If you follow along on my Instagram, you know I’ve been producing photo shoots for the Canadian-based, indie apparel brand, Carmico! Their collections are always meticulously crafted, centered around a well-thought out theme and focused on inclusivity across genders & sizes. Carmico’s founder Selina Muriel is such a charismatic, authentic soul, and has become a close friend of mine. We originally formed our relationship online & instantly sparked this creative rhythm between the two of us. Selina is incredibly passionate about her business, so relinquishing some creative control was a huge step for her and something I take very seriously when executing shoots on her behalf! We’ve been at this collaboration for a few years now, so now that I have a blog where I can ramble a bit, a true spotlight was in order.
Let’s take a walk down memory lane, check out some of the projects we did while I was living in Los Angeles:
The Daybreak Collection– The first ever photo shoot I produced for Carmico. Being a huge film production city, Los Angeles is pretty strict when it comes to requiring permits & the costs associated can be quite high. With smaller businesses, I’m extra cautious with racking up on expenses, so we opted to shoot the on-figure portion at my house & around the neighborhood. We lucked out with a perfect blue-skied day & I had an all-star team to pull this off in the hot summer heat. Our models were Elizabeth Puente & Troy Collazo, with Victoria Wang on production duty. While the collection is nearly out of stock on Carmico’s site, I do see restock updates on the Stargazer sweaters from time to time, so make sure to check out their Instagram for updates!
The Bloomsday Collection– First time meeting Selina IRL! She flew out to Los Angeles with her partner, Aiden. We had a jam-packed schedule of projects, shooting two different collections (Urban Legends & Bloomsday) over just a handful of days that they were in LA. But we of course carved out some time to stop at a local gluten free & vegan bakery to get some healthy treats and had a little farewell dinner from Shake Shack on my patio before Selina & Aiden flew back to Canada. Of the two collections, Bloomsday, was particularly a very special shoot. Not only did Selina model for the collection, but she launched jewelry as a limited edition drop for her birthday. We custom ordered a vintage inspired cake to tie into the jewelry & Selina got her hair done by Victoria Wang for the big day.
The Flashback Collection– Now this collection spoke to my soul, I mean, a cross between retro nostalgia & food motifs? Iconic. The opportunity to produce this shoot was a blast; from ordering faux burgers & sunny side up egg props to sourcing the restaurant diner essentials like receipts & aprons, we went all out with the details. Our models were Elizabeth Puente, Alyssa Tortomasi & Sam Price, with Elizabeth Kim on production duty and Teeny McCurdy shooting video. To give a range in styling aesthetics between both female models, we had Elizabeth lean into more 60s glam inspired styling (headband, oval sunglasses, makeup) whereas for Alyssa we kept it casual. Sam was a very special model recruit, he’s one of Christian’s friends & a member of Lovelytheband. Modeling isn’t his full-time gig however it totally could be! And the set location was at Urban Jungle’s studios in Downtown, Los Angeles. They have some of the coolest sets in LA (like the 1970s room I shot in for The Chain Designs). You can book directly on their website or even on Peerspace.
With my cross-country move to New York in late 2023, my business became operational from both coasts. While things are still in a bit of a transition as I work out of my teeny tiny studio apartment, the Carmico team kept the momentum going with monthly content shoots. Since majority of my life’s assets (aka props) are sitting in a storage unit somewhere in Brooklyn, Selina & I pulled our current wardrobes together to really piece together these next collections. It would be her shoes, my skirt, maybe Aiden’s pants & my husband Christian’s beanie hat. I’d source a handful of ‘themed’ items per shoot but that was about it! Keep scrolling to check out some of our 2024 projects.
The early springtime launch of Sugar & Spice was the perfect transition into warmer weather. The coziness of the fabrics with the lighter florals was an airy, feminine drop that really coincided nicely with the coquette trend that took over last year. The color palette felt very neapolitan ice cream in the best way. Since I was working alone for a bit, Selina & I decided to lean into flatlays! I utilized different fabric linens & quilts for the backdrops to give the photography a more lived-in vibe.
Soon after Sugar & Spice, we shifted gears completely to a modern take on y2k aesthetic with Carmico’s latest collection- Starfall! The line incorporates sporty silhouettes like baseball caps, jogger pants & lightweight bomber jackets with galactic trims throughout. The cut out star details on the mock necks are my favorite! For the shoot, Selina sent over her treasure trove of gaming gear for me to use as props (peep the Donkey Kong N64). I know I always say it, but SUCH a fun collection. Right now the collection is on pre-order if you want to snag some pieces!
The Slasher Street Collection– Which leads us to our latest shoot together, Slasher Street. The spooky season, Halloween-timed drop that’s coming later this fall! As a scary movie fanatic (yes, even the cheesy ones), I may have went overboard with sourcing materials & creating custom elements to really theme up the shoot. First, I made a mini evidence board filled with newspaper clippings, finger prints, maps, connecting it all together with red yarn. I asked Selina for some headshots of her & the team to include for a fun personalized detail! Some other props I secured were a metal magnifying glass, candy cigarettes, caution tape and crime scene markers. Next, I had to think about how we could photograph the collection in a way that kicked things up a notch. Arranging the flatlays as a chalk-outlined crime scene was the overarching vibe I went for. I displayed the caution tape & markers throughout, with movement in the legs & arms. And incorporating a red sun lamp for a few accent shots to pull the story together!
^ My not so glamorous setup in my studio apartment. We’re making it work, folks!
