The Art of the Graceful Pivot
Erin Trumble
Well, here we are now, ten weeks into this crazy new world of COVID. As a small business owner who is directly affected by the success of other small businesses, this has been a scary time. Those of us in this situation have learned a new term that has become the life force of our time spent in isolation….pivot. Taking what we have done for so so long and shifting it in new directions to make it work.
If there is one person who could write a book on The Art of the Graceful Pivot, it’s my friend Ashley. And no, it’s not just because she’s got some killer hip-hop dance moves (but seriously she does! Check out her IG stories). This woman is an insanely talented wedding and lifestyle photographer—named The Knot Best of Weddings for the past three years in a row! But because of all of the wedding cancellations, as you can imagine her business has been put on hold. And here it comes….the graceful pivot.
But I’ll let her tell that story:
During quarantine I got real bored and very scared while trying to pivot my business in a pandemic. Needless to say there were lots of coffee brainstorming meetings (with myself) that turned into happy hours which inevitably turned into the norm. 🤷🏻♀️
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I put out some feelers on IG for small businesses interest in product shots. Contactless options for my business and theirs! Some of my favorite businesses reached out and I got to create some magic for them while I felt lost and confused about where my business was going.
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Enter @sparkle_and_stone. Erin custom made my wedding earrings and I’ve been obsessed with her creations and frankly her vibe for a longtime now. I received a package of her beautiful jewelry and I went to work.
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I felt alive. It was a new way to express myself, while creating art for my favorite small businesses. So, now I’m hooked because @sparkle_and_stonejust updated her website with the new images and it looks so badass. She’s gonna sell out of al her goodies so you better RUN to her store and grab yourself some accessories for when we get to hang with other humans again.
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If you’re a small business and need product shots for your website, social media content, Etsy store, please reach out and let’s create some gold.
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If you’ve read this far, virtual high-fives and a good ol’ smack on the buttocks to you.
I stole that from Ashley’s Instagram, which you should definitely follow.
@ashleytiedgen
https://www.ashleytiedgen.com
Contact her for all of your photography needs and enjoy this fun little video project that she created!
It just so happened that Ashley and I were mid-pivot at the same time, and as we shook our booties together, we made magic happen! I am so grateful for all the product photography that she’s done for me to make this website a reality, and for being an amazing example of how beautiful, empowering, and uplifting this creative industry/community can be.