February 24, 2020 was the last time I attended a Bloom meeting at Fort Lauderdale High School. Bloom is an after school, student-led program that meets on Mondays, that is until Coronavirus came to town. These after school Bloom meetings hosted and sponsored by Taylor’s Closet create a safe space for girls to feel loved, share their stories, and realize how special they are.
During these crazy times Taylor’s Closet has taken Bloom online with Bloom at Home. Bloom at Home is an online iteration of the after-school club. Updated every few days, their online portal is an opportunity for the community of teenage girls in South Florida to stay connected and be encouraged during this uncertain time.
What’s totally amazing is that Bloom at Home is available to EVERYONE! Does your teenager need a pick-me-up? To sign up for Bloom at Home text JOIN to (844) 207-1036. Every week your teenager will receive a few texts with a link to inspirational messages and fun activities for them to do at home.
Do you know of a non-profit that could benefit from custom photography to tell their story? Send me a message. I’d love to know more about them.
I met Violette de Ayala, founder of FemCity when I first ventured into the world of networking in 2012. The connections and relationships I built through FemCity are strong today. Much of the growth of Courtney Studios is a direct result of the support of the other FemCity members. FemCity is more than your traditional “shake hands and here’s my card” business networking group. FemCity is a Members-Only Organization infused with gratitude, positivity, purpose and soul. Members connect through local gatherings, and an online community.
Sorry guys, it’s girls only.
FemCity is a great online resource to connect with other women entrepreneurs during this time of Covid19. Check it out.
Violette, her support and friendship, is one of my biggest FemCity takeaways. She’s always up for a collaboration and getting together to update her professional headshots is always a good time.
PODCAST REC!!!!! If you’re looking for a smart and fun Podcast to add to your library definitely give “Gurl, You Are Not Alone” a listen. Gurl, You Are Not Alone is hosted by my dear friend Tonya Seavers Evans. I’ve known Tonya for 8 years. We met at FemCity networking events as bushy bright eyed entrepreneurs. Tonya is smart and classic and collaborating with her on new custom brand photography was a dream. We completed 7 different looks in our full day together, and truly created a comprehensive image library that showcases Tonya’s brand.
It’s a crazy world out there folks. In times like these curling up on the couch with your littles and taking comfort in a good book is the perfect medicine.
Meet Lauren Bercuson. Lauren, a media specialist is passionate about children’s literature. It was with this passion that she founded Happily Ever Elephants . a blog dedicated to Children’s Literature. Lauren has curated lists of children’s literature titles to teach and explain certain topics/themes and these can all be found on her blog.
Want to talk to your kids about feelings? Lauren’s got a list of books for that.
Want to talk to your kids about gratitude? Lauren’s got a list of books for that too.
In these uncertain times, a book can explain complicated issues to kids better that I certainly can. Now would be a great time to check out Lauren’s list of books about Hygiene as well as her list of resources for parents on “virtual learning.” Which is quickly becoming a reality for us with school aged kids.
I had the pleasure of collaborating with Lauren on new branded photography for the Happily Ever Elephants website, marketing and social media. If you’d like to see more from Lauren’s branding session click here.
I’ve been giving my time to Taylor’s Closet since 2012. Taylor’s Closet is an amazing non-profit in Fort Lauderdale whose mission is to create a community in which girls will be empowered to live happy, healthy, and productive lives, realizing their God given destiny, right there in the hallways of their high school campus. Taylor’s last “Bloom” meeting at Fort Lauderdale High School was at the end of May. To see more of this amazing after school program click here.
I just sent out the last Headshot Brunch gallery today. Yay me! To date, Headshot Brunch is my favorite event ever hosted at my portrait studio in Hollywood. I LOVE being able to meet and collaborate with other successful small business owners. We’re all in the game. It’s inspiring to hear what other people are doing to make it happen and take their business to the next level. By total chance, this round of Headshot Brunch was exclusively women. So for me, getting to hang out and connect was like an amazing business mastermind over the course of two days. I definitely came out the winner.
One of the topics that frequently comes up in conversations is the importance of custom branded photography for business. (probably yes because they are getting photographed) Branded custom photography is that detail that can make or break a business. In this age of social media, dynamic imagery is EVERYTHING!! Awesome quality images of you, doing your thing, telling your business’s story for your instagram and Facebook accounts can be a game changer for sure. I’ve started giving Courtney Studios some much needed attention this fall. New professional branded portraits taken by my dear friend, Heather Coronell. (you can see some sneaks here) I also just hired a freelance writer, Michelle Dempsey of Very Well Written to rewrite all the copy on my website. I’ve always written, or attempted to write, my own copy. I am NOT a writer. After 10 years I realized it’s time to leave things to the professionals and have it done right. (And finally get on the first page of Google.) As I build and grow my own business, so does my passion for helping others grow and build theirs through custom branded photography. I love seeing visions and brands come to life. Let’s chat about yours.
courtney@courtneystudios.com 954-367-6821
See you soon,
courtney
“Her work is distinct and holds a special place in our home.”- Marcy Hirsch -
“Courtney's photographs had a huge impact on NCLR and helped us raise over $1 million in December 2014. Her work is beautiful and engaging and shows the central goal of the fight for marriage equality -love."”- Ace Portis, Major Gifts Officer, NCLR -
“Courtney truly captured the uniqueness of our family and created beautiful, original works of art that we will treasure always.”- Darlene Giol -
