How Do They Create: Lauren Peters
A creative series where I speak with inspiring women I know.
This month for the "How Do They Create" Interview Series I would like to introduce you to my creative bestie, the super talented and colourful Lauren Peters aka Me&MyGirl. You might already recognise the name from all the wonderful photographic work she has done for me since 2021. I can’t believe that we first met up IRL in August 2018 at a cafe after having chatted for ages on Instagram, the places you meet your friends in adulthood! Honestly, the connection was instant, and it was such a natural and enthusiastic sharing of two creative minds, we could have sat there until closing time! Back then I had a different Instagram handle which I shut down after feeling fed up with it all for a while! I was so obsessed with creating surface patterns, though only a few people knew what I meant when I said I was a surface pattern designer in Australia. In the US it seems far more common and not just buried into a graphic designer’s role. The title? It didn’t really stick, the burden of manufacturing in Australia was a huge obstacle so the journey was complex. I was simply enjoying my maternity leave and reignited my interior design background with textiles.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and what you like to create (can be for fun or professionally, or both!).
Hola, I’m Lauren! A rebel with a cause, driven by creative curiosity, and if I were an emoji, I’d be a rainbow.
Outside of capturing natural portraits of business owners and highly art directed creative flatlays, I LOVE to create crazy collages and take polaroids.
I also love to create little vignettes around my home which showcase my beautiful plant babies, books, art (by me, my daughter, creative friends, and my favourite local artists), treasured keepsakes and quirky design stuff.
Imagine rainbow colour coded books (picture The Home Edit!), Lego flowers, disco balls, tea sets, vintage cameras and more!
Is there something about your creativity and your personal interests that you would like to share with us?
My fascination with photography started in primary school when my Nan gave me her (old school) Box Brownie camera.
It looked so cool, and I loved the design of it, and years later it kickstarted my vintage camera collection.
Soon after that I got my first film camera, the Kodak Ektralite 10 which used the (old form) long 110 film cartridge. I’d take it along to school camps and take loads of photos of my friends and nature.
Fast forward to high school, where I chose photography as a Year 12 elective. It was my first time shooting black and white and experimenting in a darkroom and I loved it.
Skip ahead to university where I studied graphic design, but all the way through wished I’d chosen photography instead. I know that my photography folio was part of the reason I got into my course.
Finally, after 20+ years in the graphic design industry, I started my biz doing photography. So I got there in the end!
I know you absolutely love music and going to live performances, what’s your favourite genre of music and design movement?
Yeah, I absolutely love going to gigs, especially seeing my favourite bands and idols. That feeling of letting go and getting lost in the music, and dancing, and jumping and (obviously!) singing along, really is like nothing else. At certain moments of each gig, I make a mental note to myself to close my eyes and just listen to that beautiful wall of sound, and let it take me away from the reality (and sometimes heaviness) of my world outside the venue.
Favourite genre? That’s a tough one to nail down to one single genre. I love a mix of:
Post-grunge/hard rock with awesome riffs, heavy/dirty guitar sounds – like Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Magic Dirt.
Indie/alternative/post-punk rock – like The Cure, The Smiths, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Pixies, The Breeders, and I LOVE Beastie Boys!
All of that with a twist of electronica like New Order and gimme old school 80s pop any day and I’m on that dance floor in a heartbeat (think Private Eyes by Hall & Oates, haha!).
Side note: I actually Googled what genre my fave bands were as I’ve never really thought about them in that way. It was a very informative exercise, haha!
I am curious to know what brings out a little bit of the creative rebellion, what informs your main aesthetic and approach to styling in your work?
My creative rebel comes out after seeing the same images/style/look/branding over and over again. I can’t deal with all the same-same-ness, and a result of people doing what they think they SHOULD do. There’s no creativity in doing what everyone else does. It’s not unique, it gets lost in a sea of same-same-ness and it’s just boring.
I’m quite determined not to do what everyone else does, and that inspires me to look at things differently and challenge the status quo.
I focus on what I COULD (not SHOULD) do, and the opportunity to create something unique and different. Ultimately, it produces engaging work that tells a story and stands out from the crowd.
What informs your main aesthetic and approach to styling in your work?
My background of 20+ years in the graphic design industry, as well as a love of photography since I was in primary school, informs everything I do.
I’ve often described it as looking through a camera viewfinder (24/7), almost like a default set of framing crop marks installed behind my eyes. My brain is constantly working on compositions, forming shapes, designs and scenes while the stories to match are also coming together. My eyes focus on detail, pattern, shape, colour and light.
I have a rebellious approach to styling when it comes to photographing people and I’m in my element when creating a flaylay scene because all of those elements I love come together. I also love a dynamic layout vs centering objects, I prefer a loose, more relaxed and authentic look and I celebrate the imperfections. It’s when I’m in the flow of setting a scene and trying different things – that’s when the magic happens!
What sources or methods do you use to spark your creativity when facing a creative block?
Being creative ‘just for me’ (i.e. not for clients/work) always helps. I’ve been collaging for the last few months, and I really love it. There’s no pressure to perform, it’s much more freeing and I can let loose with crazy ideas like a toucan under a mushroom shower in a bathtub.
And… the best thing – it’s totally analog as I’m creating cut paper collages, not digital.
I enjoy trawling the ‘discover/search’ feed on Insta. Whether it’s a creative way to nurture your plants (I’m obsessed and have a LOT of plant babies) or it’s a fresh new collage creation or a fab meal to make, or fashion inspo – there’s always something good that comes up and sparks my creative thinking.
For me, finding beauty in nature can bring about a deep sense of positivity and well-being. I like to sometimes take a walk to stop and smell (literally!), and admire the roses, and any beautiful flowers and/or plants helps too.
If you would like to see and connect with Lauren and her work visit her studio, Me&MyGirl and follow on Instagram @meandmygirl which is her favourite place because it’s so visual. You can have a conversation with Lauren over on her profile on LinkedIn.
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