You can't buy happiness but you can buy a bike...

If you managed to read my last post then you will be up to speed with the news that I am now working with Hill & Ellis managing their social media.

Catherine, the director of the company kindly sent me some of her products so that I could shoot some content for their Instagram and I had so much fun doing it! I love Insta/Pinterest, I am a really visual person and will happily spend hours looking at images. But I am most happy when I am taking photo's and editing them to bring something to life.

Here are some of the photo's I took if you would like to see...

The way Catherine found me was through a hashtag on social media as I had posted photo's of Patsy, my beloved Pashley Britannia. She then got in touch once she saw my profile explaining that I am a photographer, blogger and social media manager. I was thrilled that she messaged me and then after a long chat on the phone I gladly accepted her offer to work for her and it feels like such a good fit! 

She is very passionate about people getting outside and in particular cycling. Her company also plant one tree for every bag sold so it's great to work for someone who is thinking 'green' and has a strong focus on the environment.

She sent me a personalised wicker basket with 'Patsy' on the front as I told her I named my bike (do other people do this?) I also received a personalised saddle bag with my initials embossed on the front and also a very smart navy satchel which I am yet to photograph.

The saddle bag is so useful for storing things like your phone, chap stick, hair comb, sunnies.. it saves them from bouncing around in the wicker basket like hyperactive kids on a bouncy castle.

I usually carry water in the front basket and maybe a hat/headband if its too annoying to wear when I'm cycling along. The satchel is perfect sized for a laptop/notepads etc so for all the cyclist commuters this really is the perfect bag, once removed from the bike it can be carried or worn on the shoulder/across body. I haven't photographed it yet as my bike doesn't have a luggage rack so it has nowhere to clip onto right now.

The satchel and the saddle bag are made from Italian leather and they do both feel like such high quality and really well made. But there are vegan friendly options available; there are canvas panniers and the baskets are obviously wicker.

We discussed the sort of aesthetic that she was visualising and it couldn't be closer to what I love to do! She said she would like to see images of bikes in front of National Trust venues, country cottages, quaint streets and urban scenes like Brighton. These are all places that I would normally be visiting in my own time so this really does not feel like work at all.

As you can imagine I am desperate for the Spring weather to really kick in and for lockdown restrictions to be lifted further so that I can get to these places to shoot some content. I am so lucky to have a number of places local to where I am; I was thinking that Rye could be a good place to go as the cobbled streets would be the perfect backdrop. 

Also I am sure I can use Chiddingstone castle as a venue to shoot considering I could possibly use the images for their website/social media channels too!

I'm not sure how excited Mr Poachie is to be lugging Patsy all over Kent and Sussex (she is soooo heavy) but he fully supports me and my dreams, such a sausage.

These photo's were all taken at home. We had a warm weekend so I took the opportunity to get out in the garden. Spring hasn't fully 'popped' yet so I might have to redo some images as I was hoping for more daffodil backdrops and other blossoms. It also won't be long until we have a carpet of bluebells!

So that's it from me, I feel there are lots of exciting things on the horizon (and a ton of bicycle spam coming your way😊).