5 Reasons I Love Linen
Sooo, it's no secret at this point. Yes, even my grandparents have noticed my new-found love for natural fibres. And my favourite, LINEN! Oh my word, I just love it. I can't stop wearing it, can't stop looking at it with all the heart eyes and I definitely can't stop talking about (sorry friends and fam). You see, I don't just come across things and decide THIS is for me. I slowly consider, I research it, I save photos and create mood boards to see if it fits my life (again, my poor family) and then I finally take the plunge and try it out. So when it gets here and lives up to, actually exceeds, my expectations I am gushing fountain of success filled enthusiasm and facts.So here we go!! 5 reasons I LOVE linen.
Sooo, it's no secret at this point. Yes, even my grandparents have noticed my new-found love for natural fibres. And my favourite, LINEN! Oh my word, I just love it. I can't stop wearing it, can't stop looking at it with all the heart eyes and I definitely can't stop talking about (sorry friends and fam). You see, I don't just come across things and decide THIS for me. I slowly consider, I research it, I save photos and create mood boards to see if it fits my life (again, my poor family) and then I finally take the plunge and try it out. So when it gets here and lives up to, actually exceeds, my expectations I am gushing fountain of success filled enthusiasm and facts.So here we go!! 5 reasons I LOVE linen.
The texture. Oh my word, I have always loved the texture of linen. Truly, before I even knew that linen was it own specific type of material, I was attracted to its character and old-world charm.
PET HAIR, fellow animal lovers have I got good news for you!! The pet hair doesn't stick. I mean, EEEEE!!! I love my animals but I just HATE walking around with their hair stuck to me.
It's very hard to stain. So if I am honest, my biggest fear when purchasing quality clothing is that I am going to ruin it. I'm a wee bit of a hot-mess, with kids and lot's of animals. But all my linen washes up like an absolute dream!! A little anecdote for ya: Last summer we went for a little girls day and took my daughters to get their fingers painted at the salon. Nora choose a dark sparkly purple because it 'looks like a galaxy Mom!!!'. Well she accidentally rubbed her wet nails on the chest of my blue and white dress (cue inner turmoil). By some miracle I kept my cool and calmly (while crying on the inside of course) asked for some nail polish remover. Most of it blotted out, but it remained just a little grey-er in that area. I honestly didn't have the heart to deal with it for months. But just a little while ago I decided to give it a go. I washed it on the delicate cycle in my washing machine with a little natural stain remover and oxy-clean and wouldn't you know it, she came out as good as new!!! I still cannot believe it but I'm happy as a clam.
It is environmentally friendly! 'Nough said.
It's wears like dream all year long!! Linen is very strong and becomes so wonderfully soft with time. It is warm in the winter and cool in the summer!
Ok and I am all about balance so here are couple things that you may not love about linen.
It wrinkles. I honestly don't find this to be a problem for myself. I love its rustic look!!!
It costs more than synthetic fabrics. Personally, I find this is 100% balanced out all the benefits of linen.
It relaxes with wear. If you love tight clothes, this may not be the best fabric for you.
It can be a bit rough if it is brand new. But this won't last long at all, after a couple washes it relaxes and softens!
Thanks for joining me fellow nerd, capsule-curious, clothing enthusiast! I really hope this was helpful for you and I would love to hear what you think! Are you already a linen lover? Do you think you might invest in any linen this year? What is your fav fibre to wear?Questions welcome, always.Karmen P.S. My absolute favourite responsible linen brands are Pyne + Smith Clothiers, Not Perfect Linen, and Only Child.
The Taylor Family takes on Westerner Days | Red Deer Family Photographer
Ever since having a family of my own, photographing parents and their beloved little ones has taken on a whole new meaning. I love tagging along on little outings or just spending some time documenting everyday life. This session was a first though! Thanks so much for having me join you at the Westerner Days Fair Taylor fam, I am so totally in love your photos! I hope that you are as enchanted as I am!Would you ever get your family photos taken at the fair? If not, where would be your dream location?!
May your portraits age like a fine wine!
The truth is I don't want your portraits be that cheap pair of flip-flops that broke after one summer of use and then were carelessly tossed into the garbage. I want your portraits to be that favourite pair of leather boots. You know the ones! The ones that just make you feel so darn gooooooood everytime you put them on! I want them to hang proudly on your walls or rest lovingly on your coffee table. I want your portraits to make you smile every time you walk by that gallery wall or flip through the pages of your album. I am wildly aware that this will not work for everyone's taste and/or budget and that's ok, because these days there are an incredible amount of photography options to choose from. But for YOU, you know who you are..... you think less just might actually be more, you would rather have 10 stunning prints for your wall than 100s of files lost on a hard-drive. For you, I want to create something one-of-a-kind, something long-lasting. Seriously though, is it egotistical of me to want the photos I take to be the ones handed down to your great-grandchildren? I imagine that they will lovingly look through them, perhaps they will need to smooth out a crease from it being accidentally folded into the gutter of a book, or maybe the ink will be slightly faded from sitting on that sunny livingroom shelf, and they will wonder to themselves about what life was like all the way back in 2018 with all it's strange, beautiful moments and trends.
In the Desert | Mojave Preserve California
Driving the through the desert is a magical experience (highly recommended), you come across sights that seem like they could only be from another planet. Some you drive by with eyes widened, others require you to slam on the brakes and turn that car around. This was one of those times. A lone Foo Dog just off of Route66 in California.Model: Rebecca Hughes Poncho: sweetjolieboutique.com Jewelry: volerra.com (PS. Volerra is having a HUGE sale today!!)Travel Dates for the remainder of 2018 are listed HERE on my website. I will be taking portrait and brand sessions at all locations, just shoot me an email or comment below if you have any questions!
What did I do before photography? | Embarrassing Photos Included
I recently had someone ask me, "What did you do before this."For a second I was confused, but soon after realized what she meant; what was I doing before I became a mom and started taking photos. My reply, "Nothing. This is what I went to school for!"She had no idea, and I suspect a lot of you didn't either. You guys, the becoming a professional photographer part of my life was so long ago, in fact it's been 9 years since I got that business licence. Sometimes I forget just how much that stage in my life shaped both me and my business. So what do you say, shall we do a little reminiscing today?
It all started in 9th grade when I signed up to go to Mexico with our church. Before this trip, I had been to the Calgary Zoo haha. So ya, let's call it the beginning of Karmen's love affair with travel.
My mom lent me her beloved camera (honestly still can't believe this, thanks Mom). It was her baby, a Nikon F80, silver and black, rather large for a young girls hands. Attached to the front was a zoom lens, and in the back I loaded roll after roll of film. You guys, I easily shot a roll of film a day and was quickly promoted to trip photographer lol.When I got home I dropped that giant ziploc bag of film off at the local London Drugs and waited. Oh my word, does anyone remember the gloriousness of waiting for your film to be developed?! Everything about it, right down to that weird chemical smell is something I will never forget about shooting film. When they were finally finished, my mom and I sat in the car in the parking lot (like we did every time a roll of film was developed) and looked through them all. She thought they were really good, and I mean that's all that really matters amiright?She encouraged me to enter them in some contests, I won. I was shocked..... 
But basically my head was in the game to graduate High School and to go to university for something BIG. You see, at the time, both my Mom and Nana had been single moms who devoted their lives to raising their families. No post-secondary for them meant I WAS GOING TO GO UNIVERSITY! I was going to get a degree and it was going to be for something important. Together we thought that perhaps I would be a great lawyer or a doctor (soooo not smart enough haha) or a nurse. I wanted to be a Archeologist.I focused on my core subjects throughout highschool, I didn't take a SINGLE art class haha. The irony. I had an after school job at a local coffee shop (shout out to Kavaccino's!!) and I savvvved and savved for tuition. But, truthfully, I ended up spending most (ALL) of it on a trip to Europe and then a trip to Bolivia. My logic here, the government certainly wasn't going to give me a loan to travel..... and I still needed some time to be 100% sure I knew what I wanted to be before spending an insane amount of cash on schooling...You see this idea of being a photographer was creating a lot of doubt (and excitement) in my mind, something about my previous plans just didn't seem right anymore. But a photographer? I mean, is that really something that can be a career? I decided to wait another year. I got a job at a cricket farm. Yes you heard right. I was indeed a cricket wrangler lol. During this year one of my former teachers said the magic words I needed hear, "I think you would make a fantastic photographer"... That was it, apparently that was allll the validation I needed. I decided the time had come to be brave and leave all my carefully laid plans behind for something entirely different. I was going to apply for NAIT's competitive photography program, and if I happened to be one of the 28 people chosen for the program then I would be starting school in September!! Weeee! Cue the nervous anticipation.Needless to say, I got in and, oh friends, the fit couldn't have been more perfect despite the fact that I hated the city (not for long tho, Edmonton won me over with her subtle charms). I LOOOOOVED both the artistic and technical details of photography. I loved breaking down lighting and understanding it. I loved the chemistry of developing film. I loved rich history of photography and photographers. I loved it's impact.By the end of my first year I was already working for several incredible photographers and I will always be so grateful for all the knowledge they shared. It didn't take me long however, to realize that I didn't want to work for someone else. I wanted to start my own studio. I was clueless, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.But here we are today, through all the ups and downs. 9 years, many trips and two babies later; I still LOVE it. 