Jillian Elise

Lifestyle Branding Photography for Conscious Brands & Feral Souls

Owner

Sutton + Grove

A conscious fashion and lifestyle blog created in 2016 sharing topics related to frugalism, minimalism,  and conscious living.

Founder, Content Creator & Blogger

Gyro Beach Townhomes

- Developed and implemented the Social Media marketing strategy
- Created any necessary digital & print marketing material

Social Media Manager & Graphic Designer

- Developed the brand, marketing material and contributed to new 
marketing strategies in collaberation with the Developer and Sales Team
- Created interior design layout of the company’s Sales Centre 
- Managed company’s social media presence and provided administrative clerical support by managing the CRM system, creating email campaigns, maintaining filing system, data entry, answering phone calls etc.
- Greeted potential buyers providing property and product knowledge

Marketing Graphic Designer / Sales & Communications Assistant

Metro World Child

- Assisted in the oversight, planning and management of weekly production & event which held over three thousand children and adults
- Assigned various positions to staff & interns during the weekly children’s event & production 
- Provided life coaching to children & families on a weekly basis
- Purchased & created costumes & props for set production
- Created graphic media on a weekly basis and helped manage media team during productions
- Assisted in writing yearly teaching curriculum for program
- Conducted clerical administrative duties such as answered phone calls, filing and records, scheduled meetings, managed budget & expenses and created department manual

Assistant Director & Office Administrator

Content made easy ☼ with Graphic Carousels done for you.

I have adored visual storytelling since I first got my hands on a beginner SLR camera back in 2008. Ever since then, I have woven photography and content creation into every aspect of my personal and professional life.

In 2016, I started my own online business as a conscious lifestyle blogger. That led me to work and travel all over the world, telling visual stories of sustainable brands and my own adventures for about 5 years.

During those years, I began to meet other amazing, passionate creatives who had also taken the leap to build their own business or personal brand. I began taking photos for them, giving branding tips, and creating website and brand designs.

I loved every minute of it, and a passion to breathe life into others' visions was born.

Now, I feel that fire-in-my-belly excitement and pride when I see the beauty, strength, and vision of other creative souls come to life through our collaborative branded photoshoot sessions and coaching calls.


OTHER THINGS ABOUT ME...

▷ I adore traveling and exploring the outdoors, it is my secret weapon for healing.

 ▷ I am currently living between Scotland and Florida exploring the gorgeous beauty of both mountain and sea. 

▷ I'm quite the frugalist and love DIY everything including making my own beauty products and more recently becoming an amateur pottery

Pivoting in life is inevitable. 

Sometimes we’re forced into a pivot, sometimes it’s voluntary. 

Over the past couple years I’ve had to pivot more than ever in my life. 

My world has been totally rocked. 

In fact I'd say it turned completely upside down, was shaken about and left with every pocket entirely empty.

As vulnerable, exposing and unsure as that has made me feel one of the greatest outcomes of this time is how little f*ks I have left for doing a thing just because.

My life had to become purposeful on default because I had such little capacity to care.

So what I did do was free myself to experiment. I went back to things I enjoyed, tried new things and just felt it all out. I applied this to both my personal life and work.

Some things were hard nos, some thing didn't stick but some did. 

Now enter all the nay sayers who's anthem is “put your emotions aside, stop jumping around, focus on one thing and get really good at it”.

Listen I get it, and yes there’s a place for it.

However to get there I believe you need a time of pivoting in life.

Some may call it mid life crisis, some may call it self discovery some may call it a Tuesday afternoon.

Whatever it is at whatever degree and level I think it's a valuable strategy to lean into.

In my rock bottom years, my capacity for caring about anything that didn't serve me or didn't give me peace or joy was non existent.

It freed me from slugging a thing out and allowed me to explore doing things that brought me joy and peace.

When you get there, all that journeying and exploration becomes worth it.

Because, in the end all that matters is that you feel good about the life you're living and the things you're doing.


Here are 3 things that I've learned and benefitted from being a pivoter: 

1. You don't sweat the small stuff and don't take a lot of things personally. If life happens you can easily brush it off and adjust to a new way of doing a thing. 

2. Your creativity grows. This is especially true for entrepreneurs and people who work for themselves. 

3. You gain new perspectives through new life experiences. 

Bonus : You may end up falling into a thing you didn't know you actually loved if you hadn't tried it! 

What's your take on pivoting in life and/or work?  

I worked for a man who traveled the world each day without spending a penny. 

It was the year 2016, I had just landed a job as a real estate assistant after having spent 11 entire months applying for hundreds of jobs and getting zero offers. 

I was excited for a new challenge, even though it wasn’t the area of work I was passionate about. 

The man I worked for was kind, generous and well off. In fact, the year I was working for him was meant to be an easy 7 figure year.

He had a very simple routine for his day: 

> He’d come in the office, watch some funny Facebook videos, have a laugh. 

> He’d jump on a call or two set up a meeting for the afternoon. 

> Then he’d go on a trip somewhere in the world and by lunch he was gone. 

His secret to cheap, fast travel: Google Maps 🗺 . 

He traveled by Google 🖥 . 

Every day was a new adventure that’d he’d go on. 

He used to say to me: “Jill I don’t need to spend money and time on flights, I can travel anywhere I want in the world with a click of a button.”

And it was true. He didn’t leave his home town very often, in fact I don’t remember him leaving for a proper holiday anytime. 

But he had a nice big house, nice toys, nice family life and he was content. 

By 6 months I had decided this wasn’t the place for me. 

So I quit, started my own online business with my partner at the time and then we sold our stuff and traveled the world...

By planes 🛩 , trains 🚆  and automobiles 🚘 . 

I often think back on this time quite fondly. 

Not because it was particularly enjoyable, in fact the job was a grind. 

I think about it as a time that kicked my ass into gear. 

I wasn’t a Google traveler. 

I didn’t want to sit around in a cozy office life enjoying my nice home or toys. 
I wanted to see the world and experience it with my own senses. 

My drive, my purpose was different than his. 

And that’s ok.  

I don’t judge him for his way of life. He had found contentment and joy in what he was doing. And he was making his own way doing it. 

I wanted to make traveling a way of life for me, and I figured out how to adapt our work life to that. 

We all have our whys, our drives, and purposes. 

And it’s alright if it looks different than the guy or gal next door. 

What’s your why? 

And are you a travel by google or travel by plane kinda person?

______________________


If you’re looking for a traveling photographer for your events, retreats, or want me to snap some branding shots for you I’m your girl. Link to my packages below. 

Today I’m flying “home”.

It’s only for 1 week to see family, friends, and do a couple photoshoots. 

One of the fastest turn around journeys for such a distance traveled in some time.  

Home has meant alot of different things over the years. 

I have not lived in my home country full time since  2017. 

I’ve been on and off in various places around the world and then for the past 5 years I’ve been in the UK.

Last night as I packed for my quick trip back to Canada, I was emotional thinking about what home means. 

To me it’s always been a relative concept.

I could say a lot of physical places have felt home like. 

New York was that for me when I lived there, Bali too. 

Oddly even the airport can feel like home.

But home isn’t just a physical location.

To me it’s also a state of mind, a sense of comfort, where I feel a strong emotional or familial connection.

I’ve had this with people, items I’ve had and taken with me throughout my life.

I’m thankful for all the places, people and things I have accumulated over the years that are “home” to me.

And now, as I sit here typing this in the airport, about to jet off across the pond… 

I can’t help but think that going “home” to Canada hasn’t always felt  like home, but this time it does.

And that makes me smile.😁

So cheers to the comfort of home for a hot minute! 

What does home mean to you?

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