I’m feeling a roller coaster of emotions today. Sad to be leaving Sydney behind after almost a month of incredible experiences, beautiful weather and my first ever tan. Excited to be going home to my loved ones and putting up my Christmas tree. Proud… because today my baby, Tigz Rice Studios, celebrates it’s fifth birthday.

Celebrating the studio’s birthday is a huge event in my calendar every year, although this year feels completely different. More special somehow, like celebrating a ‘big birthday’ rather than one of those average numbers like 19 or 31. Like there should be a big cake with candles. (I’m definitely going to buy a cake with candles on my way home later.) Perhaps also because when I started Tigz Rice Studios back in 2009, I made a five year plan and felt like I’d be working on those goals forever. Here we are, five years later, with pretty much everything ticked off that list.*

So what has Tigz Rice Studios achieved over the last five years? Well for starters, I’ve seen the company through one major rebrand, two complete website overhauls and three studio relocations to become the successful brand as it appears today. Its been one incredibly exciting journey so far – and with this week’s exciting news that I am now in the process of becoming a Limited Company, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t already thinking about the things I hope to write this time next year!

There have also been some personal highlights, including a ten page editorial spread in Cosmopolitan Magazine back in 2012, a monthly residency at Digital Arts Magazine writing Photoshop Tutorials, appearing in the Adobe Ask A Pro seminar seres and being named by 21st Century Burlesque as one of the world’s most influential non-performing women in the global burlesque scene. There are many more highlights I could mention, but covering a full five years would take a while. If you do fancy it though, you can find all of them in my blog.

Naturally, there are a few thank you notes I’d like to write, to those who have played a part in getting to today… To Wacom, Adobe, The Flash Centre, Datacolor and Eizo for their continued support of the studio. To James, Ian, Lisa and Honey Bare for all their help both in the public eye and behind the scenes over the last five years helping make Tigz Rice Studios a success. You guys rock! And finally to all clients, past, present and future. Thank you for investing in Tigz Rice Studios. Without you, I wouldn’t have a job!

So how am I celebrating? Well, today I will be on a 23 hour flight home to London, hopefully with a glass of champagne at some point, and ready to get cracking on my next five year plan! The studio is pretty jam packed with portrait sessions and theatre photography between now and Christmas, but I’m hoping in January to mark the occasion properly with some kind of fabulous party. More on that to come…

*The only thing left on that 5 year list is to appear in Vogue. If anyone from Vogue is reading this, please call me…