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Come with us behind the scenes for photo shoot planning!
Ettie+h new collection for SS24
It all starts months in advance – destinations have to be thought about and decided on……. where do we want to go? What ‘look’ do we want for the catalogues? What colors, prints and designs are in the collection and what sort of place or area will these sit well in? Will the area work with babies and young children? Whats the weather going to be like? Will there be enough little models in the nearby vicinity? How easy will it be to get all the team there and will there be somewhere big enough for us all to stay?
The research begins….
Once we have found what we hope will be a fabulous destination with wall to wall sunny weather then the plans are put into action! We have booked places where we are told ‘’it never rains’’ or ‘’its always sunny here’, and of course rain, storms, cold winds and sea fog have all arrived so we have learnt by experience that nothing is guaranteed!
The next big question is will the samples arrive in time? Good communication with our lovely factory is always key and even then occasionally sample production can go right to the wire. We have in the past had to start a photo shoot with a few samples only to have more arrive each day as went along!
Usually a week or so ahead of the shoot samples arrive and its like unboxing Christmas! This is often the first time we have seen the full and finished collection so its always a joy to unbox, love, ooooh and ahhhhh over all the gorgeousness that’s unpacked!
We are a worldwide team so once everything is in place those who are doing the shoot travel to the destination a day or two ahead of the shoot date and work begins!
Samples are unpacked and its then steam, steam, steam and more steaming! Every single piece needs to be looking its very best!
There is also a huge amount of work to do to pull outfits together, group outfits, coordinate outfits and make sure every piece is included. Its also at this stage where we try to match models with a stack of outfits but sometimes on the day this has to swap around if the child is bigger or smaller than we anticipated or the outfit just doesn’t work on them.
We also have to send scouts out to find the perfect place for the photos. A place where we can set up with all the samples, has a stunning vista, be convenient and safe for parents and carers with their little ones and have nearby facilities - not always easy to tick all the boxes!
Alongside all of this work and ahead of the shoot we also have a dedicated team member who a couple of weeks beforehand will have done a shout-out with local mums for age-appropriate models. This can be a challenge as samples only come in 2 or 3 sizes and as we all know children of the same age are not all the same size!
We tend to split the days into 3 fun sessions and often get people helping us out for the full day as well as those coming for just one or two sessions a day. The shoot usually happens over a week and we even have some crazy families who travel hours to come and join us – we love them all and are so happy they return to have more fun with us! The color coded spreadsheet needed to organise models and sessions is a joy to behold!!
Follow us on social media and keep an eye open for when we call out for models to see if you are close by to one of our upcoming shoots! Its always a whole lot of fun and shenanigans!
@ettieandh
We take 1000’s and 1000’s of photos along with 100’s of videos and these all need editing in preparation for building catalogues and websites – a HUGE task for our marketing team!
Once the shoot is wrapped up this work begins – usually with a tight timescale to get copy off to the printers! Take a look at the finished lookbook...
In May 2023 our photo shoot took place at the gorgeous Parks Court House in the Cotswolds in the UK. A beautiful medieval house with stunning gardens!
Mark, Michele, Daisy and Cameron were there to pull the SS24 collection together. Hard work but fun! The gentle color pallet of the collection with flowers and gardening prints looked fabulous against the backdrop of sandy Cotswold stone and blooming flower beds.
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Like all best-laid plans a few samples didn’t arrive in time so we did a small mop-up shoot in California on a beach which turned out to be the perfect place for our whales, boats and palm tree island prints – it was like we planned it that way!!
Our prints are all designed by our own artist and are bespoke to us. You won’t find them on any other line of clothing!
Whats new……In past collections we have used two tone prints but this collection is the first to see us use multi tone prints which we are loving! Adding in that extra depth to the prints has made all the difference and these multi colored prints are looking like they will be topping the best selling pieces for this season. Its always a risk introducing something new but this has definitely paid off!
We have also introduced a couple of new styles….. the Lizzy dress with her cute shoestring straps, gathered waist and tiered frill and the Amelia romper in fresh green delicate textured fabric.
Back is our best selling Nessa Bubble – classic shape and oh so compfy fit along with our Wella overalls that are a staple in any wardrobe!
And then as soon as one season is wrapped up its onto the next.....heres a sneak peak of the start of the design process for AW24!
For your nearest stockist just reach out and we can send you the details.