If you didn’t know already our photography studio is situated inside award winning softplay centre Eddie Catz Wimbledon. For the past few years before we opened the studio we had a good working relationship with the owners Maria and Darren which certainly made the transition to a landlord / tenant relationship that much easier.
We help each other out, share ideas and offer advice.
From time to time Maria likes to call the studio with a request or an idea and we end up having a nice little chat.
“How’s the pregnancy going?” et cetera.
The thing about having a business relationship that transcends into friendship is that there isn’t the corporate BS that you get with other suppliers, vendors or B2B clients.
This is refreshing and personally I love working that way. You can be honest with each other and that can only make a working relationship better.
The problem is that you can be too honest.
Maria is what some might be inclined to call “a character”. I consider her not only a landlady but also a friend, a marketing advisor, an emotional council, perhaps occasionally a dutch uncle, consultant, an expert business pathfinder and dare I say mentor.
She called me up the other day with a request to photograph cake or something similar. We have an understanding where if we photograph something edible from the cafe we also sample it’s quality afterwards. Not only can I provide feedback on how the cake tastes but I also get cake.
The call finished with the usual “how’s your wife?” and continued with some welcome pregnancy advice.
“You’re going to get fat, that’s what happens to men after the baby comes, then after you lose the weight you’ll be old like me.”
This wasn’t the last time she’s told me about my imminent weight gain. It’s actually how we now end a phone conversation.
“How’s Emma? You’re going to get so fat”
So for the past couple of months I’ve cycling into the studio and our last photo shoot from the cafe was of a fruit salad.
