My newborn photography style has evolved slightly over recent months, from a very natural pallet of browns and beiges, into more pinks and yellows, but what hasn’t changed are the products used and the trusted suppliers who make all the soft, delicate fluffy goodies in which I place your babies. One of my favourite shops for soft wool and loose curls are people behind Cute Newborn Photo Props.

Justyna Maciesiak, the owner of the Pool based shop is also chief creator of all the gorgeous things I used in many of my photo setups. She controls every aspect of her prop production meticulously and customers’ satisfaction is by far her top priority. I asked Justyna to give us an idea of what processes are involved in making her beautiful creations and how does she make sure all of her products are safe to use for even the most delicate skin types out there.

Hi Justyna, thank you for finding time to let us into your world! How did you come up with the idea for the shop? 

I actually started out as a vendor for crochet props, which I was making myself. Crochet bonnets and wraps used to be the core of my business. I started out with only one roll of wool and now I can barely enter my studio, there is so much variety of colours and products!

I think in a way, the creative side has always been there, I might have been hiding it for years, but I am glad I can now commit my time to something I truly enjoy. Back in college and later on at university, I loved all creative subjects.

Do you have any famous clients?

In my eyes all my clients are superstars. I’m always curious as to how my products are going to look when they make their way into the creative hands of my clients. Some of the work I’ve seen, using my products, is absolutely outstanding. I had the privilege of supplying wool to one of the world’s most acclaimed newborn photographers, Anna Brandt.

That’s amazing! She truly is an artist. I follow her work and always feel very inspired.

Where do you source your wool from?

All my wool comes from local, British farmers. With supermarkets trying to squeeze the last pennies from small local businesses and suppliers, I make sure I pay a fair price to all my suppliers. I only source the best quality wool, from the best kept local farms.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I am a mom of three energetic boys, so that keeps me very occupied, but when not following their football matches, I love off the beaten track travelling with my family.

Do you use any commercial third party companies to give your products their distinctive colours? 

I like to have full control over the end product, so I take care of each stage of production myself, from choosing my suppliers, to inspecting the quality of wool, thoroughly cleaning it multiple times and at the end, depending on the trends in newborn photography at particular moment, I dye it. I mix my own colours, so they are all exclusive to my shop only, and I mostly do limited amounts in each batch.

Thank you for your time! Here are some of my favourite images, using products from Cute Newborn Photo Props.

Justyna was kind enough to offer all our readers a 5% off voucher code. Just enter CLIO5 at the checkout to claim yours!