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Little Weekend Links 3

We kicked off this week with a visit to an unusual event – a launch party on Monday night to celebrate the opening of…

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Hi, I’m Steph.

I’m a freelance social media strategist, content creator and photographer who loves to support and promote small businesses. Born in New York, I currently live in London with my husband Jorge, our kids Emilia and Sebastian, and Oakley, our lazy cat. Beyond work and family, I love to travel, read, explore, blog, bake, eat and drink lots of tea. Read my story here!

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Shop Photography Prints on Etsy

Hi, I’m Steph.

I’m a freelance social media strategist, content creator and photographer who loves to support and promote small businesses. Born in New York, I currently live in London with my husband Jorge, our kids Emilia and Sebastian, and Oakley, our lazy cat. Beyond work and family, I love to travel, read, explore, blog, bake, eat and drink lots of tea. Read my story here!

Shop Photography Prints on Etsy

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The sound of a gull squawking always transports me

The sound of a gull squawking always transports me to the seaside, the memories of salty gulps of ocean air, the vinegar taste of fish and chips on stony beaches, long rickety piers with penny arcades and crashing waves lapping continuously like a moment stuck in time.
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I’ve finally gotten around to focusing on my Etsy shop a bit more over the last few months, something I’ve wanted to do recently. Maternity has given me some time to add some new listings, like this gull.
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Profits from any Etsy sales in my shop (link in bio) today through Saturday when I participate in the 5k will go to The MTeam (@themteamcares) in support of @bestbuddies and people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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#ohidoliketobebesidetheseaside #gull

Trying to check in every 10-15 posts, so here I am

Layers of light and landscape in black and white,

Layers of light and landscape in black and white, this rugged view over Tenerife is softened by the sun rays.
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I set up a black and white category in my Etsy shop where an 8”x10” print of this one was recently added as part of my “Sun and Sea in Tenerife” series.
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And a fun life update: I’ve recently signed up for @me_and_orla’s well-loved 6-week Insta Retreat which I’m very excited to start at the end of the month. The class will be a fun way to keep up with the ever-evolving world if Instagram while I’m on maternity leave since I’m not currently working with clients. If you see subtle changes around here from October onward, it will probably be the result of many creative challenges and deep reflection.
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#blackandwhitelandscape #chasinglight

💛+💙=💚 Emilia’s been asking me questions

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Emilia’s been asking me questions about colour mixing lately and now I’m seeing connections everywhere.
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And what better place for a wander through a world of colour than London’s Notting Hill?
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#prettycitylondon #pastelaesthetic

How are you savouring the last days of summer?
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I love the change in seasons, especially these summer into autumn weeks, when beauty is not in the vibrant blooms and bright skies but the weathered roses, wrinkled petals curled brown and crisp at the edges, the faded leaves that crackle beneath our steps, and the misty mornings that better illuminate the loveliest little things right in front of us.
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This is a recent 8”x10” addition to my Etsy shop (link in bio), part of my “Autumn in North Tonawanda” series.
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#changeofseasons #lastdaysofsummer

Beach huts and a moody sky from a visit a few year

Beach huts and a moody sky from a visit a few years ago to windy Whitstable.
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The coastal town welcomed us with the distinctive scent of seafood wafting from the colourful harbour.
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Chalkboards announced the best jellied eels – “five bits for £3.50”, lobster tails for £1 or 50p for a crab claw. We opted for styrofoam pots piled full of chewy whelks and mussels drowning in vinegar, which we picked at with tiny plastic forks, savouring the unmistakeable taste of the seaside.
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We wove through the residential streets with their tiny, quirky front gardens, passed the town centre with its creatively presented independent shop fronts and followed signs to the harbour.
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Men with weathered hands fixed orange lengths of netting damaged in the sea – a tedious task.
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Tourists and locals were sipping down slippery, salty oysters for which this area is famous.
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We drank tea on a picnic bench near the sea, watched dogs trot by shaking their wet tails and admired the old boats with layers of peeling paint from years outdoors in the blustery wind and plenty of time bobbing along on the water.
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Wouldn’t mind swapping Putney traffic pollution for some transformative salty ocean air for a bit.
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A version of this print is now in my Etsy shop (link in bio) as part of a new seaside series.
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#beachhut #whitstable

Tenerife is an island is full of rich history and

Tenerife is an island is full of rich history and stories, incredibly diverse landscapes and plant life, a beautiful coastline, warm-hearted and welcoming locals, comforting food, colourful and impressive architecture, a culture of community and creativity, a deep blue sky and sea.
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Wild waves of the Atlantic bash against the black volcanic coast, flooding natural pools and tossing saltwater onto the shore in a chaotic spray. Water swirls back into the sea, a clear Aquarius blue. In the summer, people swim, but it is winter and the ocean is far from calm or warm.
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Explore beyond the tourist-pack south coast beaches and you’ll see that Tenerife has villages with cobbled streets, a snow-capped volcano, rugged landscapes of hills and valleys, architecture with typical Canarian character, colourful houses and fisherman’s cottages, a bit of peeling paint, old wooden balconies, restored churches, small artisan shops, palm-shaded squares, sprawling banana plantations, and cacti taller than me.
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But everywhere, the deep blue sky and sea.
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This print and seven others are new in my Etsy shop as 8”x10” or 16”x20” this week (link in bio).
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#tenerifelicidad #travelprints

Fun fact: this lion on Westminster Bridge was once

Fun fact: this lion on Westminster Bridge was once on top of a brewery on South Bank. It was called Red Lion Brewery and was where Royal Festival Hall is now.
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(This print is in my Etsy shop as an 8”x10” / 16”x20” now.)
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I had a nice surprise in our veg box delivery this morning - a cookbook as a gift for joining earlier this year. The good old “surprise and delight” marketing approach at work. Love companies who know how powerful that can be and it’s a great tool for small businesses too. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It could be as simple as including a handwritten note in a customer’s order. Something to think about. If you have a small business and you do this already, what do you use?
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What would “surprise and delight” you if you ordered a print? I often put mini photo notecards or photo gift tags from my old stock from when I was doing craft shows into orders but my stash is running low so may think about something different soon.
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#mydarlinglondon #london_enthusiast

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