Recently, I shared a post to @hihosilveruk stories from @rachelbraggphotography of a portrait shot of her that was taken by @victoriabeddoesphoto at our recent #hihoandco event at @oxleazebarn.

I shared it because it was a gorgeous shot of a dear friend of mine, by another dear friend – both women I admire and both very talented photographers – but as I posted it, I realised something really important…

The photo was taken at Hiho & Co, which was in fact the 4th event of its kind, this time organised by myself, Rachel and Melanie from @mackenzieandgeorge with #hihoandrew helping at the event.

The first Hiho & Co event was a day about style and skills but it very quickly became so much more than that, to respond to what we saw in the room, Here was a group of people, amazing, vibrant, talented and so lovely to be around but many were feeling a pressure to post the perfect post on social media, were feeling “less than” because their perception was that everyone else in the room was doing so much better than them, and finding it so much easier than them.

From talking to attendees individually as we went about the day, we knew that this was a common theme, so I tabled that we needed to address this and it was explored a bit more at Hiho & Co #2 and then Hiho & Co 3 had the strapline ‘Be all you can be”. We added the rider that it should be for you and no-one else, so if you aspire to be first in your field, fantastic – but also aspiring to just be, or to just improve a little bit is a win too, a win for you and that’s just as important as any podium place. Run your own race, worry about your own lane…

And that’s where my realisation was centred…

An event borne out of a collaboration of brands and people, with generosity of spirit and time, had in itself become a collaboration incubator. As each event took place, I was looking more and more at what the community needed, rather than what we as brands needed to tell them. I watched the connections being made, the friendships forming and the collaborations starting.

Collaborations which respect what each party brings to the table, collaborations which aren’t about commercial gains, which aren’t about what can I take from this – collaborations which are about generosity of spirit, recognition of talent and respecting each other as equals, in fact celebrating each other and building each other up.

For me, it’s the most special gift to be able to host Hiho & Co, I always say to people that whenever you work from your values, from that which you hold dear, magic happens. Collaboration hits high on my list of values – so Hiho & Co days are magical for me and I feel very privileged to be part of this very special community, supported by amazing brands and celebrating amazing people.

So, they always say that a picture tells a thousand words…and this photo of Rachel does that for me, it’s such a genuine representation of how the very act of collaboration accesses all that is good in us, and when we approach it genuinely and from the heart – it shines out of everything we do.

A photo is so much more than a product, it’s a feeling, it’s the magic of the moment captured for ever…