to my shoewear. I have a basic black canvas shoe I wear 99% of the time and when its too cold for that pair, I wear a pair of black desert boots. I wish I could have the confidence wear bright colors and mix/match patterns but my palette tends to remain fairly neutral and when I do venture into pattern its not too crazy. 

The shoes by Ina Grau, however, are different. I would wear all sorts of Ina Grau in a second. Their materials and colors are by themselves pretty neutral but the way they mix them up is just the right amount of statement. Customizable lace colors sporting brass ends and cute polka dot patterns burned into the bottoms of the shoes are the perfect finishing touches. They are lovely and considered details not immediately noticeable, but you love knowing that they are there.

They invited me over to their Minneapolis studio earlier this year and I had the best time chatting with Luisa and Crystal, and being shown around their workspace. In my mind, shoemaking is such a traditional men's craft, so it is really awesome to see two very talented women take this on and just totally kill it. The traditional craftsmanship is there and it is impeccable, but the vibe is entirely now, young, and exciting. 

What I also loved about meeting them is there is this creative energy that they exude. You get a sense of how much fun they are having doing what they do, as well as how excited they are to experiment and learn more about it. I left their studio feeling incredibly inspired and wanting my own pair of Ina Grau shoes more than ever. 

See the entire visit over on  Visitvisit.us !

STUDIO VISIT: TODD BAXTER

I know I've posted about Todd Baxter before, specifically the embroidery work that I did for his Owl Scout series. But I could not do a studio visit series without doing a visit with him. A commercial and fine art photographer based in Chicago and now in Los Angeles, he is one of the people who has helped me a lot in getting to where I am today.

I started out working for Todd as an intern while attending SAIC and went on to work as his studio manager after I graduated. Everything I learned about being in the photo business I learned working for him and I'm happy to count him not only as a mentor but a friend as well.

I was lucky to have gotten the chance to shoot his Chicago studio before he moved to LA. His process is a very involved one. There is a great amount of research and prepping  that went into both the Owl Scouts and his new upcoming Astoria series and there is evidence of it everywhere in his studio. Props, costumes, binders full of reference material, miniature models of sets and characters that will be either composited or simply used as models for the final images have to be made before a single image is shot. He draws upon the talents of a number of people to collaborate with him to create his vision.

 And so every single image he creates is actually comprised of many (many many) images, composited seamlessly together.  I would not be lying when I say that almost every plant in a forest scene was originally  its own image. It is a process that is completely on the other end of the spectrum compared to my own but it made for one of the most interesting studio visits I've done.

A few select images from the visit below. Check out the entire set on VisitVisit.us !