We are the almond milk drinkers, the Spotify playlist curators, the Everlane wearers. Our wanderlust is strong, but so is our love for shopping local. We see the world as a beautiful canvas, and we curate moments to make them pretty as a picture. We live life to the fullest, and we love ourselves a good cheese plate.
hint: this post is best read listening to this playlist
I got home from taking Truman out to see a missed call and a text message from Annie, owner of Just Hit Send saying, “Call me when you have a minute.” As a photographer, or really as a human, I fear someone needing to get in touch with me means there is bad news ahead. Quite the opposite, when I called her back she gauged my interest in coming to NYC for a collaboration with a yet-to-be-named “influencer.” Halfway through the call I was mentally packing my bag and deciding which Everlane neutrals to pair with which other Everlane neutrals.
A week and some change later I was at Annie’s New York apartment excitedly awaiting our shoot the next day. If there is anything I love more than taking pictures, it’s taking pictures of beautiful food — and even more, taking pictures of beautiful food in a lifestyle setting.
The project: photographing a gift box collaboration featuring That Cheese Plate (link to follow because there’s no returning to this post once you see her Marissa’s work.)
We planned a three-part shoot: part one in Manhattan getting photos for Just Hit Send, part two at Maman in Greenpoint, and part three in Marissa’s apartment where the cheese plate magic happens.
I’d never been to Brooklyn before until this past February where I met my friend from high school Jessica out to do karaoke for her birthday. As we walked from Maman to Marissa’s apartment, I mentioned this was only my second time in Brooklyn and that I was quickly falling madly in love with the neighborhood of Greenpoint. Just as I said that we came up on a beautiful church, about which I commented, “I bet it’s not Catholic. All the pretty ones aren’t Catholic these days.” I was wrong. It was St. Anthony’s Catholic Church. (Side bar: St. Anthony and I are tight — we won’t delve into it right here right now, but any time he pops up in my life, it’s a beautiful moment.)
Down the street we walked towards Marissa’s local bodega, née mini Whole Foods disguised as a local bodega. We grabbed cheese and charcuterie, bypassed the fresh pressed juice station, and walked over to Marissa’s sun-filled apartment. She put on her playlist, grabbed a minimal yet appropriate canvas, and got to work creating the most effortless yet intentional cheese board I have ever seen.
I danced around both Annie and Marissa, digital camera in one hand and film camera in the other, trying to simultaneously capture the moment and be fully present. With the cheese board complete and the photo shoot officially wrapped, we popped Prosecco and toasted to a day’s success and to Marissa’s official “blue check” on Instagram.
We sat and talked about rising signs, Enneagram numbers, Instagram highs and lows, you name it. As the afternoon drifted into evening, we offered to scoot out so as to not disrupt any plans she might have. She encouraged us to stay a bit longer saying she just had drinks with a friend later. Twist our arm. We stayed. Until I had to to get to the airport.
As anyone born in ‘92 would do, I used my precious time in the Uber to look Marissa up on Facebook, and not to my surprise found we had mutual friends, because #smallworld. We had two mutual friends, one was afore-mentioned Jessica. Sparing no time, I texted Jessica, “Hey do you now Marissa Mullen?” Quick text later, “Yea! She’s my best friend I’m about to grab drinks with her!”
Did I already say, “Small world?” Because S M A L L W O R L D !
A collaboration made in heaven if I’ve ever seen one. Annie’s curated gift boxes and Marissa’s thoughtfulness that goes into everything she shares came together in a product I am very thankful I got to photograph.
