Behind the Scenes

When the lovely and talented Purse & Clutch stylist and photographer, Stephanie Press ofHold Vintage, suggested that we have the next part of our photo shoot at 7:00am I laughed. Then I realized she was serious. Turns out, she was also spot on! The light was absolutely beautiful ... and here I was hoping we would hate it and decide that a few more hours between waking up on a Sunday morning and smiling with a clutch was necessary. 

So Steph comes in with her usual array of fabulous vintage finds and we get to work. Well, I should say that after a strong cup of coffee (or two), we get to work!

I got a little jump on the morning and had started my make up unbeknownst to Steph. When we sat down she commented that my skin looked really great. Isn't that the hope of a good powder? That people think that 1.) your skin looks great and 2.) that you've not put on make up yet?! 

I'd never usedEveryday Mineralsmake up, but since they are an Austin based company and have very similar values to P&C I was thrilled when they sent a package of oh-so-fun goodies for us to use on the shoot. I can't recommend their Natural lucent powder more! And as Steph was putting on the blush (with the really great angled brush they sent us!) she commented on how bright the pigment was and how natural it looked. For our shoot we used Nature's Sweet Side and New Car Smell and I'm really please with how it photographed!

Then on to lips! If you had a chance to read about myNew Year's Resolution you know that I'm on a quest to find a lipstick that I can wear effortlessly. I may have just found my match. Everyday Mineral's lipstick feels more like chapstick on my lips and has such lovely natural colors. Just my style! In the shoot, I wore the shade Love Birds.

So Steph and I head to Lakeshore Drive with her bike in tow. And bike pump...that we couldn't get to work...and we started experimenting with angles of light and different adorable bags. All the while listening to the Austin rowing club shouting commands ("Oklahoma! Dallas! Lane 2!") as we wondered why others were up that early on a Sunday morning. 

As I fought to keep the adorable vintage hat on my head and out of Town Lake, I couldn't help but smile. Who would have thought that helping to create jobs for those with limited opportunities could be so much fun? It's really exciting to see my vision for Purse & Clutch continue to come together: using fashion and business to promote the beautiful work of artisans in developing countries to bring dignity to the process by curating products that stand on their own accord.