It was the last Wednesday in June, and I was invited to one of the coolest happenings in town (IMO, of course). It’s an event called Suitcase Laundry organized by a very organized woman named Nic Porter.

Suitcase Laundry is described as “a women-only photoshoot event that focuses on the female gaze while prioritizing art over content and collaboration over competition.” According to Porter, the event’s intention is to “carve a space for women photographers, art directors, lighting, HMUAs, stylists, models, post-production, etc. to engage in knowledge-sharing, portfolio-building, resource-sharing, collaboration, creating badass art.”

What a novel idea, right?! They’ve held a few of these, including one at Swift creative agency, but this was the first I was invited to, and was held way out in Milwaukie at a beautiful wedding venue called Gray Gables Estate. As you can see from the photos, it was a lush, romantic place to shoot, and made for some really great photo ops.

Thanks to Porter for having the organizational skills to pull something like this off, because I can’t even imagine. (You try getting over 30 models, 10-plus photographers, and somewhere around 40 stylists/photo assistants/hair and makeup artists all in one venue at the same time!) And thanks for having such a great idea in the first place.