When we were young 20-somethings, our imaginations ran wild with the possibilities for this vision that was our photography business. But what began as a grand dream in our minds, we matched with some serious will and hard work. Persistence doesn’t even come close what would describe what when on the countless times we were knocked down, made mistakes or just plain worked through the exhaustion. We had a vision and we wouldn’t stop until we saw what was so brilliantly clear in our minds as a functioning, beautiful reality. We wanted to create our own little castle, a lovely little kingdom that was authentically ours. That the rest of the world would see as “The Boudoir Divas,” the world’s largest and most sought after boudoir studio, but we would see as something that was totally our little universe. A world where women could enter, feel amazing, learn what it meant to embrace their own skin and unique beauty, and have one of the best days of their lives in the process. Through the years we were honored to hear over and over how a woman’s shoot was the mark of a new chapter in her life that was titled, “Self Acceptance.” Our little world was so loved and we were, and are, incredibly grateful to all of the women who have trusted us so willingly.
Our little world…… 6500 sq feet, 7 full time staff members/photographer/artists, 500+ shoots a year. Adding crazy photo shoots all over the world, having people from as far as Hong Kong flying in for a shoot or to learn from us, traveling and speaking to other photographers showing them pieces of what’s possible and how to get it. If we are unabashedly honest in our content, well it was electrifying to pour out hearts into our art and have it so well-received. What more could or would an artist ever ask for? I think the answer to that is nothing. They would ask for nothing.
But if you are like us, if you think in pictures, if you see the world as an open sketch pad just waiting to put your pen to it, then you will never harness your imagination. You just have to let it keep creating. When one creation is done, you revel in it, you enjoy it, but then you turn the page and go on again. But this time around the artist sees things differently. What was important to her is still VERY important, but it has changed a bit. Mainly because her medium has changed, her brushes or tools are different, and an artist is nothing if not resourceful and ready to adapt. She loves the challenge of using the best pieces of the beauty that is currently around her.
This is exactly what happened to us. Our lives are different and change is in the air. A lot has been happening in our lives, and we are excited about all of the big changes that are taking place. It’s actually very simple, all of it. And my goodness is it colorful, risky, and exciting. Instead of continuing in this gorgeous chaotic world that we call our BIG studio, we were inspired by the words in the quote above, and we are changing-up our business and our studio a bit. We will be leaning-out, freshening up, condensing, and reinventing The Boudoir Divas. We won’t be doing as many shoots, but we will remain just as profitable. We are the same crazy-entrepreneurial-minded-business-women-best-friends. None of that has changed. But we are ready to reinvent and give a new look to the San Diego studio.
We are learning that you need to embrace the simple in order to enjoy the extraordinary. Now for us crazy dreamers (who, mind you, still have a lot of long-term crazy dreams), when we were talking about this new direction for the studio – for a few minutes, ‘scaling down’ felt a little like ‘going in reverse.’ But if we keep our focus and continue pursuing our big dreams, we know that the opposite is actually true. Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to take a small pause and decide what changes need to be made in order to jump into that next season of life. Our hope and big dream is to open more Boudoir Divas studios someday, and in order to do that we need to create more time to focus on just that. And in order to create more time, we need to get the San Diego studio more streamlined, and give it a fresh new look, or facelift, if you will.
Not to mention… with this change, we are going to create a little more time to explore life. What’s the point of hitting your goals if you don’t take the time to relax and enjoy them?! Life is so sweet right now. Kimberlee is enjoying mamahood in Washington. I am planning my next wanderlust adventure. We are blessed beyond measure.
So what exactly is getting sketched up on this blank page you wonder? Well, we currently rent two suites that make up the 6500 sq feet of our dreamy little castle – upstairs and downstairs in a huge building in San Diego. So we are now consolidating into one suite, currently under massive reconstruction, putting up walls, windows, lofts, doors. Creating all new sets, with hopes of going from a kitschy look to a very fresh, modern look.
We move into this space on July 26th. So we have about a week to paint, host the biggest yard sale in the history of Sorrento Valley, move our entire offices downstairs, and build our new sets to be up and running on August 2nd. It’s going to be a challenge, but this little family can hustle like NO other, and I think we are all excited about the task at hand. Hard work has never intimidated these beauties we roll with.
Let the new adventure begin, chin chin!
PS. We JUST LAUNCHED our San Diego Boudoir Retreat and Miami Workshop/Consults/Shoots.
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