The Story Behind ArtCafe Studios
There’s something a little funny about writing the story of your own journey. When you’re living it day by day, it rarely feels like a neat story. It feels more like a messy stack of sketchbooks – a few beautiful pages, a few scribbles, some coffee stains, and the occasional “what on earth am I doing?” moment.
But when I step back and look at the past twenty years, I can now see the thread.
How My Photography Journey Began
About 24 years ago, after working in the corporate world and after a big move, I picked up my camera and decided to do something more creative going forward. Photography was in my blood (I also took many courses). My dad had filled countless albums with black-and-white prints, and I grew up looking at dias projected on the wall. Yes, that was way back then.
If you had asked me twenty-something years ago what my future business would look like, I would have said without thinking twice: photography. Back then, my focus was maternity and newborn portraits, and those early days were full of excitement and trial and error.
I photographed friends and neighbors who were kind enough to let me practice, experimented endlessly with lighting setups that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t, and spent many late nights teaching myself editing techniques. It was messy and imperfect, but it was also incredibly exciting.
In 2013, I officially made it real and established my LLC, ArtCafe Photography. By that point, photography had already grown into something much bigger than a hobby. It had become part of who I was.
Over the years, the little newborns I photographed started growing up. Babies became toddlers, toddlers became big kids, and families came back year after year. Naturally, my work expanded beyond newborn portraits. I began photographing families and milestones, and eventually storytelling portraits where imagination was everything.
That’s when things really became magical for me.
When Photography Became Storytelling
Fantasy sessions quickly became a favorite of mine. I loved brainstorming ideas with children about their next mermaid adventure, fairytale, or superhero mission, and then bringing those visions to life in the studio. Seeing the kids’ (and parents’) excitement when those ideas came to life was always one of the best parts of my job.
And then there were the holiday sessions with our Magical Santa. Instead of the rushed experience most families expect, the children had a full hour to talk, ask questions, and simply spend time with him. Watching their eyes light up as the story unfolded, and watching parents quietly become children again in those moments, never stopped being special. Those experiences created memories that families would talk about for years, and knowing I had a small part in that meant everything to me.
For many years, photography and storytelling truly felt like my calling.
I loved the creative part, of course, but what meant even more to me were the people. Watching families grow, seeing children come back year after year a little taller and a little braver, and being trusted with moments that mattered deeply to them was something I never took lightly. It never felt like “just taking pictures.” It felt like being invited into someone’s story for a little while.
But something else was also happening in the background that I didn’t fully recognize at the time.
The Conversations That Changed Everything
My sessions often lasted several hours, and not just because of the photography. Many of the women who came into my studio stayed afterward to talk. Sometimes we would sit with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine long after the camera was packed away, sharing stories about life, motherhood, relationships, divorce, stress, burnout, and the strange feeling so many women have of losing themselves somewhere along the way.
I was always grateful for those conversations and for the trust these women placed in me. Listening felt natural, and I never minded taking the time. What I didn’t realize then was how much those moments would quietly influence the direction my work would eventually take. They were shaping the next chapter of my life.
About four years ago, something started to shift for me personally. Some ongoing family challenges forced me to slow down and reflect in ways I hadn’t before. Around the same time, I started noticing a feeling I hadn’t experienced in my work before.
Burnout.
Burnout and the Search for Something More
I didn’t suddenly stop caring – quite the opposite. I care deeply about the people who walk into my studio, and I have always wanted to bring my full energy and creativity to every session. But somewhere along the way, I felt like the spark that had carried me for so many years had dimmed. After more than a decade of pouring my heart into this work, I found myself wondering where I was heading next.
I knew I needed to step back and figure things out.
Discovering Mindful Art and Creative Practices
What began as a search for answers slowly turned into something much more personal. I started exploring creative practices that focused on reflection, mindfulness, and emotional well-being. At first, I was simply looking for something that might help me reset and reconnect with myself.
That realization was uncomfortable, but it also pushed me to step back and start asking some bigger questions. Curiosity slowly turned into a much deeper journey.
Over the past few years, I became a Master Sound Healer and studied various forms of mindful and neuro-based art. I became a Certified Zentangle® Teacher, trained in the Art of Manifesting Method™, and explored creative art therapy practices that help quiet the mind and bring people back into the present moment (and away from screens and social media).
There was a lot of trial and error along the way. Some things felt immediately right, others took time to understand. And there were many moments when I honestly wondered where all of it was leading. For a long time, it didn’t seem to connect with the photography work I had spent years building.
The Evolution of ArtCafe Studios
I never considered giving photography up. I still love helping women see themselves differently through portrait experiences that celebrate their strength and beauty. I still love collaborating with kids on imaginative portraits and hearing their ideas about the next fairy or dinosaur adventure they want to create. And I doubt I will ever get tired of watching a child meet Santa and helping him in his workshop, or parents letting out their inner child during a Magical Snowman session.
Those moments are priceless.
At the same time, something in me was evolving. I had discovered creative tools that were helping me slow down, reconnect, and navigate life with a little more clarity than before. I knew there were many women out there who felt overwhelmed, stretched thin, and unsure of where they fit into their own lives anymore.
I just didn’t know how to bring everything together.
Clarity finally began to appear when I decided to pursue life coaching training. Interestingly, I didn’t start that process because I wanted to become a life coach. I was drawn to it because I wanted tools to help me work through my own challenges and better understand some of the patterns I was seeing in my life.
That experience turned out to be the missing piece, and the fog slowly started to lift.
Little by little, the pieces started falling into place. The years of conversations with women in my studio suddenly made more sense. The creative practices I had been exploring no longer felt like separate paths. They were part of a much bigger picture.
That’s when ArtCafe Photography slowly evolved into ArtCafe Studios.
New Doorways Into Creativity
Photography is still an important part of what I do, but now there are more ways for people to step into the creative experience. The new website reflects this shift through the idea of doorways – different paths you can take depending on what you’re looking for.
Some doorways lead to portrait experiences and storytelling sessions. Others lead to mindful art practices and creative exploration. All of them are rooted in the belief that creativity can help us slow down, breathe, and reconnect with ourselves in meaningful ways.
Last year, I began teaching Zentangle classes, and the response gave me a renewed sense of energy and purpose. Watching people relax into the process and surprise themselves with what they created reminded me of how powerful simple creative practices can be.
The women who shared their stories with me over the years are always in the back of my mind when I think about this work. So many of them were carrying enormous responsibilities or navigating life transitions, while quietly feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or burned out.
I know that feeling well because I have lived it too.
The creative practices I share today are not abstract ideas or theories. They are tools that helped me slow down, regain perspective, and reconnect with creativity during a time when I was trying to find my way again.
Are all my days perfectly calm now? Of course not. Life still brings its complicated moments. But I have found ways to meet those moments with more awareness and creativity than before, and that is something I truly believe is worth sharing.
If you explore the updated website, you’ll see those doorways waiting for you. Each one offers a slightly different experience, but all of them invite you into something meaningful – whether that’s creating a portrait that tells your story or picking up a pen and discovering what a few simple lines can do for your mind and heart.
You don’t need to have everything figured out before stepping through one of them. If something you see sparks that little feeling of wanting to explore, I would love to hear from you.
After all, the most meaningful journeys rarely follow a straight line. Mine certainly didn’t. But somehow, every twist and turn led me exactly where I needed to be – to a place where creativity, storytelling, and reflection can live together under one roof. It took quite a bit of trial and error to get here, but it finally feels purposeful again.