This year we had our fall 2018 photo shoot on May 7th. We all had our fingers crossed for a dry day, as rain was forecast before and after, which only left us with a tight window of blue sky opportunity.
So may people think that a photo shoot is all fun and games, well my dearies it is not. It is a lot of work, with a lot of stress and with a lot of possibilities for things to go wrong. Head sizes too big or small, personality clashes, models who work great in a studio setting but look terrible outside with wind and rain blowing. You have 6 hours to pull it together, so that you get the bang for your budget.
And talking about budget, LOL, we get it done on a shoe string and a little pin money.
On the Friday, after reviewing what looks we needed for each hat, Philip my stylist and I, went cloths shopping in a New York downpour which drenched us to the core. Yes, the glamorous lifestyle of a hat designer.
Saturday I was up bright and early. Off to the showroom to pickup two large oversized bags of hats, before taking a taxi over to the Javits Center to set a booth up for Accessories The Show. What, you thought I was going to a photo shoot? Well, I am but I got work to do before hand. Helped set the booth up at the Javits Center which nearly toppled over and killed me, before running to Penn station get a train to Sayville. Arrive there 2 hours later. Run for the shuttle to the ferry.
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| Trains, boats, planes, ferries, shuttles, taxis, running, walking schelping all in a days work. |
While waiting for the ferry, lets take some still life pics of the hats. No rest for the wicket!
OMG, finally on the ferry. Sigh of relief. Life is good.
Sunday morning wake up bright and early. My prayers have been answered. We have crisp blue skies but it is freezing. Philip and I recheck the pic flow and lay the hats out with the clothes. The crew arrives on the 10.30 ferry. Yea, everyone shows up!
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| make up, prep talk, lets get this party started |
Blue skies will not last, so need to get to the beach asap.
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bitter cold wind off the Atlantic ocean but the models are all smiles
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Is this what they call a "cold smile"
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| Lets pretend it's a warm tropical breeze |
By 1 pm the cold breeze is unbearable so we move to a more sheltered spot.
The ominous grey clouds are coming but the show must go on. In between shots we are wrapping the models in blankets in an attempt to keep them warm.
Time to head to the bay side for better protection from the chill wind.
We, the behind the scene folks are all warmly wrapped up. Pity the models!
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| CR249-ASST AND CR286-ASST BRAIDED RAFFIA |
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| CR297-ASST ULTRA FINE PAPER BRAID CLOCHE |
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| CR309-ASST COTTON BUCKET |
It was a long day but when you have a good team, they make it happen!
Alex, the sun god, who had worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the sun shine, finally got his moment in front of the camera.
By 4.30 with the sun disappearing and the temperature dropping it was time to say good bye to
everyone.
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| GROMMET SAFARI CR303-ASST and NAUTICAL BIG BRIM CR304-ASST |
Now to those of you who have had negative responses to my past models, I say "you are welcome to your opinions". I will never understand women who hate other women and men who cast disparaging remarks on any woman's looks, especially when they are untrue. I am glad that you all feel that you are all so gorgeous that you can indeed cast the first stone.
At Callanan hats, we know our customer, we love her and we design with her in mind. She is our mothers, our sisters, our friends. She is every women and we love her and respect her. BIG LOVE to all our fans.
John Callanan
Instagram; eye_of_the_designer
