What do the new restrictions mean for BBBY as we enter the autumn season?
WOW - what a year it has been! I don’t know about you, but I feel so grateful we’ve been able to spend time with our young family and that lockdown was during the summer months as opposed to the autumn & winter we’re about to enter.
I watched with much anticipation, as I am sure many of you did, this lunchtime’s briefing (22 September 2020) from Boris Johnson and Westminster. The good news is that, because we’re not a high street “bums on seats” machine our laid back style can remain intact and we’re fairly sure that you won’t notice that much of a difference which in this new age of having to pre-book everything, early night shut downs and numerous head counting can surely be a refreshing, right?
I’m going to be honest… As a mum, my heart is absolutely racing. My nine year old has a suppressed immune system and I have serious head and heart on the most mundane tasks - from sending her to school to organising her younger sister’s birthday party (It’s in November but I like to be prepared!). As a daughter, my mum has recently beaten breast cancer and her feisty (that’s the polite word for stubborn, right?) attitude has seen her kick it’s backside and remain in her office seat at a local college in Yorkshire, supporting students from across the country. And for me? I managed to get diagnosed with pneumonia in July! All is well but I’m still taking it steady and my aim is to take on the big hill linking our village of Nether Heage, with the neighbouring Heage (on the outskirts of Belper) without getting breathless before the end of the year!
HOWEVER, my role with you lot, in Be Bold Be You, is to listen. I listen to your stories. I listen to your personalities. I (hopefully!) guide you on outfit advice and style’s of photography so that we can ensure that those photographs are unique to you and not another selfie with a filter attached. I owe you a MASSIVE thank you - you’ve allowed me to ask YOU the questions when it comes to covid-19 and you’ve let me learn how you want this experience to work so that you can enjoy YOUR time and leave covid-19 at the door… And leaving covid-19 at the door sounds amazing, right?
SO - what does covid-19 mean for both Studio 1825 & Be Bold Be You Photography? In regards to BBBY we’re going to do the following to move forward:
Following Boris' announcement this afternoon (22 September 2020) both James & I feel we made the right decision in limiting makeover based experiences to one a day. We’ve now decided to keep this as a studio rule for the foreseeable future.
Our regular check-in’s with our freelance makeover team will stay until further notice and we’ll be able to check in about both your safety, our safety and all of our client’s safety (our Stylist’s are freelancers so your custom is as important to them as it is to us during this time!)
Following on from the makeover team, we will still ask ALL of our clients to provide their own mascara and their own lipstick/gloss to avoid cross contamination
We will be continuing our protocol of asking all client’s to e-sign our covid-19 guidelines, before the day of their shoot, so everybody is known what is expected of them to protect both them, us and our families
We’ve invested in more machine washable blankets, throws and fabrics to ensure we can both isolate and thoroughly wash key props between shoots. This does mean that the hand crafted satins that you all love will not be available for 2020 however we’d much prefer to be safe than sorry for you all!
Due to the amount of props needed for a shoot we’ll now be limiting the number of #beboldbeyou experiences we shoot to four a week. This will impact our business financially but we are, quite frankly, proud that client's have felt safe in our environment and we wouldn't want it any other way.
Within the next week, we will have created and launched our “minimal” experience for those who are wanting to have a #beboldbeyou experience but are wary of the close contact element included with hair & makeup. With this in mind, we’ll be cutting out the hour in hair & makeup beforehand so you can do your own and not have to worry about people being too close to you. We’ll also cut the staff numbers down to just TWO people: one shooter (James) and one assistant (me!). As James & I are married we’ll be from the same household and, if I’m honest, our social life is none existent due to having three daughters! Our evenings are, pretty much, sponsored by Netflix! In short - you’ll be in safe hands.
The good news:
this family run, independent business, is still very much alive and kicking! We really hope you'll join us and we'll all be able to look after each other, this christmas.
J&K