Let me introduce myself! I'm Lou, Six & Flow's newest recruit and the latest addition to one of two inbound marketing pods within the agency.
So where do I start? I grew up in East London, though some like to point out it was almost certainly Essex. I was a bit of a creative/tech nerd at school, and at any given point you'd find me with a camera often annoying my friends and family with my taking of candid portraits. They got bored with having a camera in their faces, so I started to point and shoot at still life instead.
I genuinely think photography really opens up doors. I see people like Holly Cato (h_cato on Instagram), a friend who went from creating an Instagram community in London to now commissioning pieces for the likes of Canon, Huawei and New Balance.
When University rolled around, I wanted to channel my photography into something that paid me, so I used to freelance content creation, mainly food photography, food writing and recipe testing for a lifestyle magazine.
I was the person that ordered the whole menu (sometimes) just to take pictures of everything. I'd spend my pre-lecture mornings in coffee shops and post-seminar afternoons eating in a variety of restaurants taking pictures of coffee art and beautifully plated food. I dabbled in the Instagram influencer scene before influencing was a thing. More than 32,000 followers later and I let it go, but that's a story for another time.
Fast forward to just a few years ago, when I began my in-house marketing career. I'm a big fan of social media, when used correctly of course, and I love the buzz of lead generation through email marketing or direct mail campaigns. I also really love designing things.
Of the many things that inspire me at work, the people I meet take centre stage. I've worked with some of the UK's most aspirational young people in a previous charity role, and with people who spend their working week saving the planet at a recycling company.
"Have you worked for an inbound marketing agency before?" That's been the most commonly asked question for me in recent weeks. And the answer is no, no I haven't worked for an agency before.
To be honest, I wanted to alter the path my career was taking. If you're in-house, you always stay in-house. If you join an agency, you always stay in agencies. I wanted to break from this and experience what it was like to work at a marketing agency, understand the pressure of juggling the client I used to be and understand what makes the ideal working partnership. I also just wanted to learn more about the industry I work in.
So, that's me - a bit of a creative/tech nerd with a love for photography and marketing. Now to the generics:
What's my favourite colour?
Usually anything dark, but I'll happily bring out a yellow ochre in the summer.
What am I interested in outside of work?
Eating, cooking, climbing, exploring, hiking and travelling, tending to our million and one houseplants and sharing them on Instagram.