Tracy Joy Camera Bags | Interview * 3 Prizes * and more
MCP Actions Website | MCP Flickr Group | MCP Reviews
Today I have the privilege of interviewing Tracy of Tracy Joy Inc. She is a very generous person. Read on to learn about her 5% donation program through the end of May and about 3 prizes she is giving away on my blog (see the bottom of this post for details).
___________________________________
Tracy Joy | The Interview
How long have you been designing and sewing?
Since the 7th grade when I ‘discovered’ sewing class in junior high. I was prob such a dork, getting all excited on how to make a “grocery tote bag” and sweat pants, lol. I haven’t stopped sewing since (or being a dork)! I’ve always found more enjoyment in creating & sewing my own things, vs buying “store” products. From curtains, to bags, to my babies nursery decor/bedding… I try to add my own creative twist on it all. I also don’t use “store” patterns, never have, never will (such a rebel, ha? lol). All of my items are my own design, which I find to be very important, and very satisfying. I never want to be a copy cat, and think it’s important to be known for your own creativity, not someone else’s. Plus… I don’t follow instructions or rules very well, haha!
How did you decide this was a passion for you?
When I graduated high school, I went to college for Fashion Merchandising. I dreamed of creating my own fashion line (didn’t know what of yet; clothes, bags, etc). Sadly, due to financial reasons, I had to drop out in my first year. It always “haunted” me, as designing was my passion and I knew I could create something wonderful that people would enjoy. It’s so amazing (but not surprising) to have found myself back in the design world again, coming full circle. Being creative is in my blood, and flows throughout my whole being.
Before Tracy Joy Inc, I was working for a corporate office, helping to run all of the daily necessities as an assistant manager (of sorts). Being in that business for 7+ years has given me the knowledge and strength to run Tracy Joy Inc. Not only can I be creative and design & sew my own line, but I also know how to run a business inside and out. It makes things run so much more smoothly, than just being creative alone.
What gave the idea for Tracy Joy Camera bags for photographers?
Actually… A couple of women PHOTOGRAPHERS piqued my interest in designing a bag for their needs. And WHALA, it took off from there. My original bag, the KIMBERLY (which is now on hold), blossomed into the KRISTINE & JOEY bags. The REESE bag came after a few clients expressed “wishes & dreams” of a TJ bag w/a zipper on it.
What is your favorite bag you sell?
The KRISTINE. I love the option of flap changes. It’s so convenient to be able to change your flap when you want to change the look of your bag, instead of your entire bag itself. And it doesn’t get much easier than a Velcro flap, coming off to exchange w/another one.
Which ones do you personally use?
Honestly… I have 2-3 of each, lol. I use the REESE as my daily bag, since I have 2 kids under 2. It leaves room for all my necessities and still space for my DSLR camera w/28-75mm lens attached. When I go on a photography shoot, I use my JOEY bag (Velcro flap and extra padding). I can comfortably fit my DSLR in it, with 3 lenses and my wallet & keys. My hubby uses the KRISTINE bag, he likes to have his own “man flaps” for the bag, lol.
What do you typically keep in your photo bag (what camera, lenses, and other stuff) .
Oh all the goodies! lol I have a Canon Rebel XTi, and ALWAYS my Tamron
28-75mm lens attached. I also carry my 50mm 1.8, and my 75-300 for outdoor shots. I LOVE nature photography, so my 75-300 comes in handy when we are outside. I’m adding a 430ex Speedlite to my gear in a few months… but since I use natural lighting 90% of the time, I don’t really need it for the spring/summer months.
What is your favorite print?
Oh gosh, this is NOT an easy question! I have way too many prints, and so many more than I am itching to buy. I can tell you my top 3 favorites though, lol. The Acanthus, Boho Orchid & Disco Dots. Choosing fabrics is the hardest part of my job… seriously! When it comes time to add a new print to my collection, I could go w/o sleep looking over all the choices. Honestly, I wish I was creative enough to design my own prints. This is a far off dream of mine, but you never know… nothing is too far out of reach!
What is the strangest thing you have ever used your camera bag for? (if nothing we will skip this one)
Does a beach bag count? lol We went to Florida last summer and it was the only bag I had large enough to stuff our towels and flip flops in when we went to play in the ocean.
What type of photography do you do?
I adore newborn and maternity photography, esp when it includes a touch of whimsy. I recently did my first “real” maternity shoot, and oh was it fun! Seeing the glow on a pregnant woman is sometimes so surreal, and knowing that new life is just under her skin… simply amazing. I have 3 more maternity shoots now lined up…. and I’m “biting at the bit” to get shooting! I dont currently have a photography website, but I do have my flickr account, where I post my favorite shots. Http://flickr.com/photos/tracyjoy
In addition to maternity and newborn photography, I hope to learn the unique and creative style of Trash The Dress photography. I just love TTD, and always find them exciting and fun to view. I have 2 of those sessions lined up as well (for when the temps warm up a bit).
What are your favorite 3 photographers (with links)?
Well I have to give “props” to the wonderful and VERY talented 2 photographers who helped me launch my camera bags. The are the 2 girls who I mentioned above, regarding “the idea for Tracy Joy Camera bags for photographers“. Both of whom are AMAZING and talented photographers, friends and mentors!
Lisa Hodnet http://www.lisahodnetphotography.com/
& Jessica Leigh http://jessicaleighphotography.com/
And I absolutely LOVE Lisa Julia Photography. She captures so much whimsy and innocence in her child photography… they always make me smile and give me the “warm fuzzies”. http://lisajuliaphotography.com/ . She truly is talented, and such a wonderful person too. A great mentor!
What is the one thing you cannot live without (besides your photo equipment and family):
My Gingher scissors! Ha! They are so uber duber sharp, and cut through fabrics like butta’ I cant go a day w/o my Ginghers 
Tell me about the current donation you are doing for the American Cancer Society…
Tracy Joy Inc is currently running a donation to the American Cancer Society through the month of May. 5% of ALL my sales will go to ACS, in honor of my late sister in laws, Kristine and Amy Beth. They both would have celebrated birthdays in the month of May, so I am honoring their memory w/a donation.
Tracy Joy Inc also runs donations in the months of November, giving to a few different charities at Christmastime. Last year we donated to The American Cancer Society and Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Giving back is a very important aspect of Tracy Joy Inc, and something we truly believe in.
________________________________________
Now for the contest and prizes:
Tracy is going to be giving away one Tracy Joy® SUSIE camera strap covers for each of three lucky winners. The winners to pick the fabric from her amazing selection, and trust me, that will be the hardest part.
3 winners will be picked using random.org – from the comments below. With 3 prizes, you have a greater chance to win!!! Winners will be picked on May 21st and notified in a blog post, so check back to see if you are one of the lucky ones!
Next Post: A Fun Assignment | Shadow Pictures
Loading ...
I’d LOVE to win one of me!!!!! I just found her bags and I am DYING to get one!!!
Oh my gosh…I would love a camera strap, I was just thinking about that the other day on a shoot, I could get one from my local camera shop but it advertises them and not my creativity!….beautiful!
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention ginghers are my favorite also…I covet them ….when I first got them my kids were ages 8 and 10 and they knew they were only for fabric. No paper allowed!..lol I completely understand!
These bags are so kickin’! LOVE them!! Great work!
I LOVE my Tracy Joy camera bag and have been looking into getting a camera strap! This would be sooo cool! thanks so much!
I love those camera straps and all the fabric choices! I think I need to get one for my mom and sister too.
Wow! These are beautiful! I must get a camera strap!
I have yet to get a bag, but I will have it on my want list. I would love a camera strap cover. I already have the fabric picked out!
I’m entering. I’m excited to see if I win!!
I have been dying to get a new camera bag. I will be checking it out as soon as I am done with this comment!!! By the way I would love to win!
Please excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard… Okay, better now. LOVE Tracy’s bags! And great interview – it’s so cool to get to “know” the person behind the products!
Pick me! Pick me!
Seriously, though, that was a great interview and such a great story! Thanks for sharing!
Just found out about Tracy Joy while perusing ETSY!!! In need of a new bag soon and the cameras straps are fantastic!!!!
Lovely pieces of art to wear!!!
what a clever idea on the straps!!! LOVE them!!
Great interview! Love all the gorgeous fabrics!!
Great interview. Love the straps and so many choices.
Thanks.
Thanks for the interview! Amazing bags! I’d LOVE one!
i loved the interview… i would LOVE to get my hands on these straps…
I definitely want one of these camera bags. They are so cute. Love the straps. Would probably be a lot more comfortable then the one mine came with, kills my neck! Thanks for posting this, so fun!
Oh my goodness it would be like shoes, you can’t decided on just one! Awesome patters, love the straps!!
I love fabric. I love photography. Always looking for a way to combine the two! Great work!
Please I hope you pick me!!!! random.org, be my friend!!!! LOL!!!! wonderful interview.
These are so cool! Didn’t even know about these until now so good thing you interviewed her. Now I have other things on my wish list!
Wow, I have been eyeing a Tracy Joy bag for a while because my husband picked out the three bags I currently have to choose from and I hate two of them!! They’re gorgeous. Also, how wonderful to have a skill like sewing. I wish I knew how to do it. My mom was incredibly talented at it and also had Gingher scissors. Oh how upset she would get when I would use them to cut paper!!! Tracy sounds like a really neat person to boot. Jodi, thanks for doing this interview, I love reading things like this.
I love the dandy damask and coriander! They are so yummy looking! Awesome job on the patterns Tracy!
I would love to win one of these – I just started in photography with my sisters old slr camera~
These bags are adorable.. I could easily pick out SEVERAL favorites! =)
Cute, Cute, bags and straps! Love the fabrics, too!
Amazing! I am going to have a new obsession now!!
Love, love, love her bags! Would love to have one of her straps too!
Wow, I love the colours and funky patterns.
These are SOOO beautiful! I’ve been looking for a cool camera bag that’s roomy enough to fit everything!
I love your stuff! Wow! So beautiful! (Thank you Jodi~ What a great way to find new cool stuff!)
I love one of a kind stuff. You do a great job. Thanks Jodi for bringing her to us.
Loved every minute of reading the interview. Thanks for your time, ladies. I’m lovin’ my Kristine bag in Carnival Bloom. I keep arguing with my friend (another TJ bag owner) that it is the best! I’ve been getting lots of great comments on my bag.
These are gorgeous! I would love to spruce up my camera strap and give it some instant color and style.
Fabulous Fabrics! I hope I win…my camera could use some style!
I LOVE Tracy’s stuff. This is such a fantastic giveaway!
Beautiful! I have been looking for a new bag and believe that I just found the winner! Thanks for sharing!
What a great interview! Tracy’s bags are awesome, and I would love to win a camera strap – thanks so much for sharing!
Fabulous bags! I am actually getting ready to purchase one myself.. have been gawking for about a month. lol I just can not decide what fabric pattern to choose. lol
The camera strap is such a fabulous idea :0)
Wow!! Thank you for bringing us such great interviews, Jodi! Tracy, you are an amazing woman. Even when life got in the way, you found a way around the obstacles to fulfill your dreams. I know some day we’ll be seeing TJ fabrics, too. You rock, lady! And to donate to the ACS is wonderful. We just lost four people in our lives to cancer last month. I’ve been saying “Cancer sucks” forever. Thank you for doing something for the cause. ((hugs))
Tracy’s Bags ROCK! My friend and I argue that our bags are cutier than the other persons…my of course is!!! I just purchased the Kristine and it surely won’t be my last bag from Tracy Joy!!! There should be a group to deal with our addictions to TJ!!!!
Thanks for your generosity to the Cancer society!
Karly
I have been wanting a camera strap for months now. These look great.
Natalie
Love her bags, just bought one last week. Camera strap is too cute
Love the Tracy Joy bags. Hmmmm…..I have a birthday coming up, might just have to ask for one!!! A camera strap cover would be nice too!
what a great interview. It is fun reading about you. How generous you are. These straps look like SOOO much fun. and I have had my eye on the bags for a LONG TIME> they are sooo FUN. I LOVE FUN!
These bags are SO CUTE! I love them!! I will definitely be getting one very soon
Thank you for your site Jodi. I have learned so much since joining!
How awesome! I would love to have a camera strap! I have been looking at the bags for months but need to put my money in to a new camera first:)! Thanks!
How generous! Love her bags.
I love your interview! One of you bags is on my wish list and I have told hubby that is what I want for my birthday this year. I have been a very good girl!
As for the straps they are so cute. Why did you have to have so many great fabrics to choose from! I’m glad you are doing a donation to ACS they are very close to my heart. Thanks.
I have a Tracy Joy bag on the very top of my wishlist right now. I would love one of these camera straps to go with it.
Awesome work!
tracy. . .
you gave me warm fuzzies inside when you mentioned me. you are precious.
i, too, would LOVE to win a cool camera strap. sign me up!!!!
ooo..ooo..pick me! PICK ME! Love the Owl Fabric!!
great interview. I love the fun camera straps!
How great of you to give some of your earnings to a great foundation. These are super cute bags and straps and I think many people are greatful for your creative dorkiness. lol
Oh, my camera could use some bling! I would love to win one of these. Great interview, thanks!
Just discovered the exciting line of Tracy Joy bags!!! I was looking for an awesome, colorful bag that’s expresses a little bit of my personality and I found it!! LOVE her bags and accessories!!!
These are so darn cute! I’ve been eyeing some other bags, but these are the best.
thank you for the interview. these bags look wonderful!
I would LOVE one of these. So cool!!!
Love the products! Fantastic!
Loved the interview segment. I keep Ginghers in my pajama drawer so nobody but me can use them! Those camera bags are awesome and I LOVE the straps! Gotta get me one of those.
Jodi – thanks for sharing yet another free action. I was able to download it without a hitch.
For those of you reading this I would just like to give Jodi a big kudos for her excellent, above and beyond customer service. She stuck with me until I got something right that I was having a problem with. You don’t find that much these days.
Best of luck to you Tracy!
I love tracys stuff!!!!!!!!!
It is so great to learn about the artist! I would love a great camera strap!
Love the Damask!
That was a great interview. It’s fun to learn a little bit more about her. I’ve been ogleing Tracy’s bags for awhile. She is so talented. Thanks for the chance to win.
I’m not a photographer, but have a very talented daughter who is. I would love to win this for her!!!
Oooh, these giveaways are awesome! Love your blog… but I’ll sheepishly admit that I only comment when you have contests.
Oooh, these giveaways are awesome! Hope to win, LOVE your blog!
I need a new bag – we are busting at the seams! I love fabric – so I am just ewwing and awwing at these bags – and my husband is giving me funny looks….aww…love the strap too!!! Great post!!!
Wow! This is my first visit to this blog. I can’t believe I’ve never seen these before! I would love one!!!!!! They rock!
The fabrics are awesome and remind me of my quilting mother. Do you combine the prints with the stripes in any of your products? I will check out more of what you offer online.
Sorry, I put in the wrong email address! These fabrics are fabulous!
I’d love one of these, the fabrics are gorgeous!
I noticed on your site that you added the camera straps, cool!
I have to have one!!! I have to show my friends these as well! They would love them!!!!
I just found Tracey Joy 2 weeks ago and bought the Kristine in the acanthus print. Its on its way and I can’t wait to get it!! I really need the strap to match. Pick me pick me!! -tanya
Oh so pretty and girly!
Great giveaway – thanks so much!
I LOVE the strap cover. Hope I win something.
I work with a bunch of guys and we all have regular camera straps. This would really set me apart from the crowd!
Ok, how cute are these!?!?!
I love them! So, will my new strap come inside a Tracy Joy bag?!?! hahahahha
I don’t usually win anything ….. but there is a first time for everything, and I would love this to be my first time. Gorgeous prizes and so much fun – a real attention grabber!!
There are so many cute ones! it was a tough choice but i’m going to have to choose hot couturier Platinum! Great interveiw!
Oh how I’d love to have one of these!
Those fabrics are to die for! What good taste she has! Much better than the plain old black that comes with the camera.
omg!! a camera strap??
we don’t have them in this country. i would LURVVVE to own one.
and of course i’d have to order the bag, later on, to go with it!
*giggle*
holding thumbs madly for myself!!
Oooooh – I really want to win a beautiful strap to give to my business partner, Diana. She has been coveting Tracy Joy products forever and would be over the moon!!!!!!!!!!
I’m planning on getting (or winning!) a bag, so if I win a strap, I’ll have to make sure to get a coordinating strap cover. I sure hope this will make my new (read: stiff) camera strap a lot more comfortable.
OMG, I love your work. Winning a prize would take my ming off the gas prices;)
Oooo…gorgeous fabrics! I love the Boho design. Both Boho Orchid and Clementine are just gorgeous! Thanks so much for the chance!
I have been eye balling Tracy Joy bags for a while now, dropping suttle hints to my dear hubby. Ok….not so suttle, he’s a man and ya just have to tell ‘em what you want straight up, ha!
I would love to have a strap for my new camera. It looks like it would be very comfortable and stylish at the same time. Can’t wait till May 21st when you announce the winners! YEAH!!!!
Oh, Oh! Pick me. I would love to win a camera strap.
OMGoodness! I would soooo love to win one of these strap covers to hide that ugly Canon strap on my camera. I have no clue how I would ever decide which fabric, but I would!
These are super cute! Thanks for giving us photographers better choices so we don’t have to stick with the boring~ old~ scratch -your- neck variety.
The interview was fantastic! I love hearing success stories that incorporate giving to a good cause! Tracy, you and your bags ROCK! I love the bags, they are so cute and girly!
! The new strap will look great on my camera and it will also match my personality! I am fun, energetic, and of course I always have style 
!!
Us photographers not only have to look good while taking pictures we have to have awesome style and fashion too
Thank you!!
I think I have to buy a strap! I can’t wait to win!
LOVE them!!
Wow i hadnt heard of Tracy Joy stuff before – but its all so cute!!!! I hope i win but if not, i might just have to purchase something!!
great interview also
I didn’t realize she made Camera Straps! How cool! I would love a bag too. Fabric choices are gorgeous!