Still Standing.
Seventeen Years.
I started Poppy in 2009.
If you know anything about 2009, you know that was not a gentle time to start a business. The economy was in freefall. Clients were pulling back. Nobody was talking about growth — they were talking about survival.
I wasn’t thinking about any of that.
I was thinking about Shaun Sullivan.
Shaun had built something rare. A career as an interiors and product photographer that took him through the pages of the best catalogs in the country; Smith and Hawken, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn. He had the kind of work that made you stop scrolling before scrolling was even a thing. And he needed a real partner. Someone in his corner, not just answering phones, but with the ability to make stellar connections.
That felt like something worth building toward.
But I wouldn’t have made it back to California to build it without Karla (Springer) Rinehart. She came to the East Coast, believed in what we could do together, and brought me back west to start this crazy company. Poppy has her fingerprints on it from day one.
Within weeks, some of my favorite stylists, Jody Kennedy, Joy Coakley, and Rachel Cleaveland were on board. Digital techs who were just starting to break out on their own came with them. We were small, scrappy, and completely committed to each other.
Seventeen years later, I’m still here.
We survived the crash we launched into. We survived the pivot from film to digital. We survived COVID, the cancellations, the silence, the slow and uneven return. We survived the aftermath of that, which, honestly, was harder than the thing itself. There were highs that felt like anything was possible. There were lows that tested everything.
I’m still standing. Poppy is still standing.
And I find myself wanting to say thank you, to every photographer, stylist, and creative who trusted me with their career. To every client who picked up the phone. To everyone who said yes when they didn’t have to.
Representation isn’t going anywhere. How it works is.
If you’ve been reading along here, you know I’ve been thinking hard and out loud about what representation needs to look like going forward. I haven’t been shy about saying the old model has to evolve.
But I want to be precise about something, because I think it gets flattened in these conversations.
I’m not saying agents are going away. I’m saying how we work with artists and with clients has to shift into something more workable for everyone. The structure needs to flex. The relationship needs to be renegotiated. That’s a different thing than disappearing.
And here’s the question I keep coming back to: without artist representation, how do photographers and stylists get vetted for a client?
Think about what that process actually requires. A client needs to know that the person walking onto their set has the experience, the professionalism, and the aesthetic range the job demands. That trust doesn’t come from a website. It comes from someone who knows the work, knows the client, and has spent years building the credibility to make that introduction mean something.
That’s what representation does. In 2009. In 2026. In whatever comes next.
Having an agent means having a partner, someone who is in your business 50/50, as invested in your success as you are. Negotiating rates, protecting usage rights, reading contracts, knowing when to push and when to hold. That’s the work that happens before a single frame is captured.
And then there’s the network. Decades of relationships in the interior, hospitality, and food space with art directors, creative directors, and brand teams who trust the roster I bring them. That trust took years to build. When you’re represented, you step into it.
The shape of how I do this work has changed. It will keep changing. I’m not precious about the old ways, I never have been. But the need at the center of it is permanent.
Someone has to know the talent. Someone has to know the client. Someone has to stand behind both.
Seventeen years in, that someone is still me.
Poppy is growing. If you’re a photographer, stylist, or creative who has been wondering whether representation still makes sense in this industry I’d love to have that conversation. Something is coming in May and I want the right people in the room.
With gratitude,
Traci
It takes a lot to be standing after all that time in our industry. It’s so nice that you acknowledge all the people who were there with you along the way. What an accomplishment!