In the meantime, I wanted to bring you behind the scenes a bit, to talk to you about my tagline: add to the beauty.
Yesterday, while picking through overripe avocados, and searching tirelessly for the elusive fennel for our dinner salad, something caught my attention, right along the edges of the produce section. It was just a simple display of those square greeting cards with the catchy quotes displayed in bold, graphic fonts. I’ve pondered similar displays many times before. I’ve bought these cards for friends, and received them myself. I have a few of the magnets scattered throughout the house, landing somewhere between my refrigerator and my file cabinet. But yesterday, I spotted a quote I hadn’t seen before, and not only did it capture my attention, it also took my breath away. It was one of those moments where all of the thoughts you’ve been having collide, as someone else puts words to exactly what’s been stirring around in your own heart. The quote on this particular card was one I’d never seen before, and it really summed up succinctly what I am hoping to accomplish in and through my business.
The card read:
“Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.” Minor Myers, Jr.
If there were only two things that I could accomplish through Red Dirt Girl Photography, I would choose to create meaningful photographic art for families (do well!) and to give back to the community out of the proceeds generated by the business (do good!). So, in the midst of hours spent brainstorming, conceptualizing and implementing my mission, vision and business plan, I made a simple decision. For every Portrait Collection sold, Red Dirt Girl Photography will donate 10% of the price of that collection to a carefully selected non-profit organization.
In the past, consumers were happy for their purchases to define them in merely superficial ways. It was enough for your clothing purchase to reflect your “personal style.” You might buy a car as a status symbol, a certain sneaker for its brand recognition, or a house because it was situated in a good neighborhood with professionally manicured lawns and an award-winning school district. And while I’m not here to dismiss any of those things outright (hey, I’d like to think I still possess some personal style!), I see a new trend taking hold. I am seeing a new, enlightened consumer emerging- one who seeks out clothing not just for its label, but because it is produced ethically, for a fair wage, and without reliance on child labor in third world nations. This new consumer will spend a little more for a car, not for more luxury add-ons, but because driving a hybrid is taking one step in the direction of treading more lightly on the earth. The consumer I’m encountering buys their shoes from a company that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need with every purchase. I personally know people who are trading in the dream of the single-family home, the white picket fence, and the manicured lawn in order to move to the inner city and forge neighborly bonds of love with the poor, the marginalized, and the forgotten. We want our lives to matter, and as consumers, we’ve begun to realize that we have to put our money where our mouth is. Every purchase we make, every corporation we support through our almighty dollar, says something about who we are. Not something about our personal style, but something about our personal mission and legacy.
And Red Dirt Girl Photography wants to be part of this trend. Well, actually, scratch that. This is not a trend or a passing fad for us. Red Dirt Girl Photography wants to be part of a long-term commitment to doing good in the world, and enabling our clients to do the same, every time they make a custom photography purchase!
We currently have partnerships established with 2 reputable organizations, and are in discussion with several more. Why several organizations? So that each client of Red Dirt Girl Photography can decide where to direct the donation that results from their purchase, based on the issue that is closest to their heart. When the website goes live, clients will be able to read a synopsis about each organization and the important work that they are performing on behalf of children, the poor, the marginalized, and those without a voice. Then, they can make their decision accordingly.
As you can see, I want people to choose Red Dirt Girl Photography for two reasons. Yes, I want clients to seek us out for our photographic style, our attentive customer service, and our exquisite, high end product. But I also want them to choose Red Dirt Girl Photography because they want to find ways to make a difference through all aspects of their life- including their purchases, and Red Dirt Girl Photography helps them to do that.
And, so enters the tagline…
As I’ve been working out the details of how to both “do well” and “do good” here at Red Dirt Girl Photography, I decided that I wanted to place those efforts front and center. And the simple tagline “add to the beauty” seemed to sum up all of my hopes and dreams for the studio. As a visual artist, I want to add aesthetic beauty to the world through my craft. But as a person, as a human being, I want to add a deeper kind of beauty to the world- I want my contributions to help lay the foundation for a more compassionate community and a more just society. I want to carve out corners of kindness, and illuminate the glimpses of grace that are waiting to usher in change. And I want Red Dirt Girl Photography to be at the center of it all! Can you tell how excited I am about this?!
The tagline was inspired by the lyrics of a song by Sara Groves, so I thought I’d wrap this up by sharing those lyrics with you:
Add to the Beauty
(Sara Groves and Bronleewe)
We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts,
written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold,
That only we can hold
Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces,
Calling out the best of who we are
And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That’s burning up inside
It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
To our lives and our work
It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find its worth
A soul find its worth
Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces,
Calling out the best of who we are
And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to shine with the light
That’s burning up inside
This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation
Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out our best
And I want to add to the beauty
I want to shine with the light
That’s burning up inside
I want to add to the beauty
I want to tell a better story
Shine with the light
That’s burning up inside…
