We had the good fortune of connecting with Traci Terrick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Traci, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I would say that being a solo-preneur is synonymous with being a risk taker. I can tell you that most of my pivotal moments in my career were all done by taking a risk, a jump and hoping for the best! Graduating with a bachelor’s in Art History I had no clue on where / what I wanted to do with my career. I luckily landed an awesome starter job in the creative department for Williams Sonoma. Thru them I went back to school for graphic design so that I could be given a position as a layout artist for their printed catalogs. And then thru that went on my first photo shoot where I quickly learned about what a photo shoot was, and started dreaming of how I could get out of corporate life and become a freelancer. y next risk was when I got stuck at Williams Sonoma, couldn’t get promoted and decided to leave with no job but sold myself as a freelancer to a new retailer, Restoration Hardware. They quickly scooped me up and made me a producer / art director where I created the same production workflow that I had learned from over at WS.  After that, ten years later, having worked my way to being a Creative Director for a major department store did I get my next chance to leap, and go out on my own, I actually opened a flower shop – while freelance art directing to fund it. I’ve always relied on my perseverance and ability to network, make good connections that I truly fostered. Its what I tell all artists they must do to be successful. My current companies were also risks, leaving the flower shop behind I was asked by a photographer friend to become his agent and help him find work, and so began my 15 year journey as an artist agent. And with Focus on Women I’ve started a volunteer based membership community to help elevate female-identifying artists in their commercial photography careers – all on a whim that I felt the need out there and I took the plunge, even agreeing to start a podcast at the age of 50!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My company, Poppy Creative Agency represents commercial photographers in the food, interiors and lifestyle arena. I am their agent, do all of their marketing, help to connect them to jobs that fit their style, negotiate their contracts, handle their billing, their schedules, and more. We are a leading agency in the area of interiors and work for all the top retailers in the space, including Pottery Barn, Target, Wayfair, Williams Sonoma. My second and newest company is Focus on Women and that is a community with members that I created to help get female-identifying creatives in the commercial photo and production space a seat at the table. We offer education, mentorship, network building, and have a podcast with over 200 episodes.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Having recently relocated to the Hudson Valley – Must spend one day in Woodstock, check out the Levon Helms Barn for music, dinner at Millstream. one day exploring Hudson, shopping on Main Street, dinner at Feast and Floret, jewelry at Hudson Clothier, drinks at The Maker Hotel Bar. One day in Catskill – hiking at Olana State Historic Site, breakfast at Willa’s, you must get the cinnamon bun! Then check out Beattie Powers house on the river and Camptown in Leeds for dinner at Casa Susanna.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate my success to two of my mentors and good friends, Mary Dail. She is the founder and CD with Big Leo also representing amazing photographers / directors and stylists. And Elspeth Martin, she was my first boss at Williams Sonoma who has remained a life long mentor and friend. Both are strong women who really inspired me to be on my own, stand strong and persevere.

Website: www.poppycreativeagency.com / www.focusonwomen.org

Instagram: @poppycreative / @focusonwomen_org

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/poppycreative-traci-terrick/

Image Credits
Image credits Meg Smith, Angela DeCenzo, Shaun Sullivan, Steven Randazzo

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