With time, comes clarity.

Before I got into the thick of this business I don’t think I gave much thought to the long term relationships I would develop with many of my clients. Brands and businesses that have stuck with me since day one have grown alongside me. While my skills and tastes seem to shift & evolve, so do those of my clients.

So much of the beauty emerges in how we respond to the changes in eachother.

Francine, owner of Cascadia Skincare, has grown her business and moved completely to online sales since I met her in 2018. But that’s not all that has shifted. Her early creative vision was one of simplicity; clean & beautiful, in-nature & plant based were the words she used to describe her hopes for our first photoshoot together; 4 years later I hear all of that direction, but she’s tossing in “wild feminine”, “diversity”, “unapologetic”. There’s a wisdom that’s there now, a knowing of self, a wild side with radical self acceptance. The conversation has changed globally since 2018, and its pretty darn evident both in Cascadia Skincare and Nicole Leclair Photography too.

The images here tell the story better than my words. The first was taken in 2018, and the second in 2021. The branding photos showcase a beautiful woman displaying a plant based Cascadia product in nature and yet despite the similarity between the two, there’s a very distinct energetic difference. Cascadia seems to know itself better in the later image. There seems to be more maturity and depth in the later one. The photography and styling lean into the strength and storytelling over time.

I stand by the 2018 image, I love the light & style of it, but there’s absolutely something magical in the clients that I see that never stop asking questions. It can be hard when you’re starting out or in the middle of the chaos, uncertain of who your audience is and what you need to tell them. It’s like you know you're close, but maybe not quite there and boy can that become frustrating. However, it wasn’t without the first steps in 2018 that Cascadia could come this far; it’s as if the early shoots and exploration of one’s brand becomes a part of the narrative and never-ending journey to emerge into what the brand and business will evolve into.

The high achievers that work alongside me for years that are vulnerable enough to surrender to this creative vision get to this level of magic, and wow, is it ever worth it. It makes me wonder what’s around the corner for us as we both continue on our business and personal journeys. Watching this brand evolve is like witnessing a magnet getting charged; when you know your brand and your business this well, people can’t help themselves. They just wanna be a part of it too.