When the light hits you, just right, I forget everything, baby.

Sometimes, it feels as though everyone you’ve met in the world finally connects and you all move forward together. This post is a little something on feeling inspired. I heard this song by Hannah Cohen today as I was walking home it made me connect so many dots as to the women I’ve met, the women I’ve been working with this week, sensuality and musicality, too.  I first heard it on one of my many visits to a beautiful little florist’s studio here in the village of St Leonards. The florist’ name was Marcie. Marcie is a vision and unlike any woman you have ever met. I used to walk past her store daily on my way to work and always note to myself that one day, I had to go inside because I knew that something was pulling me in and it wasn’t simply the gorgeous aesthetic of her windows. When you walked into Marcie’s shop it felt like you were walking into a little visual heaven; the smell of her flowers would delight you first and foremost. Eucalyptus, pale dusty David Austin roses, peonies, poppy pods and waxflowers were regulars in her studio. Then you would look around at the organic, muted, french tones of her furniture, the dark hardwood of her worktop, gold and cracked edgings of the giant mirror that doubled the flowers in size and then, finally you were met with Marcie. If you could imagine a florist from a story book: a woman dressed in a vintage dress, ribbon tied around her neck, a heavy wool apron in a muted rust colour or added gorgeous layers of knitwear for the colder months, then this is Marcie. If a play wasn’t sounding out in iPlayer then gorgeous music would be playing just like ‘Baby’. I think like many people who were lucky enough to go into Bobo Flowers, I instantly fell in love. When you combine music with a visual sense it lights a little fire in your belly and I’m sure that in some parallel universe you light up. Marcie unapologetically brings herself to her business with the most charming disposition and I would challenge anyone who meets her to not feel something. Marcie has since moved on from the shop and is creating and crafting something new. I’ll surely keep you posted. From the initial thought of ‘having to visit that Florist’, seven years later Marcie is now going to be arranging the flowers for my very own wedding to Billy in March. What an absolute D R E A M. I am so lucky.

From one incredibly inspirational, beautiful woman to another, Tara Deighton. Tara is evolving her wedding dress business into what she has always wanted to do – lingerie. On Wednesday this week she bought six talented women, in their own right, to a little place in the old town of Hastings to shoot her first lingerie collection. The models: Simone is a counsellor and Lily is a model and a singer, too.  I’ll be brief here as I’ll be going into this shoot in a separate post because frankly, it deserves one of it’s own. But Lily and Simone are both incredible women bringing their smarts and their incredible bodies to shoot with and owning it. Then we had Nell who has recently graduated college but has been assisting Tara in bringing her beautiful lingerie to life. Then there was local artist Marie-Louise who sketched Simone and Lily whilst I shot them. That was a beautiful thing in itself. Please do view her instagram to see some of her beautiful sketches. What an absolute joy. It was an incredibly sensual afternoon where so many creative women were in one space creating the beginning of something. Women together – there’s nothing you can’t do.

I mention at the start of this post how everything comes together. I’ve been considering shooting Lingerie/Boudoir for a long time now and it seems that after shooting with Tara this week – now is the time to move forward with that. I want to create and allow a space for women to feel and be totally and utterly divine. Let’s forget the ‘P’ word (porn), the ‘I’ word (insecurity) and remember that sensuality is all your own and that it’s not against the tide to explore this side of you. The shoot will take place over a couple of hours and I will edit your shots to go into a beautiful little book. The book could be for you because – why the hell not? – or a really gorgeous gift for your partner. I’m making some calls over the next week or so so that I can be set up with this in the new year. Please do get in touch if you’d like to be a part of this and I’ll jot your name down. I already have a few names listed. How amazing is that? This week I’ve also been working closely with two formidable women who are marrying this December. They have the most successful and inspirational careers and they are not afraid to ask questions, explore their ideas whilst also being guided by and trusting in my skillset. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t intimidated at first but when I started to get anxious, I remembered that I could really learn something here. You can only move forward if you are challenged, right? You have to get out of your comfort zone and face things head on or you’ll just never evolve. It’s all moving forward to new-era-inspirational-wonder and I am so ready for it. Here’s to W O M E N. G X

I just want to be your baby sometimes, too.