Meet Kat - Creative Assistant

Having sat down to write my introductory blog, all I can think about are interview and work scenarios in my previous life, smiling politely at a group of near-strangers in a conference room when the meeting host utters those dreaded words: "Let's go round the room and say a little bit about ourselves". Cue uncomfortable shuffling and throat clearing and I wonder if everyone is thinking, like me, "No, Sandra. No. Can we not?!" 

Whilst still cringing a little behind the safety of my screen, I am very happy to introduce myself as Kat, proud assistant to Laura on her photography and Lens Eleven journey. You may have seen me on the odd Zoom with Laura but I generally work (part time) behind the scenes assisting with admin, marketing and content. If you have queries about courses, dates, times, availability for weddings and bookings, payments or anything else please drop me an email at [email protected] 

Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water and then I realise that I am! I worked as a corporate solicitor for 10 years and I never thought I would do anything else. I lived off the adrenaline of deadlines and court hearings, working hard and playing hard. Fast forward five years, I was determined to tick all the boxes and had three babies in very quick succession. When we brought our youngest son home from hospital, his brothers were one and two. Overwhelmed is not the word and the cracks were starting to show. I went back to work after each baby, reluctant to leave them but determined to keep all the balls in the air.

Then, there it was: the glass ceiling. I well and truly concussed myself on it. I was privileged to earn a decent salary but the entirety, and then some, went on childcare and commuting. Days passed where I didn’t see my children and I felt jealous of our amazing nanny, who was holding the whole shit show together. And all the while, a niggling voice (ignored entirely throughout my 20s and 30s) was saying this is not for you…something is not right. As my career unravelled so did my mental health and, at my wits’ end, I handed in my notice in February 2020. 

Cue Covid and weeks and months on end at home with my children. What had I done? I would have sold a body part for one day back in the office to have a break from them. If I was not a solicitor anymore, what was I? A grumpy and mum and wife. I felt angry and resentful that my decades of hard work had come to nothing and I was in a pretty low place. It turned out that there was another reason why I was completely burnt out and, with the benefit of hindsight, I should have been kinder to myself (shouldn’t we all?). I had so much to be grateful for, but I felt like a big part of me had been extinguished whilst the rest of me was expanding courtesy of lockdown food and wine.

In the midst of lockdown, I bumped into my neighbour, Laura. We had waved and said hello from our front drives for a couple of years, but I was generally wrestling my children into their car seats and looking pretty miserable. We chatted more and our children (similar ages) started to play together. Sunny lockdown playdates in the garden became less about them, and more about us chatting about everything and nothing, and gradually sharing our life stories and experiences over bottles of prosecco.

I remember the day when she said, quite casually, that she was going to create and run an online photography course. Covid had totally scuppered her work as a wedding photographer and she was looking for an outlet. It will teach people how to shoot in manual, she said and I think I can get ten or twenty people to sign up. Ten or twenty people was a very modest underestimate. I watched, unsurprised, and with a lot of awe and excitement as her courses flourished and dozens of people signed up for Start Where You Are, Next Level, Summer Camp and Lightroom, drawn not just to her obvious talent as a photographer but her enthusiasm, warmth and relatability. 

I was more than surprised when she asked if I wanted to work with her. We were in her hot tub and on at least our second bottle. I assumed it was the prosecco talking and laughed it off. What could I, a tired, ex-solicitor with serious esteem and mindset issues, possibly have to offer her vibrant and flourishing business? Apart from enthusiasm and loyalty and my legal knowledge, it was a big fat nothing.

She asked again when she was totally sober and my initial thoughts and response were the same. I loved the idea, but she could recruit someone far more suitable than me who could be more practical help to her. She persisted and I dared to say yes.

So here I am, around four months in, working part time for Laura (I have another part time job too) and finally getting to grips with my gorgeous MacBook Air. As Laura’s business continues to expand and evolve, so does my role and I love that. She is now in the throes of creating Lens Eleven, an online platform which will host her photography courses and an inspiring community led hub for women to learn, connect and empower each other.

What I have realised is that Laura is all about self development and female empowerment, and the first and most obvious channel for this was photography, but this is just the tip of the iceberg that will be Lens Eleven, and I am so excited to be involved.

Is it plain sailing? Absolutely not! I am entirely out of my comfort zone and Laura has seen something in me that I have not quite seen in myself yet. I am work in progress shall we say. But I am here with enthusiasm and willingness to learn and grow and, if I haven’t already, I cannot wait to meet and get to know you.

Love Kat x