Meet Our Photographer - Jade Tinkler

 
For our Autumn/Winter photoshoot we had the pleasure of working with Jade Tinkler. The shoot was a great success, Jade captured the essence of our brand and the personalities of the models perfectly. We wanted to share a bit more about her photography here on the blog so we asked Jade a few questions about her work and inspirations at this time of year.






When did you start and what inspired you to become a photographer?

I first opened my photography business in 2008, photographing weddings and portraits.  After taking a few years off for ‘life commitments’, I relaunched my business in 2013, specialising in beautiful portraits of bumps, babies and children, as well as glamorous and elegant women’s portraits.  I’ve always had a passion for photography, and get a real buzz from being able to capture special moments that mean the world to the client.  I love looking back on photographs of my family, past and present, and absolutely treasure them.  Life is so quick to pass us by, and I feel it’s so important to take time out to record ourselves and our memories for future generations to look back on. 

What do you enjoy most about working with babies & children?

I love the spontaneity of it all!  No matter how much preparation I do, I never really know how a photo shoot will turn out, and that’s the fun of it!  It all depends on what mood the baby or child is in and what their personality is like, and I find it a fantastic challenge to work with this to draw out the best from every person and every session.  

What are your favourite pieces from the new Poppy & Hester collection?

Oh, there are so many to choose from!  I love the baby blankets – so cosy, and in soft delicate colours.  I think the cherry pink colour of the Charlotte Knit Jacket is beautiful and really looked fabulous on the models.  I must also mention the Freya Dress in Winter Cherry, which I think is gorgeous! 

What are you favourite winter activities and photoshoot locations?

I really enjoy winter, mostly for it’s proximity to Christmas!  Ice skating, taking my son to visit Santa, decorating the house, snuggling in front of a fire, staying warm and cosy when it’s cold, wet and wild outside!  That said, I love heading out and about for seasonal photo shoots – for autumnal sessions, it’s making the most of fallen leaves and the great seasonal light.  Outdoor winter sessions are a little more tricky, but the low sun is delicate and beautiful (when it’s shining!) and a shoot in the snow is always magical!

Tell us about Christmas in your household, and any special traditions?

For the past few years, my husband and I have been establishing our own traditions – a good mix of those that we both grew up with. Our son will be 2 and a half this Christmas, so a great age to enjoy it all, and I can’t wait to see what he’ll be like this year!  Opening stockings under the tree by candlelight, followed by a delicious cooked breakfast.  Opening some presents, before meeting up with family to share the festivities.  We always have a walk after Christmas lunch, to stretch the legs (and tummies!) and blow the cobwebs away – it always seems to be beautiful, crisp and sunny weather for it, and everyone you meet is happy and joyful.

This year we will all have an extra special Christmas present to look forward to, as I’m due on 22^nd December with another baby boy!

Check out Jade's website @
http://www.jadetinklerphotography.co.uk/
Styling by Poppy & Hester, see more from the AW photoshoot @
www.poppyandhester.co.uk

P&H @ Uniquely Brancaster this week

We are back in Norfolk this week for an exciting new event on the coast at Brancaster Staithe. Click here for all the details and come and see us for the first look at the new collection and the remaining summer sale pieces.

The event is on Tuesday 25th - Thursday 27th, 10am-5pm. We're looking forward to Wednesday when in addition to all the usual stalls & food there is a flea market taking place outside!

Hope you can come!

www.poppyandhester.co.uk

Winter Photoshoot - behind the scenes...

On Saturday we had our autumn/winter photoshoot at a lovely countryside location in Goudhurst, Kent. We had three beautiful models and two hours to get some great shots for our website and lookbook.

The new collection will be online this week so you can see all the final pictures on the website very soon, but we thought we'd share a few behind the scene shots and give you a glimpse of the AW collection and mood here first...

 

 

Next week we'll share a profile of our fantastic photographer Jade. She was truly fantastic to work with, amazing with the models and totally relaxed! She really captured the spirit of the collection. Such a fun day.

Autumn/Winter Prints

Our Autumn/Winter collection launches online in just a few weeks so we thought we would show you a sneak peak of the new prints and share the inspiration behind them. Again we have selected an organic cotton base for our own designs, it's slightly heavier than the summer poplin but just as soft, and all printed here in the UK.

'Tile Print' & 'Heart Stripe' in winter cherry

Our print designer grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, AKA The Potteries, home of the British pottery industry. Kate is a great lover of china, tiles and teacups and often finds inspiration in the patterns and designs on pottery. A trip to Porto with it's buildings covered in tiles became the inspiration for this season's 'Tile Print'. We tried out several colourways but in the end we settled on a pretty pink and pale grey, pictured above. It's also a small nod to the Seventies styling seen on the AW womenswear catwalks!

Our 'Heart Stripe' design has a much more straight-forward story as it began life as a doodle on Valentine's Day, and who doesn't love a heart print? The design is subtle enough to pair with our other prints and comes in too colourways, winter cherry and bright navy. One of our favourite pieces from the new collection are the reversible trousers with paper-bag waistband. Softest brushed cotton in denim blue on one side and our heart print in bright navy on the reverse, they are sure to be a wardrobe staple this autumn!

'Heart Stripe' in bright navy

We're already started work on our Spring/Summer prints with a guest designer and they are looking beautiful, some fresh florals and ditsy graphic prints that we think you will love.

Autumn/Winter is launching online in two weeks time, watch this space!
www.poppyandhester.co.uk

Norfolk POP-UP SHOP this week!

We have arrived in Norfolk and after a day on the beach today we are all ready to set-up tomorrow at the Dalegate Market in Burnham Deepdale for our pop-up shop! We'll share some pictures on Facebook & Instagram as soon as we are ready and then we will be open every day from 10am between the 2nd & 7th July.

It looks like it's going to be a scorcher this week so why not come and see our beautiful collection and pick up some dresses and tops ready for the summer holidays. We have some special offers just for pop-up visitors so come and see us if you can!

We also wanted to let you know it's not long until our summer sale, we'll keep you posted so you can snap up the last few pieces at special prices! Sign up to the mailing list on our website to be the first to know.
www.poppyandhester.co.uk

Hester Loves...

Pick Your Own Fruit Farms

We love summer here at Poppy & Hester and we love being outdoors. We also love food and eating, so what better way to spend a sunny day than picking a mountain of fruit at one of Britain's many PYO fruit farms.

First come the strawberries, cherries, gooseberries and rhubarb, closely followed by raspberries, blackberries and currants, our local farm even has apricots later in the summer, and as the autumn approaches apples, pears and plums.

We always end up with too much to eat but most summer fruits freeze really well and this year we have whizzed up loads of strawberries and made ice lollies. Cherries & blackberries bake into delicious clafoutis or crumbles and who can resist an almond frangipane tart!

It's a great activity for the kids so why not find a farm nearby and fill up a day of the summer holidays picking, baking and eating!

Our Norfolk Pop-up Shop

We are really excited to be popping up at the Dalegate Market in Burnham Deepdale with our summer collection from 2nd-7th July.

Throughout the summer Dalegate Market fill their 4 beach huts with designers, makers and vintage stalls with different shops there every week. We can't wait for our week of fun on the Norfolk coast!

Full details are on their website and facebook page, do come and see us!