Welcome 2012!
We hope you celebrated the New Year with as much confetti and fun as we did!
From Princess Pebbles
We wanted to share the second edition of the Princess Pebbles Holiday Newsletter with all of our online friends! Hope your holidays are full of love and laughter!
Thank you all for the awesome feedback to my very first holiday newsletter last year! Due to the overwhelming, positive response, I have been allowed to write the second edition of the Princess Pebbles Holiday Newsletter.
This year, my world was turned upside down. I call it the year of the invaders! First, if you remember from last year’s letter, we had started experiencing a few sightings of a black cat hanging out around our barn. Well, against my better judgment, the cat (her name is Shadow) has permanently adopted our barn as her place to live, and can frequently be seen sunbathing in the grass. She loves to tease me by running just outside of my reach anytime I go for a walk. She often comes right up to the front porch and sticks her nose against the glass, staring into my home. I know that she does this to get me in trouble, because if I make even a peep to announce her presence, I am corrected and told to be nice. (Not fair…she’s invading my domain!)
The second invader of the year to rock my world was the little brother that Mommy and Daddy brought home. What?!? Who asked me?!? Okay, fine, I will admit, I kind of like him…he’s worked his way into my heart. Mommy and Daddy named him Bruiser, and he’s grown up to look just like a “Bruiser”. Of course, most of his size comes from his fluffy hair. Mommy hasn’t let the groomers give him a shave yet, so he’s sporting a big 80s crimp-do! He has tons of energy and loves to play. He is also pretty good about being quiet and resting anytime Mommy has clients over. Wrestling with Joey and I is definitely one of his favorite activities; the second would have to be playing fetch…the boy never stops. He’s a pretty sweet guy, so I guess we’ll keep him, but I’m putting my paw down…three is enough. Don’t even think about a fourth!
This summer, a two legged invader joined Mommy’s work team. They called him Bert the Intern, and he worked in the office a couple of days every week for the whole summer. I liked this invader…he was unable to resist my charms. If I sat right at his feet, gave him a long stare, and wagged my tail, he was putty! I really enjoyed having him around. I heard he went off to get an education from the Jayhawks…not sure what that means, but I wish he’d come back.
In the fall, there were over a hundred invaders at Mommy’s client appreciation picnic. It was a crazy day…it took my brothers and I a week of solid sleep just to recover from all the activity. It was a pretty wet and rainy day, but we still had great attendance, yummy food, personalized t-shirts, and plenty of fun. Although there were a lot of invaders, I enjoyed every minute of it. I got lots of loving from all the pint sized invaders!
Even after talking about all those major invaders, it doesn’t begin to touch on the invaders that Mommy works with on a daily basis. There were hundreds and hundreds of them, each leaving their own scent for me to check out. I recognized many smells and I’m pretty sure they have been here before. My Mommy and I think it’s awesome that they continue to come back year after year. I know Mommy loves getting to see her favorite, pint-sized, two-legged kiddos grow and change each year. In January, she’ll have been doing this photo thing for ten years! That’s how old my brother Joey is, and he’s OLD, so that must be a long time. I know that my brothers and I are Mommy’s number one fans, but it does mean a lot to me knowing that you all love and support her as much as I do!
Hope your Holidays are Pawsitively Fabulous! (Do not forget your four-legged kiddos this season…they love bones, treats, toys and LOVE!)
Love, Pebbles (and Brandi, Pete, Joey & Bruiser)
Holiday Greetings!
We’re hoping your holidays are snuggly and warm!
Greyhound Love
I have the perfect holiday gift for yourself and your favorite family and friends!
The Kansas City Retired Greyhounds as Pets (KCREGAP) has created their very first annual calendar. This awesome 2012 Calendar features some of my favorite greyhounds and many other adorable faces. The proceeds from the sale of these calendars will help to fund the care of current and future incoming greyhounds in need of suitable and loving homes.
KCREGAP has spent the last twenty years dedicating time and effort to rescue greyhounds from the racing industry. From addressing their grooming and basic needs immediately upon arrival, to ensuring the pups receive all necessary veterinary care, rehabilitation and adoption services.
Since its inception, KCREGAP has provided homes for over 5000 greyhounds!
Use this link to order your 2012 Greyhound Calendar today!
ARRR, MATEY!
Hand Over Yer Loot! Wishing You a Happy Halloween!
Love,
Pebbles, Bruiser, Joey, Brandi & Pete
Onesies!!
As the fall portrait season quickly approaches, have you been trying to find a solid matching top/onesie for your baby? Is it not one of the most challenging things you have ever had to do?!?
I know that by far, the challenge of finding a solid matching outfit for baby is the number one complaint I hear from parents. Everything has cute baby stuff on in…tractors and frogs or hearts and flowers…not really the look you want captured in a beautiful portrait that will hang on your walls for years.
Thanks to our awesome client, Sarah, I have news…the new Buy Buy Baby in Overland Park and online, has seven solid short sleeve and seven solid long sleeve onesies available for purchase!
I’m sure supplies are limited, so make sure you get yours today!
So Long, But Not Goodbye
Photography by Brandi Through the Eyes of Our Intern – Volume 5
As my KU move-in date moves closer and closer, my time at Photography by Brandi is also coming to an end. It has been, at minimum, an informative, fun, stressful, rewarding, humorous, confusing, and enlightening experience. I wouldn’t have chosen to spend my summer any other way.
I’ve learned about the importance of doing what makes a profit, while still valuing, above all else, that you are doing what you love to do. I’ve learned that the day to day in business can be fun and entertaining a lot of the time, but that it can also be an incredibly challenging day filled with spreadsheets and calculations. At the end of it all, though, the product you create fulfills all the hard work it took to get there. As I look back on times this summer, when I challenged myself or felt overwhelmed by a task, I now understand that I’m better for it. I know about frames, I know about mats, I know about shutter speed, and I’ve learned more than I could write in one single blog post. I’ve learned more than I could write in ten.
So now, here on my last day, it’s definitely bittersweet to say goodbye to the little upstairs office where I have spent so much time this summer. However, I have had an absolute blast, and I am under the impression that Brandi, Pete, and Tracy enjoyed having me around. So, hopefully, you might see more of me at a Photography by Brandi event in the not-too-distant future. Thank you all for reading!
-Bert
Bert, we had an amazing time with you this summer! It was a great chance for us to break out of the day to day activities and focus on the bigger picture…the whys behind the whats. It was definitely a reminder of how much we have accomplished, and how much more we plan to do in the future!
You always had great questions and thought provoking observations. You challenged us in ways that made us think about our business and the who, whats and whys behind our decisions and our actions.
Thank you for everything you helped us with this summer. We made some awesome progress on a couple of large projects that have been in the works for a very long time!
We’ll never forget the summer where four of us (and three dogs) were squeezed into a tiny office space, with 100 degree temperatures outside, driving the inside temperatures up and up (with way too many computers running all at once)! We will cherish our mid day breaks for chicken lunches and great conversation – ranging from technology to politics?!? to Harry Potter to KU to business!
You are definitely invited back to the studio anytime you want!
-Brandi
A Furry Fresh Look
Our favorite veterinarian hospital, Blackbob Pet Hospital, is one of the locations around Kansas City where you can see our portraits on display.
Earlier this year, I noticed that the current portraits had been hanging for a few years. This means that it was time for a fresh look! Back in May, we invited Blackbob Pet Hospital employees to bring out their furry kids for a special Pet Portrait Day. We had cats, dogs and a little bit of craziness, but we captured some adorable images!
Now, those adorable, four legged, furry faces, including Bruiser, the Blackbob Pet Hospital employee’s “kids” and a few other Blackbob patients adorn the lobby, hallway and exam rooms.
We feel very blessed to have this opportunity to hang these beautiful portraits for all to see!
Taking It On the Road
Photography by Brandi Through the Eyes of Our Intern – Volume 4
Last week, Pete and I traveled around the local area, visiting several businesses with which Photography by Brandi partners with in marketing. The way that marketing occurs is variable in many ways. At some places, there is simply a small countertop display and we simply restocked the business cards. At others, I was in awe of the way Brandi’s portraits seemed to paper the walls. At first, I was confused as to why one particular business seemed to have Photography by Brandi’s images seemingly on every wall, while others merely reserved space on the counter for business cards.
As the day went on, the mystery dissolved. At the businesses where we had a stronger presence, Pete and the local staff members greeted one another as old friends; they knew one another by name, asked questions about each other’s personal lives, and shared jokes as if they were sitting around having dinner conversation. At the other locations, the relationship was formal and professional, but it was perhaps just only that.
When I asked, Pete made it clear that when a business has a strong, lasting relationship with another business, it is easier to work together in mutually beneficial ways. Many of the businesses that have the most successful relationships with Photography by Brandi have had staff members out to the studio to experience a portrait session. This allows them to feel personally connected to Photography by Brandi as they see how the business works, and this personal connection helps them promote our business in a more natural way. It became clear to me, by the end of the day, that when two businesses maintain a purposeful relationship, in whatever sense of the word, the relationship benefits both businesses to a greater degree, and the relationship will last that much longer.
I think this is a supremely important lesson for me to learn. In addition to what I’ve learned about how to run and manage a business from the inside, I learned last week, the relations that a business builds with other businesses can be nearly as crucial as any other factor.
-Bert
For the Love of It
Photography by Brandi Through the Eyes of Our Intern – Volume 3
Last week, I talked about the importance of “boring stuff” – logistics, inventories, profits, and the like – in a small business. As with everything, though, moderation and balance are key. A successful business should not be an entity solely driven by the pursuit of profits. Logic is crucial to a business’ success, without question, but human nature also has its own place in the business world.
Allow me to explain. Brandi does a myriad of different type of sessions – newborn babies, children, seniors, families and pets. The profitability of each type of session is carefully monitored, but what Brandi loves to do, deep down, is not going to be affected by any such number. Brandi loves to photograph children, babies and pets, because of their passion for life, their big personalities and their individualism – not because those types of sessions produce, on average, some arbitrary number of dollars more than any other type of session.
The understanding that Brandi has taught me, about not only doing what makes money, but also what you love, has given me perspective on business. A business must absolutely understand profitability and what goes into it. Without these tools, a businessperson is merely a hobbyist without a plan. However, a business completely devoid of passion, and tangible human nature, will find itself in a position of equal disadvantage – a “corporate machine” with no real rapport with its clientele. The absolute key, I’m finding more and more as I complete my internship, is finding that happy medium between what you love to do and doing what pays the bills.
-Bert
