Written by: Cate Scaglione - Life As Fine Art “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”― Aristotle In addition to my portrait photography business I’m a brand consultant to businesses, big and small, all over the world. One could say I grew up in the luxury business. I’ve attributed most of my business practices to a keen understanding of how luxury brands work – and how their loyal followers feel about them. Large or small, from corporate enterprises to sole proprietorships, almost every business struggles with building a solid brand. What might To View More >>

As told to Cate Scaglione - Life As Fine Art “Fear is the lengthened shadow of ignorance.” ~Arnold Glasow As artists we are a different breed within the human race. Our right brains guide us with a heightened sensibility, to help us translate the world in an emotionally meaningful way. We’ll witness the same events and circumstances entirely differently than others, and often with more intensity. These are our blessings, except perhaps when the worst demon surfaces. Fear. All humans experience fear in one form or another. But is all fear bad? Is there such a thing as beneficial, To View More >>

I watched this amazing Youtube video on my iPad yesterday. An awe inspiring piece of street theatre. It got me thinking how our lives are lived more and more in two dimensions … on our “devices”. We can, and do, connect virtually with almost anything, anywhere, any time. In fact Ian discovered this event reading a (gasp) book, and googling it. But I wish I’d really been there. That's the point of street theatre, right? Imagine being there on the streets of London - closed to traffic to make way for a five-story elephant, a giant girl and a huge happy crowd. Getting sprayed To View More >>

Our statistics tell us that almost 30% of people visiting your Workspace image galleries are using their mobile devices. And the number of people using iPads or iPhones for online browsing and shopping is  expected to increase dramatically over the next few years. In response to this the Queensberry developers have  recently completed an awesome upgrade to the Workspace shopping cart, fixing little bugs here and there, but most importantly - making it fully adaptable to mobile and tablet devices. What does that mean for you? Well if your clients are viewing your image galleries on To View More >>

Yesterday I came across these beautiful invitations by Atelier Isabey. I wish I could touch them. I wish you could! Imagine our first sensory experience as babies - touch, taste, smell, sound, vision - how gradually they made the world real and meaningful... And how we realised that the world isn't just out there, that we can design it - make it beautiful - the origin of art, craft, home-making, cooking, gardening... based sometimes on our traditions, sometimes on our own creativity. I know some of us are more conscious of these things than others, but at least for the fortunate among us, finely To View More >>

We love seeing our clients coming up with innovative new marketing ideas. Andy Donnan received his new Queensberry Starter Kit and tweeted about an idea he had to show his out-of-town clients... And we asked him if we could share. Many of his clients won't get the opportunity to see or touch his albums, so he wanted to give them an up close and personal album viewing experience, but which they could have from anywhere in the world. I won't say too much more except check out how Andy introduces his Queensberry album offerings here (click on the image to play). Cheers, Nigel To View More >>

I was invited to join the NZ Government's Better by Design US Study Tour 2012, a four day tour of the San Francisco Bay Area where "up to 25 New Zealand business leaders are exposed to best practice examples of international design thinking". The tour began officially last night over dinner at the Town Hall Restaurant, but mine began a week ago when Ian and I arrived in SF for some much-needed down time. Relax, re-energise, and No Work was our mantra. But paradoxically, when we're travelling or on holiday my brain goes into overdrive. Thinking about ethics and aesthetics, ideology and human behaviour, To View More >>

1. Tell us a little about yourself, your photography business and what you do! I have a Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design. I did a bit of film photography in my last year of University, but it wasn't until I got a job working for the University of Auckland as a public relations photographer that I started to learn the craft of photography. It was there that I learnt about manual settings, studio lighting, editing etc. I photographed hundreds of events and people for the University. I learned how to interact with people when taking their photo, and how to get great photo-journalist shots. I To View More >>

If you haven't already, head over to our Brand Blog and check out the album from French photographer Christophe Flers we've just featured... But before you do... You may be interested in reading this: It's part of a blog post (translated from French) that Christophe wrote about his journey from discovery to delivery, of his first Queensberry album... "This week I experienced a defining moment in my professional life; symbolically important as I carried out one of my dreams: To propose to my married couples the most beautiful albums ever. I discovered these albums in Las Vegas last year and since To View More >>

Right up there with the 3% rule as a Queensberry mantra is Good Better Best. We don't claim that either of them is original, just that they're common sense. In fact fundamental if you want to build a sustainable longterm career. Good Better Best is a strategy for up-selling – having products and services to tempt your clients across a range of price points. To be blunt, you're offering your customers what they want (something cheap!) while at the same time encouraging them to spend more. Simply put, it does so by offering people three choices… GOOD is your entry level – affordable if you To View More >>