Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Wilhardt.
Hi Ashley, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a photographer and creative director from Costa Mesa, California. My love and fascination with art and photography started when I was really young. Being able to capture a moment, a time, a place, a person… it’s always been something very special to me. You can take something important and freeze it in time. Connect to a story or a feeling even years after it’s gone. Or you can imagine something completely made up and create it with your own hands! It’s incredible. Early on, I especially fell in love with film photography. It was a constant surprise and nothing seemed guaranteed! When someone gets a photo back of themselves that they absolutely love, there really is no better feeling. Letting someone else see the beauty I can see through my viewfinder is magic!
I went to study in Italy when I was around 20 years old and it changed my life completely. I came back with this confidence and an overwhelming feeling of assurance that art could be my career. Upon returning home I almost immediately got my first job at a fashion magazine in Los Angeles. This was my first lesson in discovering that you have to ask for what you want. And you can do anything!! But you do have to ask for what you want, nothing is handed to you, and like film, nothing’s guaranteed.
In my interview, I remember telling my future boss I had never actually taken a photograph of anyone, but I really wanted to. I was incredibly fortunate, my boss smiled and said that was her job to teach me, “Don’t worry, I’m gonna make you Gucci. When can you start?” It was here I also learned, making art was less about your equipment and more about your eye. Although a nice fancy camera definitely helps, the lack of one shouldn’t stop you from taking pictures. A masterpiece can be taken on an iPhone, a disposable camera, a point-and-shoot! If you have the vision and the ambition, it doesn’t so matter how it gets done. The following months were full of being thrown into various settings, photographing any model or actor who walked through the door, conducting interviews on the fly, partnering with brands, throwing parties, and making the most of every social platform. It was exhilarating. After I worked at that magazine, then a handful of others, I soon got restless. I knew or at least thought I knew, a fair amount of the business and what it took to publish an issue. In the end, I always knew I’d eventually want to be my own boss and put out stories and shoots I really cared about. I wanted more control over the creative process and more say in what goes on day-to-day. One late night after 2 or 4 bottles of wine, I sat with a friend and we brainstormed ideas of names till we hit spices and landed on ‘Cayenne’. Well past midnight, I called it and figured if we still liked the name by the morning we’d keep it. So began my very own magazine/platform, Cayenne Agency.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No road is completely smooth, and I think that has been the best part! Working with film photography especially comes with its obstacles, as no picture or shoot is ever certain. It definitely adds to the care and time that goes into every project. And the mistakes in developing even adds to the art behind every picture! Although it can be extremely frustrating, it’s teaching me to be patient and forgiving with myself. With Cayenne Agency, this was my first time learning the ins and outs business-wise, behind a company and magazine. Going from all creative to all business and accounting and legal work was definitely new and a challenge at first… still is at times.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Cayenne Agency is an online media platform, creative agency, and biannual print magazine that incorporates themes of art, fashion, and culture, through photography, essays, poetry, drawings and more! Each issue encompasses up-and-coming artists as well as very established creatives. Our first issue which was released back in Autumn 2019 was a compilation of art, fashion, and culture and based around the idea of “no moderation.” I had had a conversation with my professor Massimo when I went back to Italy the previous June and we started talking about what this year was looking like and what was becoming increasingly important as we got older. Things like the value of hard work and time with family, and of course drinking good wine. This eventually led to him recalling a famous Italian phrase that goes “dolce far niente,” which means the sweetness of doing nothing. I used to love that phrase because it spoke to me in a way, reminding me to sit back and enjoy exactly where I am right here, right now. Not to rush everything, not always wanting more, but to be more content right here. After talking to Massimo he had this fire in him and this urgency to make the most of our time. He hated that phrase because he explained that we have to make the most of this lifetime! After all, it’s not that long. So it’s not necessarily a bad thing to want more! Not to be complacent in the bliss of doing nothing, but to live a little outside of our means, go out of our comfort zone, try something that hasn’t been done before! Let’s have goals and make them huge! And then attain them! And I remember that night I was headed to some party and he laughed as we had one final cheers where he wished me no moderation.
So our first issue was to “no moderation”. It was to spending more money than we had and doing something we knew nothing about. It was to trying something new and working really hard for it. It was a compilation of interviews, stories, fashion, art, anything that moved us! Our second issue was our very first “special edition” book; The Sports Issue. Editorials, interviews, stories and more, all around the idea of sport and athletics! This was a particularly fun issue for me, as is was six months of diving into a topic I knew nothing about! We went to more sporting games and got to see more behind the scenes action than I probably ever will again in this lifetime. We met monster truck drivers, professional football players, and rodeo clowns. The submissions flooded our inbox with various photoshoots from fly fishing trips to roller skating editorials to Jane Fonda inspired stretch scenes. Our third issue was similar to our first and was released in Autumn 2020. It encompassed a mashup of art, fashion, and culture.This piece was special, rising out of this wild pandemis the stories felt even more moving, travel photographs were extra inspiring, and the illustrations and fashion pieces seemed elevated! I think everyone was super eager to get creative during this strange time, and it resulted in something gorgeous! Looking back, I had no idea what I was doing in that first year. The roadblocks were endless and almost every turn had an obstacle. But now, coming up on our 4th print issue, I have to say it gets easier every time. Or at least, you can expect what’s coming more and more. The team and support system we’ve built feels like family. All the contributors, the photographers, the models, the artist, and the writers make this entire project possible. Daily, I feel eternally appreciative and grateful for the hard work that goes into every submission and the artists who trust Cayenne to present their work in a way that makes them feel proud. Print is still a beautiful thing and getting to have something tangible to hold feels special. Issue No.4 will be our second special edition; The Food and Wine Issue.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I believe art is powerful. I believe there’s room for everyone at the top, and there’s never just one way to do something. I believe you can do anything in this lifetime when you set your mind to it. And I hope Cayenne acts as a stepping stool/gateway/community/support system to the creatives that are involved.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.ashleywilhardt.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/ash_wilhardt, www.instagram.com/cayenne_agency
- Other: www.cayenneagency.com
