The Inspirations

The Inspirations: Tattooist Mike Harris

Kat

April 11, 2012

I always loved sleeve tattoos on women, so when I finally got up the courage to get one done myself I really did my research to get the very best artist I could. Mike, and the London studio he was working in at the time, was recommended to me by a heavily inked friend when I said I was looking for a cartoony, colourful and fun design - nothing to serious, just like me I guess! After spending 18 hours together I got to know Mike pretty well. I was surprised to find out he was so young but this along made me respect him even more. He is incredibly talented, devoted to his career and seriously inspirational. The perfect candidate for this week's Inspirations interview if you ask me!

The Inspirations: Abbey Warner of Sugalily

Kat

April 4, 2012

Abbey Warner is one of those incredibly giving and beautiful people. She is someone that I can always count on to dish the advice as well as have a dirty gossip with! I love her dearly and I'm totally chuffed to have her in The Green Room today. Women don't come much more inspirational than my friend Abbey. Hi Abbey! I'm so excited to have you as part of my Inspirations series. Can you tell us a little about yourself - Who you are, what you do etc? Hello! I am Abbey, a little bit of the team that makes up the Sugalily design studio, which is based in Derby, right in the middle of England. I also spend at least one day a week in London town, meeting clients. Within the business my role is as Creative Director, doing {most of} the design and looking after our wedding clients.

The Inspirations: Elizabeth Messina

Kat

March 28, 2012

When I say that I'm thrilled about today's interview... well I really truly mean it. 'Thrilled' is just one tiny little word but it's probably the only plausible way to describe how I felt when the email reply agreeing to this feature arrived. Elizabeth Messina is a wedding and portrait photographer who shoots on film. No stranger to wedding blogs (or print magazines for that matter!) she's had her incredible imagery featured on pretty much all of them. Her eye for love and emotion is like no other and she has just written her first book, due to be published on April 24th. Elizabeth kindly took some time out of her busy schedule to talk to me today.

The Inspirations: Liene Stevens of The Splendid Collective

Kat

March 21, 2012

You're probably all aware by now, that at the moment I'm loving teaching, learning and exploring the ideas behind running your own wedding business (hence The Green Room, my School of Rock workshops and my work with The Photography Farm!) Very early on in my wedding blogging career I became aware of Liene Stevens and her blog Splendid Communications. I found it invaluable and full of amazing snippets of advice and guidance when I was navigating the murky waters of trying to be my own boss. When I launched The Inspirations, Liene was top of my list of people to interview. I hope you enjoy eavesdropping on our chat...

The Inspirations: Ian Stuart

Kat

March 14, 2012

With a penchant for the opulent and dramatic, a style that makes him stand out from the bridal pack, Ian Stuart is a British bridal designer to be reckoned with. His statement style is unapologetic and one that makes people stop and pay attention. And pay attention I did, when an email landed in my inbox from the man himself, asking if I'd like to work with him to design a Rock n Roll Bride/Ian Stuart collaboration wedding dress. I kid you not! More on this soon, but for now...

The Inspirations: Jonas Peterson

Kat

March 7, 2012

Jonas Peterson is a wedding photographer, originally from Sweden but now living in Brisbane Australia. I first became aware of his work back in 2009 when he exploded onto the wedding scene with a photographic style so daringly different and beautiful that people couldn't help but stop and take notice. Since then I've been lucky enough to feature his work on the pages of my blog again and again. However today I'm going one step further, peeling back the layers, peering behind that lens and talking to the man himself.

The Inspirations: Lara Jade

Kat

February 29, 2012

I've admired Lara and her work for a few years now. I'm not only incredibly enthralled by her fashion photography and attitude to business (and a tough business at that!) but the fact that she found 'fame' so young (she started sharing her self portraits online when she was just 14!) and has achieved so much all before her 23rd birthday. 'Woah' indeed..

The Inspirations: Kirsty Mitchell

Kat

February 22, 2012

I came across the work of Kirsty Mitchell via flickr a few years ago. It was her 'Lavender Princess' image (above) that I first saw and I was immediately hooked. I'd never seen anything like it and I was smitten...head over heels in love in fact! It's actually hard for me to articulate how Kirsty's work makes me feel but needless to say she transports me to a magical world with every image that I'm lucky enough to see. If possible, Kirsty's story is even more moving than her incredible images. Get ready to be inspired... Hi Kirsty, can you tell us your story - how you started in photography and a little bit about your journey from then till now? I studied analog photography many years ago when I was 18 at art school, but this was before digital became mainstream. It was my first contact with the medium, and sadly I felt defeated and frustrated by my tutor's focus on the technical processes rather than creative expression. I saw photography as an art form not a science, and so in the end I followed a career into fashion design instead. It was another 13 years until I picked up a camera again in the summer of 2007. I was in the process of recovering from 4 months of chronic insomnia brought on by posttraumatic stress. The drugs I had been prescribed, had numbed my senses to the point where I had pretty much lost all awareness of touch, temperature and interest in the lives of the people around me, I was a zombie. I was undergoing hypnotherapy and slowly things began to return, but my sensitivity came back at an almost heightened state. It’s hard to describe without it sounding like a cliché, but it was like I was seeing the world for the first time, and I had an overwhelming urge to record everything around me.

The Inspirations: Princess Lasertron

Kat

February 15, 2012

You know Princess Lasertron right? Inventor of the felt & button bouquet (yes, the original inventor of the concept!) and fashion designer from Omaha. Jeez, it's hard to put into words how much I adore Megan, the lady behind the brand. After falling in love with her over the internet, and a mutual respect that grew from expanding our respective businesses at the same time, I was utterly flummoxed when she invited me to model in her catwalk show at Omaha Fashion Week in August. At the time I thought the trip would be a shrewd business move and nothing more. However yes while it certainly was, what I didn't expect was the epic and genuine real life friendship that would blossom from that trip. I love her, I love her family, I love her outlook on life and work, and I love love love that she's agreed to be interviewed in The Inspirations. My sister from another mister, I adore you...

The Inspirations: La Carmina

Kat

February 8, 2012

Reading the work of other bloggers is so important to me. I spend at least an hour a day (and often more!) catching up with my favourite non-wedding bloggers. I find they really help me stay inspired and not get trapped in the 'wedding industry bubble'. It's nice to feel a part of the 'real world' (however wacky!) too...otherwise I'd go mental. These other bloggers help me to keep what I do fresh and therefore enables my blogging to be more rounded - so thank you non-wedding bloggers!

The Inspirations: Nubby Twiglet

Kat

February 1, 2012

I discovered Nubby Twiglet around the same time as stumbled across Gala's blog. I fell in love with her enviable personal style, and like any good internet stalker I loved her daily blog updates - from her clothes she wore to the pretty fonts she designed. Then, in 2010, when I decided to rebrand Rock n Roll Bride, I knew there was only one graphic designer I wanted to work with. Luckily for me she was able to squeeze me into her crazy-busy schedule and the rest, as they say, is history! Since my logo and website overhaul we've also worked together on my media pack as well as Rock n Roll Bride Magazine...and yes, we are working on issue two right now (sneak peek at the end of this interview). AND in just 3 weeks time she, Gala and I just happen to be in Las Vegas at the same time so we're going to hang out in (OMG) actual real life...AND do a photo shoot together (squeeee!) Jesus, I must get my fan-girlness in check before that happens...

The Inspirations: Mark Niemierko

Kat

January 25, 2012

How can I possibly even begin to describe Mark Niemierko? Well, he's a high-end wedding planner based in London and a force to be reckoned with! But more than that he's one hell of a character, and one I'm honoured to call a friend. We met a few years ago when he invited me for drinks at The Charlotte Hotel (read: a fancy hotel that I couldn't afford to even step foot in) and I was super nervous. I wondered why the hell he wanted to meet me. After all, from the outside we appeared to be very different people and to have very different tastes and ideas about what made a great wedding. However let me tell you, I was wrong...it's not only nonconformists like me that get judged by the way they look! Mark and I got on like a house of fire from the moment we met and I can, in all honestly, say he's rated high in my internal list of favourite people. Despite his recognition and reputation, Mark is actually quite a private person. You won't find him spilling his guts on Twitter or wanting to tell people every idiosyncrasy of his life or his business. In actual fact, I haven't seen that many interviews or articles about him online that really peel back those designer suit layers and get right inside his head. Which is why, dear Green-Roomers, I'm utterly thrilled to be the one to share his secrets right here! If you dont learn a thing or two about running your own sucessful business from Mr Niemierko then I dont know where you will. It doesnt matter what kind of weddings or which market you want to attract; Mark is a genius marketeer, and the perfect representation of his brand.

The Inspirations: Gala Darling

Kat

January 18, 2012

Whenever I'm asked about who my favourite blogger is or where I find my inspiration, Gala Darling's name always comes up. It's hard to explain exactly how I felt when I first discovered her blog, then called iCING, back in 2009 - here was a girl, very much like me (well we both has pink hair and tattoos!) who was making a massive name her herself in the blogging world, but doing it her own way and with such inimitable style and sparkle - something I very much wished I could one day to do too. I was lucky enough to meet Gala when I was in LA in August. I've said it before and I'll say it again, she's just as beautiful and wonderful (OK actually more so) in real life as she is online. I'm thrilled to share this interview with you all today. I hope you find her as inspiring as I do!

The Inspirations: Emma Case (in Your Face)

Kat

January 11, 2012

There are a few things you need to know about Emma Case before you read today's Inspirations interview. Emma and I met about 2 years ago when she submitted this wedding to me. It was only the second wedding she'd ever shot. This was before the whole 'vintage' editing that you now see, like, everywhere was popular and I fell instantly in love with her unique style. A few months later we decided to meet up in London. We went for sushi and I fell instantly in love again, only this time with her. I really don't have enough words to express how much I love this girl or how bloody talented she is. I heard her speak about her work for the first time at the Featherlove workshop this summer and I wanted to cry because she's just so damn inspirational. Needless to say, she was the obvious choice to be included in this series...also because she's just as obsessed with her cat Max and I am with Henry & Rachel. If you have't heard of Emma before this then my dears, you are in for a treat. ...oh and the (in your face) thing? Yeah private joke, sorry about that...I can't really remember where it came from but it was something to do with making everything in a conversation rhyme. I now can't say her name without adding it onto the end now though. I'm pretty hilarious no?

The Inspirations: Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation

Kat

January 4, 2012

Welcome to The Inspirations. In this series I'll be interviewing people that have influenced me and my business in a variety of ways. I find every single one of the people I'll be profilling incredibly inspiring and I hope you will too. This week I chatted to Emma Jones of Enterprise Nation. I first discovered Emma after seeing her interviewed on the now defunct 'Working Lunch' BBC TV show. She was talking about supporting 5-9ers - i.e. people that work full time but run a small business in their own time. At the time, this was exactly the position I was in. I was working full time at the shopping channel, and running Rock n Roll Bride on my time off. I was so incredibly inspired by her story that I decided to drop her an email to tell her so. Within days Emma has got back to me, said she loved my website and would I be willing to be profiled in a book she was writing on the subject, 'Working 5 to 9 – how to start a successful business in your spare time’. Of course I said yes (my photo was even on the cover!) and since then I've been incredibly motivated by everything Emma does, in particular her work with Start Up Britain, a company that supports people wanting to start their own businesses. Not only is Emma amazing at what she does but the fact that her business is helping your business, makes her the perfect candidate for this first interview. I hope you find her as incredible as I do!

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