Paddle Portraits

We had our house flood this summer due to a broken pipe. We are still waiting for some of the repairs to be completed on the areas of the house that were damaged, which means that part of the wood shop has had to become storage space for the time being.

We shut the shop down for a few weeks in order to deal with the damage. Then, due to the limited space, Spencer re-opened our paddle shop with a shift in our business model, from craft on demand to a more retail approach, where what you see in our online store is what you will receive. This has allowed Spencer a chance to explore new woods and new designs. Plus, having pieces ready to ship has also allowed more time for custom and special orders.

Being able to re-open the shop while waiting for this house madness to end has probably kept us both sane. 

But now that we are listing individual paddles, I’ve had to step up my photography game. Every listing needs its own pictures showing the paddle in all its unique detail. I tried a standard white backdrop, followed by black, but neither showed off the wood the way I wanted.

I wondered if I could build little sets inside the lightbox that would feature the paddle but also provide texture and color. Fortunately, Spencer was happy to let me give it a try, and so when we  re-opened the shop earlier this fall, we did so with a Fall Collection, with pictures featuring autumnal colors and in some cases, a Halloween theme.

I had a ridiculous amount of fun; it was like the paddles were models at a photoshoot. But one thing I learned with the Fall Collection was that trying to change the set for each individual piece takes forever, so I’ve had to edit myself a bit. 

You’ll see what I mean below. Here are some of the photos I took last weekend for holiday listings and below are some of my favorite Fall Collection photos. And just in case anyone here is a concerned occultist, that’s not a real ouija board, that’s a Halloween placemat I found at Marshall’s!

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Little Red Spanking on Etsy