Doctors & Dentists Image Library -- DeVito/Verdi, Laurel Road, and Martin Adolfsson

I am honored to share with you some wonderful imagery by Martin Adolfsson. Before I get to the final product, I have to tell the story of it all coming together amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It all began more than a year ago when Executive Creative Director, Eric Schutte reached out to me to help the agency produce a large image library photoshoot production. Eric and I had a history of working on some large still image library photo productions and he trusted that I could help bring together this production for their client, Laurel Road. I presented several photographers for consideration after a couple of rounds of presentations and creative discussions with the client, we all agreed that Martin Adolfsson was the best match for the creative look and his storytelling capabilities. The production was put on hold in March of 2020 and we resumed discussions in November of 2020.  By the beginning of January 2021, we all had full approval to proceed with the shoot.  

Since Martin and I had a previous work history, we were able to collectively pull the production together with a fabulous crew.  

Our goals were to illustrate the efforts of hardworking Doctors and Dentists in an authentic way and create the look and feel of a real hospital or medical location without being in a real medical facility. 

The pre-production needed a virtual casting, done by Shadow Casting, we did most of the location scouting by image and email submission. Martin and I spent two days physically scouting the shortlist. We then stumbled on a great flex space in Florham Park, NJ. It was beautiful and matched Martin’s aesthetic!  

The production consisted of a four-day shoot with a pre-light day, twenty-two models, fourteen crew, and four dental and medical experts. Everyone that attended the shoot complied with our COVID-19 safety guidelines. With all the changes we had to deal with we had a great team!  

I send out a thank you to everyone that was a part of this production with a very special mention to Aurelie Jezequel! Your advice and attention to detail made my job so much easier!  

Thank you to Devito/Verdi for your trust in me to consult and produce this project.  

The result is Laurel Road’s new website section for Doctors and Dentists and a great Out-of-Home Campaign.  Hair and Make-up by

Additional Credits:
Props and Set Design by Anna Holmes Hurley

Wardrobe by Jennie Lopez

Hair and Make-up by Dominic Santiago and Robert Moulton

Thank you to all and God Bless!

-Kari

Let's Move Forward!

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

Hello my friends!  

My first blog was about how I have come to this point and creating this website and new business.  At the end of 2019, I had planned on writing a little different sort of business plan. WOW how things have changed!   Hopefully, we are on the cusp of the end of COVID-19, but most of us are still not certain as to how our businesses will change. I want to continue to define who I am and how I wish to contribute to the advertising industry.  

So, I start this blog post with “Hello my friends!” but let’s start with a definition of the word friend:  A person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection. 

So, do we have a mutual affection? Most of you, probably not. But do we have a  mutual affection for our work or art? I’m going to guess the answer is yes!  So this week I will be posting some exciting work that has been created during this quarantine time. Even though I am sharing work by photographers, cinematographers, and other artists, I want to be clear I am not an agent or representative. I am an advocate for their work. I am a resource for finding talent for projects. I will be an advertiser’s resource for talent.  

Also in these blog posts, I will be exploring how we are all going to find work during and post COVID-19. I am listening to ad agency executives and advertisers.  I am reading and researching all the trades for relevant news and changes for vendors. I will be interviewing marketers, ad agency creatives and account managers to have a better knowledge of new marketing efforts. I want to help artists find work! I will be your marketing expert as this evolves. 

I welcome all artists to reach out to me to share work.  I welcome all ad agency personnel and marketers to reach out to me to share insight.  I wish to be a resource to both sides of the advertising industry.  Let’s share and explore new paths together!!

How I Got Here

My morning walk in Rockaway, NJ

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere - Dr. Seuss

Doesn’t that seem to be the case in this crazy advertising world? I know from my own history that clients' demands would sometimes surprise me, but in the end I always had to laugh!

Some of you may know me and my history, and if you are reading this I trust you have already have reviewed my LinkedIn profile.   If not feel free to click on the link and view it.  If you really know me, you know I smile a lot and my sister has always said that I have a buoyant personality.  So even with all of the challenges I have had, especially of recent years, I’m still in this crazy business and it is because I am buoyant!

This first post is my story of top-lines: how I got to this point in my career and where I wish to go.  I have had rich and diverse experiences.  I reflect on the value my RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) education has brought and the valuable relationships and experiences that just seem to come my way. 

To begin, I was a photo assistant here in New York City after college, which was followed by the usual transition to become a photographer.  After some hard knocks coupled with self examination, I realized I was best at producing and managing budgets.  So, I then applied for my first position as an art buyer.  Three weeks later, Arlene Konsen (now Hartman) hired me at McCann-Erickson (God Bless her, she started my career). Next stops were Saatchi & Saatchi, Suddler & Hennessy, D’Arcy, Gotham and BBDO.  BBDO held me in shackles as the managing Art Buyer/Producer for nine years. In 2009 when the Great Recession hit & with it BBDO crashed and so many of us in “middle management” were collateral damage! For real? So, a couple of days later, I hung my own shingle representing a small group of talented digital artist.  For those of you who think this may be ancient history, there were no representatives of digital artists at the time, they were piggy backed on the photographers that they worked for. I’m happy to say that I still have two of them with me at Glasshouse Assignment, Liam Collins and Cary Ng.  I have had a tremendous amount of support and freedom from owner, Spencer Jones, to manage Glasshouse as my own business.  I have grown the roster from five artists to now having thirteen.  It is a growing and developing business.

The challenges, ALL OF THEM - without exception - bring me to this new venture.  It is my own experiences and conversations from reps & artists that inspired me to create this website.  I am here to reveal how the advertising agencies and their clients are changing.  Work is still available, but the usual marketing efforts don’t work as they once did.  Relationships are fleeting more than before.  Everyone in the freelance world asks, "how to be smarter about finding the work?"  

In the weeks to come, you will find on going posts of information that will come directly from Marketing Executives, Art Producers, Integrated Producers, Creative Directors, and Brand Managers themselves. I will also have Artist Representatives and Photographers sharing their best and worst efforts for finding work. I look forward to sharing information with you and hearing your thoughts as I cultivate this venture.

Smile More, Laugh More, Do More Good!  

A special thank you to Daria Khoroshavina for her wonderful Cinemagraphs on this site!!