daniellecoons.com

She is the kind of women that everyone notices when she walks into a room.  She walks tall, has an engaging smile and usually some cool jewelry on.  She is that beautiful. But she doesn’t know it.

The first time I met Tracey we were at a mixer thrown by our local chapter of the Ad Club. She was wearing a black turtleneck, dark jeans and a leather jacket.  Not a Harley Davidson biker jacket, but a fashionable “I’m kind of a badass” jacket.  She smiled that engaging smile, said hello to my boss, and introduced herself.  She was the competition.  It’s funny how at 22 you think anyone who works at another ad agency is competition.  Little did I know the minute I stopped viewing the world as a playground where everyone was fighting for the same swing, I made some friends.  And not just the type of friends who smile and say “Congratulations” as you collect your Addy awards, but the kind of friends that offer encouragement and advice and who celebrate the victories with you.  The minute I stopped trying to be somebody important at that mixer and was just myself; I met Tracey.

The first thing I noticed about Tracey (beside her engaging smile and cool jewelry) was how she spoke to me like I was an equal, a peer, like my opinion mattered.  What did I know, I had only been in the ‘business’ for about a year…and here I was chatting with someone who had a laundry list of accomplishments.  But to Tracey that didn’t matter.  She saw the excitement, the joy and passion I had for what I was doing and she shared in that.

Over the years Tracey and I have kept in touch and kept up on each others adventures!  When I went to St. Lucia last year she was one of the first people to encourage me and offer support.  And when Twisted Pinky made its debut, I was beyond excited to share in the revelry of its promises.  Tracey is amazing with words.  She has a voice that is honest, encouraging and REAL.  So when she asked to use one of my photographs for her blog, I squealed with excitement.  The respect and admiration I have for Tracey is only amplified by her honest opinions.  If Tracey says something is good, it’s DAMN good.  This girl knows her stuff.

Shortly after Kristen and I posted our attempt at modeling for Blake Street Creative (Kristen did WAY better than I did!) Tracey asked if we could snap some heads hots for her.  I quickly offered up my services, knowing how busy Kristen has been lately and we set a date.

I arrived at Tracey’s amazingly beautiful house to find an amazingly styled women.  She proclaimed “This is going to be painful for you. I hate having my photo taken.”  And just like that I accepted the challenge.  Throughout the session we shared stories about where we had been, where we were at now…and what was standing in our way.  Always encouraging always uplifting and always celebrating the possibilities.

I asked Tracey “What kind of look are we going for?” and she simply said “I don’t know, but I’m sure you’ll find one!”  And so I did.  I found a beautiful women who walks tall, has an engaging smile and some cool jewelry on.

You can check out Tracey’s inspiring work below:
Twisted Pinky – Promises Worth Making as You Journey Through Life
Leap – 29 Empowering Promises
Ink Engaged
Twitter