A little under six months ago, in the heat of the summer and hectic schedule I seemed to somehow survive, I was approached by a company called Wantful to work directly with them in producing photography that would turn some heads. It was right up my alley and something completely new that I was super excited to help build and have fun with. Before I talk about the work I've been doing I would first like to introduce Wantful and what it's all about.

At it's core, Wantful is about bringing together exceptional products and showcasing them through gifting. It's an online service focused on delivering an great experience. They've arranged a team of world class designers, engineers, and buyers in their offices in San Francisco and NYC, sourced hundreds of the best brands, craftspeople, makers and artists from around the world, and partnered with some of the most insightful investors in the business. With all these fantastic products and unique people involved, there leaves endless opportunities and stories to document. That's where my role begins to take shape.

Through my friend and boss John Poisson, CEO of Wantful, I've been put in charge of delivering and directing all of Wantful's photographic materials with the help of our design team here in NYC (which includes the likes of Jay Schaul, Taylor Pemberton, and Kevin Harris). My favorite part about this opportunity is the fact that I get to shoot with and produce stories for these amazing vendors who share a passion and love for what they do just as much as I do. I visit them in their studios and spaces all over the country and hear what drives their process and what inspires them. Very cool stuff.

I've shot a handful of these profiles over the past few months and look forward to sharing them as they are updated regularly on Wantful's blog. I welcome any feedback and would love to hear your thoughts. Make sure to check out Wantful (wantful.com) in the meantime, I'm certain you'll have some fun poking around what we've been working on. 

This second profile is about a jewelry maker named Aaron whose Brooklyn-based studio is an amazing space decorated by classic, americana vintage goods and old cabinetry, not to mention an old, fully-intact motorcycle hanging from the wall. He creates his jewelry under the name Digby & Iona (which come from his travels through small towns in Nova Scotia) and is inspired by memory, sentiment, and Aaron's natural surroundings in his home state of Maine. 

You can read more about Digby & Iona on the Wantful blog: here

Tuesday was a very big day for not only myself, but for my friends, whom I had the pleasure of working with on this project called Cavalier Essentials for the past few months. With the help and collaboration with Wantful, my great friend Taylor Pemberton officially launched the brand that has been in the works for almost a year, and I couldn't be more happy for him. You may remember the the opportunity I had last January to direct and shoot the first lookbook for Cavalier alongside Taylor. The whole things was merely an idea at the time that he had created, but today it has grown into a full line of quality leather goods and curated vintage products.

We had an amazing crew of talented individuals working with us and who all ensured a good time. Without them all this entire release would not have been the success that it was. I'm super proud of Taylor and all his efforts to make this first official launch of Cavalier the enormous success it was.

I'm so stoked to have been involved from the start and to see such an overwhelming response to the project already. Make sure to take a few minutes and poke around the pretty, new website and discover all the content and new product. I'm sure you'll find something there you like (that leather duffle is way hot!).

View the entire photographic lookbook here: cavalieressentials.com/#lookbook 

Credits: 

Director and Producer: Taylor C. Pemberton // Co-Producer: John Poisson 

Photographer: Collin Hughes 

Co-Director: Lauren O'Malley // Co-Director: David Goddard // Cinematographer: Austin Rink 

Editor: Billy Ennis // Composer: Brian Wooden 

Talent: Graden Harrison & Megan Nanne 

Stylist: Loren Maring // Assistant Stylist: Hope Hellberg // Hair and Makeup: Torry Strayhorn // Hair and Makeup: Holly Adams 

Assistant Photographer: Rockie Nolan // Production Assistant: Zachary Dowling 

Photographer and Videographer Assistant: Adam Trevillian 

Special Thanks to Jake Green 

cavalieressentials.com // twitter.com/cavalier 

Back in July I worked with a couple great people to produce the 2011 Lookbook for Ugmonk. I had a blast shooting over two days on a job that was completely self-directed and produced. My friend and stylist Loren Maring did a great job of communicating with the models and getting them to look their best in only a couple short days as well. 

You can view the ful set up images from the lookbook on Ugmonk's website: http://www.ugmonk.com/extras/lookbook/

While I was in Istanbul a last week I had the opportunity to connect with JOY Model Management and shoot a few tests with their talent. Really enjoyed shooting with Aurel, who happens to be from Stuttgart, the city in Germany that I spent a couple months in during high school. Had a blast getting to know him, he is such a solid guy to work with.

Check out more here: http://cargocollective.com/collinhughes/1948416/Aurel