Meet heirloom photographer Vanessa Simpson

Vanessa Simpson and I met a few years ago when I held a heiter event at her beautiful home in Somerset. Back then Vanessa made it her goal to bring people together. What started off as event hosting, workshops and retreats has now grown into a different form of connecting people with each other. After some changes and a few challenges along the way, Vanessa has turned her passion into a heartfelt photography business that is all about creating meaningful memories. I can’t wait for you to find out more about it.

When did you decide to become a photographer and why?

I’ve often wished that I could share a story of having been taught photography by my
parents or grandparents, but despite the fact that one grandfather was indeed a photographer it is a relatively new love of mine. It began out of necessity in truth, using social media to run a small business from home quickly taught me the value of good imagery and in the learning to make appealing photographs I became enchanted by the challenge to make more meaningful images and learn more about photography itself.

How would you describe your photography style?

My style? That’s hard to answer! While I enjoy the process of making a picture what I really love is talking to people, so portraits are top of my list, but I what I’d like to be known for is creating photographs that convey warmth and an emotional connection for the viewer. I favour darker images as opposed to the light and bright, and am ever seeking that glimpse of sunlight in the shadows!

What inspired you to focus on family heirloom photography?

The heirloom photography has gently grown out recognising just how highly I value family and home. As a family we’ve lived in many different places around the world, so making new homes and saying goodbye to them has been a feature of our lives, but we’ve always believed that home is where our family is. However we’ve also taken all our ‘stuff’ along with us which has been important; so many of our belongings have some sort of story attached to them and it is these items and their associated memories that can make a place feel like ‘home’ I think.

Why do you think photography has a positive impact and adds to one’s Heiterkeit?

Photography plays a hugely important role not just in documenting social history, but along with our other senses in stimulating memories and emotions. I believe there is value in creating and curating photographs that represent our loved ones and their homes not only for our own pleasure, but to pass on to generations to come. I hope that beautiful heirloom albums will not only tell a story but convey the hugely important values of family and home to them.

What will 2021 bring for you and your photography business?

2021 will continue to be challenging for family photographers for a little while to come and I’m extremely sensitive to the responsibility I bear when stepping into the homes of older and vulnerable people; it’s very important to me that clients can rely on my professionalism. So, while I long to make these projects for families I will be patiently waiting until the time is right and in the meantime will be focusing on honing my skills, enjoying other creative projects and as an ex-nurse I’m also hoping to become part of the volunteer vaccination workforce.

What are the things that make you feel heiter?

The things that make me ‘Heiter’ are mostly very simple, a cup of tea with my parents, a walk with a friend, a chat with my daughters or a glass of wine in front of the fire with my husband. I love our garden, am always full of wonderful plans for it and forever ordering more seeds that I will ever manage to grow and plant!

Where can people find and book you?

My website is vanessasimpson.co.uk and you’ll find links to my email and social media there. My favourite social media platform is Instagram where I’m @simpsonsisters (I have three sisters!) and I send a monthly letter to subscribers from which I often enjoy some email exchanges - I’m much quicker on a keyboard than a phone so love communicating this way too!

The photographer herself - Vanessa Simpson

Images: Vanessa Simpson

Interview: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter magazine

Waldorf Family: who's behind the educational and seasonal pieces?

It was a long time ago but I acutally studied to become an elementary school teacher. I also worked as one for a couple of years. During that time I came across different theories and educational methods. One of them was the Waldorf theory by Robert Steiner. What I liked about it was its strong link to nature and the seasons, and that is why I loved getting to know Stephanie Green, the founder of Waldorf Family, and her beautifully illustrated educational products.

Please introduce yourself.

My name’s Stephanie Green, I’m the artist and founder of Waldorf Family. We are a sustainable home and lifestyle brand, making illustrated educational and seasonal pieces for families.

When did you start Waldorf Family and why?

Years ago we lived in Bristol and I was introduced to these amazing ideas like seasonal living, mindful living rhythms, and we celebrated all these amazingly colourful festivals. I was focused on being a mama and just loved living it; then in 2018 I started to draw little pieces for family and friends. With a little apprehension, started to share on Instagram and before I knew it, other people really engaged with the concept. I think I just gave visual form to a core idea that resonates with all people: we all share this same experience, of living on this planet right now. We created Waldorf Family the company around the illustrations and the soul intention to help people connect with nature.

What are the core values of Waldorf Family?

Sustainably and connection. Everything we make is sustainable. We use FSC wood, and brass fastening so that they can be recycled. There’s no plastic. We are UK made so our miles on products are kept to a minimum. The idea behind each product is to nurture connection to nature, in the maths collections that’s all about finding beauty and symmetry, with the Wheel of the Year is about engaging with the pattern and flow of the natural world.

What are lovely ways of incorporating the Waldorf method into everyday life?

There are a lots of ways to bring seasonal living into your lives, for us it started with a focus on festivals. So celebrating the darkness coming with lantern walks and Easter by planting an Easter garden and helping it grow. We also grow a lot of vegetables, but we supplement with a seasonal delivery box of veggies: so what we are eating reflects what’s happening outside – lots of salads in summer and root veg in autumn. I also think if you are starting fresh trying to let your children take the led a little is a great start, we can learn a lot from children – their sense of wonder for example can be a renewing, refreshing energy to welcoming into your family. 

The wooden wheel of the year is a lovely piece to teach children about the seasons.

What are the benefits of working with your educational products?

Less stress and deeper learning. Children are naturally really curious and given time they will unfold, like a flower in the sun. The educational products make space for this. For example the Maths collection together the Songs, Multiplication Wheel and the Maths Wheel can be used by a child to investigate step counting, multiplication, they could work independently or with an adult. What we do at home is listen to the CD in the car, and the kids follow allow on the Wheels on just reading the numbers on the Multiplication Wheel, we do one times table each day. We listen to it a few times, then sing it all together. Just from this my youngest who’s 7 can sing you all but the 9’s (because we haven’t done them yet) and my oldest has gone from hating Maths to realising once you know the times tables all the rest of Maths becomes easier. I think as parents and teachers we know how important the tables are; so it’s easy for it to become a pressured point, “learn them, learn them quick them everything gets easier”. I think given time and the right tools children will learn them: and we know self-actuated learning takes root as a much deeper learning. More than this independent learning aspect I think we should not underestimate two other elements, beauty and sensory learning. So the Waldorf Family collections are all colourful, I think all humans respond to colour but perhaps none more so than children I think colour fills us with joy and I think starting number work from this perspective is great. The second aspect that informs the collection is this idea that we are not just our hands or eyes or ears. We are amazingly complex creatures and so the Maths collection responds to us on many levels, colours, sounds, textures as well as intellectually. For younger ones simply using their hands to make patterns on  the Maths Wheel can help from a hand eye coordination and dexterity point of view. Finally that concept of discover is a great joy to watch when working with the Maths wheel, for children to see this language of Maths – which is highly beautiful – plotted out to become a symmetrical star pattern – but then more than that if they are using it in a number work block and doing all the tables the might be this moment when they realise after 5 – the midpoint- that the patterns are reflected – the same in the top half of the tables to the bottom. This “ah –ha” moment is another wonderful deep learning moment. To realise through the wheel the concept of symmetry  is a great building block for geometry later.

Where are your products made? What materials are used to make them?

We use FSC approved wood, so that means it’s all coming from sustainable forests. Then they are held together with brass, the boxes and packing are recycled Kraft paper. We have to use a bit of gum on the sticker to close the box – but we deliberately don’t use tape because it’s tricky to recycle. Everything we use is from the Earth and can be composted or recycled.

All wheels are made from FSC approved wood.

Out of all of your products, which one is your favourite and why?

At the moment I’m smitten with the Perpetual Moon Calendar. We love watching the moon in our house, we have a great big telescope and very excitable children, it’s just such a joy to watch them use it. On another level I’ve been really touched with the Maths Collection I have people writing to me to say its helped their dyspraxic son or stopped a worried child from being so stressed that’s huge and makes my heart happy.

What are the things that make you feel heiter?

Colour, like the rainbow, but also when the sun catches the leaves on a tree just right and they look like they are so vividly that colour: that really lights me up.

Interview and image: Katharina Geissler-Evans, heiter magazine