A Springtime Story: Our shoot with Frederic Magazine
© Francesco Lagnese
Few of us are comfortable under a spotlight. But as friends and colleagues know, I’ll do almost anything to raise awareness of The Super Power Agency. So when the team at Frederic Magazine suggested they feature MHS Studio in their first edition of 2024, I realised it was an extraordinary opportunity.
Feature Fear
As an interior designer, I knew of Frederic and it’s trend-setting American parent Schumacher & Co. It is a high quality and inspiring magazine that features brilliant image creators and writers. Honestly, it was an honour to be approached but in truth, it was also terrifying. Our feature would be distributed throughout the USA and in all international airports. Exactly how would it read? Would l like the look of what was created? Would the @superpoweragency get a mention?
I was very, very nervous.
Colour Washed
I first met photographer Francesco Lagnese on May 8th 2023. The omens were not good.
Just before he arrived with us in Scotland, a viscous spring thunderstorm flattened a multitude of our garden’s tulips. These were to have been Francesco’s welcoming committee. The stars of his planned shoot. Did Francesco panic? Was he phased? Of course he was not. He chased the light, sought out vistas and worked incredibly hard from sunrise to sunset to tell a tale saturated with our love for Scotland.
Fun-Packed Style
At Francesco’s side worked Carolyn Englefield. As an editor and stylist for Frederic, Carolyn knows exactly what her magazine’s readers want to see. Despite her luggage becoming lost in airline transit, she lit-up our photo shoot with good humour and fun. These two put me and my family completely at ease. They filled us with confidence and took great care to capture the very best of us.
More Weather
I had seen the results of Franceso & Carolyn’s work on screen and was in awe of their creative talent. A second day of photography was planned for early July and I felt sure we would be blessed with a warm and sunny day. ‘But you live in Scotland.’ I hear you cry!
On the face of it, harsh rain blasts are not the best news for a July shoot. But for a photographer, clouds are far preferable to bright sunshine. And again, Francesco seemed to revel in a Scottish climate that threw just about every kind of weather at us. Beltin’ rain was dodged, strawberries and cake were eaten and a haze of romance shone from Francesco’s lens.
Write On!
Shoots complete, it was now the turn of copywriter Fiona McCarthy (The Chic Shopper) to transform my chat and work passions into an equally interesting article. I had to trust that she would tell my story and that of The Super Power Agency, truthfully and with care. And what a great job she did.
Thankfully, the Frederic team did not allow me a preview of the article. I couldn’t worry. I just had to wait for publication day and hope all would be well. And of course, the result was a dream come true.
With huge thanks for the support of:
Tori Mellot - Style Director, Frederic Magazine
Dara Caponigro - Editor in Chief, Frederic Magazine
Francesco Lagnese - Photographer
Carolyn Englefield - Stylist
Fiona McCarthy - Copywriter
Futong & Friends - Shining star & brilliant friend
Bea Sloss - Creativity at its best
