The World of Cat

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The World of Cat 〰️

If you feel it, follow it.

A dream photoshoot in NYC with magical being named Cat.

When Cat Schmitz decided to launch her brand of textiles, stationery and everything CAT, she needed all the parts and pieces to amplify her own creative voice. She chose to entrust other creatives to interpret her brand and how we saw her, to help crystallize her vision. And how did we see her? Colorfully and whimsically and perfectly Cat.

The team arrived in Brooklyn and headed to Forgotten Works Studio, which was full of wonders and one very special carousel horse I couldn’t wait to get my hands on.

Cat Schmitz has a very distinct artistic style and an even more distinct personal philosophy. With her “if you feel it, follow it” as a guide, I traveled to Brooklyn with 2 suitcases full of miniatures, marbles, umbrellas, novelty sunglasses, crystal mushrooms and ruby red slippers to meet our muse.

I did lots of moodboards and lots of planning. We had a whole binder of setup instructions for shots. But once we got there, things just sort of… happened. We created in the moment, along with Cat, who trusted us enough to feel it and follow it.

Napkin sketches for photo set-ups (ok they’re just photoshopped onto napkins), boards for different photo setups with seamless backgrounds, and some of the many props I sourced and brought with us. Except for the carousel horse. That was just in the building.

Dreaming about props and costume accessories that would accentuate (but not distract from) Cat’s products was a joy. Her pieces have a childlike quality to them without being childish. They’re both abstract and totally recognizable. You get the feeling she made them in the moment, using her intuition as her guide. So that’s exactly how we approached the photo shoot.

As self-appointed prop master, I picked things (some of which were items I found around my house) that felt right. “This feels like it should be on a yellow rug with puffy clouds.” “This feels like it says something about wonder and escapism.” “This feels cozy and familiar, and I’m not sure why… but I’m also not questioning it.”

Tiny props and a manicure I art directed based on Cat’s art and color palette.

Arriving at a studio in Brooklyn with all my little props, we began a frenetic day, (in a very crowded room) setting up shots, inflating beach balls, blowing bubbles and lowering a carousel horse from a balcony. I even got to be an accidental foot model!

The first 45 minutes of the photoshoot were a little overwhelming to Daniel and I, trying to set things up with everyone WATCHING.

But eventually, we found our groove.

And thankfully, we had this HORSE!

I improvised a horse tail with white tinsel I’d brought. It was originally going to be used taped around an umbrella to make “rain,” but it was much better as a horse tail!