client experiences

Cira James Designs

In anticipation of her brand’s official launch, we created an extensive image bank of interior shots for the designer’s portfolio, converted the logo she had designed to a proper digital format, and assisted with copywriting. Cira felt stalled in place when faced with the enormous task of building her website. She hired me to select and customize her Squarespace site, which she now controls. On the consulting end, we evaluated Cira’s pricing together to be sure she was not undervaluing her services and was positioned appropriately within her target market. Since working together, Cira has expanded into the NYC market and has accepted her first international commission.

Sarah is publicly known for her photography prowess — which is paramount! However, Sarah possesses such an incredible range of business and marketing tools that have guided many business owners to a higher level of achievement and measurable success. Her background in real estate, content strategy, marketing concepts & management, web design, and writing, has translated beautifully in to the design industry and beyond. Her multi-faceted approach to branding has propelled my company in to a phenomenal place of growth and diversity. Sarah has made development for my business attainable, approachable, and admired, across many platforms both regionally and internationally, as I have two projects abroad in the works! I can’t thank her (or recommend her) enough!

HOLMESPUN RENTAL CO.

As an established brand, the owners of Holmespun were ready to graduate from their DIY “baby” brand and do a reboot that reflected who they’ve become as a company. They hired Philadelphia graphic designer Lynx and Co. for their graphic design, and brought us in for photos to match their desired aesthetic.

We hired Sarah to photograph our furniture rental collection for our much anticipated rebrand and new website. We chose her for her obvious (and flawless) “eye” and studio space, but received SO much more. Before the shoot we brought her our new brand, colors, story, and overall vibe. She took this and became the ultimate sherpa in helping us execute accessories, final styling, and overall space planning.

Not to mention the studio space at Midway Arts! It was the perfect blank canvas with its white walls, contrasting (and textured!) floors, and big beautiful windows which provided gorgeous natural light, and casted just the right amount of shadows. There was a large freight elevator, which made moving our furniture in and out simple and swift (plus extra wide stairwells).

Her ability to really see our brand and needs was absolutely priceless. We are so grateful for her extensive experience and management that has heightened our rebrand’s release 10 fold.

DESIGN LIFE KIDS

As a leading e-commerce boutique in the design-minded childhood space, DLK selects a new artist to art direct and shoot their holiday catalog each year. I was honored to be chosen for the Holiday 2020 catalog, though the timing (lockdown anyone?) presented its own unique challenges. For this project, I was tasked with casting models, location scouting, assembling and curating featured products, art directing, and photographing. The only direction I was given was to find a way to reframe festivity while homebound, and to reframe the lockdown as an opportunity to reset and move forward in beauty and community.

SHANINA DIONNA

I had the great honor of working with Shanina on the promotional photos for her ninth installment of Embryo, her ongoing art series. We photographed her work and new headshots at my home and in the neighboring barn. Shanina’s thoughts:

In honor of reintroducing myself and my art practice for mental health awareness and social change, Sarah helped capture my platform and it's essence with love and respect. Though evolving daily, I know I can trust her to approach my works and my person with integrity, a keen eye for detail and with organic appeal that I think derives from learning any brand thoroughly. I had never considered shooting my work in a barn. (We shot in a barn, y'all!) Sarah healthily challenged the boundaries for my artistry and helped inspire me to make room for ingenuity and innovation in my practice. 

SABINA SISTEROVICH

I worked with Sabina as a consultant and ghostwriter, as she prepared to apply for medical school. Here, Sabina describes the process and the outcome:

I made the marvelous decision to hire Sarah as a consultant on my medical school personal statement. Completely overwhelmed by the myriad of tasks one must complete to apply to medical school, Sarah took the most daunting of them all and helped breathe life back into a process that lays you bare. 

The personal statement is perhaps the single most important document in a medical school application as its the first opportunity you have to convey to strangers, in your own words, why you want to be a doctor. The question is simple but when you've wanted something so ardently all your life, finding the elegance with which to express that is hard... Sarah helped me take a bunch of disjointed blurbs and weave them into a beautiful narrative exemplifying my growth and motivations which is something I was too close to be able to do.

Sarah helped me create a personal statement so strong that one of my advisors said "it was the best personal statement I have read in my 20 year tenure of being a medical school advisor". My gratitude is bottomless and I cannot praise Sarah's work enough.

Francis Sky Design (in development)

Lauren and I collaborated on a photo shoot to showcase her stunning West Chester, PA home renovation. In the months following our session, before even taking on a client, Lauren snagged a coveted (double) feature on Apartment Therapy. She began to dream about moving beyond her own personal projects and turning her inherent design skills into a business.

Everyone has a super power. Sarah’s is, well, seeing people for who they actually are and bringing it to life in photos. She can nudge you in the direction of your creative dreams before you know where you’re actually going.

I was just a corporate executive. Working a gazillion hours a week and hustling to support my side-passion; renovating an old house and scoring art in unsuspecting places. 

Over the span of 6 years that manifested into a pretty special home in the borough of West Chester. I never thought of myself as a talented designer. More like a closet creative who wanted to build a space around herself that felt safe, inspired and alive. 

But, Sarah did.

With her guidance, perspective, and incredible eye, her photos of my 1912 renovation ended up with TWO features on apartmenttherapy.com.

So yes, she’s an incredible wedding photographer with AGP Collective and can capture families and babes like no other with Halcyon. But through her experience in marketing, business, and the general study of human beings she’s also a visionary guide – to point you in the direction of your creative dreams.

Katie Cavuto, RD

Katie has taught nutrition at West Chester University and at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. She has served as the nutrition advisor for Unite for Her, a foundation that supports breast cancer patients. A regular contributor on ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS in Philadelphia as an expert in her field. Katie’s work has been showcased in O, the Oprah Magazine, Parents, Fitness, Women’s Health, Newsweek Magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Katie has been the dietitian for the Philadelphia Phillies and cooked privately for several professional athletes including members of the Phillies, Flyers and Eagles. She was one of 10 finalists on season 5 of The Next Food Network Star. She is a regular contributor on Martha Stewart Radio and Dr. Radio on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Luna Hair Co

To prepare for her salon’s grand opening, salon owner Stephanie Shellenberger hired me to photograph her team and salon. At the one year mark, we had another mini shoot to capture new team members and to present fresh content.