10 Years of The Style Sample: A Lazy Retrospective

2019 marked my 10th year of blogging and the 10th anniversary of this site. Bring on the aluminum! When I was looking through photos to include in the How to Create a Marketing Campaign post, it was like an unexpected journey through the past decade. 2014, 2012, 2010… there are a lot of memories on this site. I’m a planner at heart, so I’m great at looking ahead and terrible at taking time to reflect....

The Future is ours to create

I’m so excited to be part of the latest fashion and design issue of Polly Magazine (in case you’re new here, I really love fashion and design). In the article, I talk about how I got started, where the idea for Tether came from, and where I want to take the platform in the future. The Future is a hot topic around here. Cincinnati is embarking on a Future City initiative, and I say it’s...

HOW-TO: Create a DIY Holiday Marketing Campaign for Retailers

As a marketing strategist, style editor, longtime blogger, and avid shopper, I have a lot of insights on what it takes to make sure the holiday season is successful and profitable for retailers. I’ve written posts about how to get your products into magazines, when to start PR for the holidays, and how to create a shot list for a photo shoot based on my experience working with independent retailers for the past decade. From...

Who says headshots have to be boring?

I’v had several opportunities to get dope photos taken (see here, here and here), but when the team at Studio 821 offered to help me out with new headshots, I jumped at the offer. Rather than the traditional smiling-with-my-arms crossed photos, I wanted to do something more colorful and beauty-focused. My usual MO is neutral colors and a basic facebeat, so I was counting on the genius of makeup artist Trina Paul of Pout Studio and photographer...

Planning a photo shoot? Here’s how to put together a shot list

This may seem like a “duh” statement, but I’ll say it anyway: In order to get what you want, you have to know what you want. Right. Duh. But you’d be surprised how often clients go into a photo shoot without a clear plan. Most people have vague ideas about what they want out of a shoot, but until we can project thoughts into each others’ minds Star Trek-style, a shot list is the best...