October 10, 2020

Curate Studio – Branding Photos

Curate Studio is a gorgeous home decor and furniture store that recently opened its doors right in the heart of downtown San Anselmo, California. They needed some lifestyle and branding photos for their e-commerce site and social media, and I was thrilled to get the opportunity to work in such a dreamy space.

Curate Studio is family-owned by father-daughter team, Kes and Nora Narbutas. Nora is an interior designer with enviable style and acts as the face of the company, while Kes, who (according to Nora) has a “love for the arts,” provides his support and inspiration. Together, they have a playful warmth I find so endearing.

The goal was to capture headshots of Nora and Kes, interior and exterior shots of the store, as well as some product photos for their general promotional use. There’s so much prettiness to behold in the store, with so many thoughtful details; I had a hard time knowing where to start.

Not exactly usual circumstances

Any small business owner can testify that opening a brand-new business requires loads of effort and dedication, even in normal times. But it’s worth noting that when Curate Studio opened its doors in September, ‘the times’ were anything but normal. (Let’s be honest: they still aren’t.)

At the time, Northern California had only recently come out of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then most of us in the Bay Area were driven right back indoors again by a record-breaking heatwave and suffocating smoke from the worst wildfires on record. Very on-brand for the year 2020, of course.

But pandemic and wildfires and economic uncertainty, be damned! The Curate Studio team stayed the course and forged ahead to open their retail store, although a bit later than they had originally planned. And that’s just one of the reasons why I love working with small businesses: behind every small business there’s at least one person who’s poured their whole heart and soul into bringing their dream to life – and folks like that don’t give up easily.

Wishing all the best of luck and future success to the lovely Narbutas family and Curate Studio as they navigate this crazy year and beyond. And to all of you passionate, dedicated small business owners who continue to adapt and persevere despite the many challenges we’ve all faced this year, I raise my glass to you as well (from a safe, respectable distance, of course).