Get to know the face behind the brand -10 random facts about Nikki Astwood Creative

Hi I’m Nikki and when I refer to getting to know ‘’us’’ I mean me as I am the one and only face behind Nikki Astwood Creative. I started this brand about 7 years ago now and it has been a super exciting, crazy, stressful, fun, frustrating, rewarding journey to get to this point. SO let’s jump into some quick facts about me, business and life in general.

• If you have been round since the beginning of Revised Edition you may know this already…..Revised Edition actually started out as a business that revamped old vintage furniture to sell. Our revamped furniture style was very much like our photography style, bright, bold and unique. We brought old vintage furniture from second hand stores and gave it new lease on life with as much bright colour and pattern as possible, it was a lot of fun and I loved the very unique pieces that we created. Doing this by myself meant that I couldn’t really make it work as a viable business and I hated sanding and being covered in dust at the end of the day so pulled the plug on that one.

• The name Revised Edition originated from the furniture days as I was revising (if you like) the look of the old furniture and giving it an updated vibe. I did think about changing the name when I shifted into photography but felt it still very much fit with what I was creating for my clients in terms of giving their products a fresh new look and I already had a social following by then so was in too deep.

• I am currently very into yoga, I have been for the last few years. I think I may have started though one of the lockdowns but my practise has been very stop/start up until the last year or so. Recently I have practising almost every day and I am enjoying the journey so much and learning a lot about yoga but also about myself. I am looking to work my way through yoga teacher training hopefully this year which I am very excited about.

• I love to listen to music while I am working and have created a number of fast paced playlists that I can sing along to as I snap away. My favourite types of music are rap/hip hop some pop and RNB – I love lots of 90s music that I grew up with and have a library full of song lyrics living in my head that I can put to use at any time. Current favourite songs are SZA – Kill Bill and Miley Cirus, Flowers.

• I have been interested in cooking since forever and from around say 5 I have been getting creative in the kitchen. I used to make a lot of cakes when I was younger then progressed to some more savoury options (loved the old Womens Weekly Chinese cookbook) While I was at polytech I went with a more simplistic approach and ate a lot of baked beans and nacho chips and now for the past few years I have been on a bit of a health journey. Healthy food does not have to be boring – that is my motto currently and I experiment a lot with how I can bring some boogie into something that also happens to be good for your body.

• We are planning on renovating our bathroom this year which let me tell you is way overdue! I have had the ideas for the interior planned out for so long, mood boards, inspo etc I have a very clear picture of what I want It to look like, the details is where I come unstuck and unmotivated. Things like permits, measurements, finding great tradies (although we have some winners now after doing our kitchen) and why one tap is worth $1000 is the other is $300, is there really that much difference? I don’t know but I am looking forward to having a pretty new bathroom.

• I cannot wait to explore some more international travel again. We were lucky to go on a couple of really amazing holidays before covid hit and I have missed it so much since. I had never travelled anywhere before I met my husband but since we have been together we have been to many amazing places. My favourite foodie destination so far as been Copenhagen for sure, the bakeries, the seafood and amazing markets and restaurants there is just so much to explore on the foodie scene and trust me we explored! I also loved our time in Istanbul, amazing history, architecture and of course food and they have lots of cats. Next on our travel list might be a trip around Italy/Greese/Croatia perhaps but also keen to spend some time in Japan so not sure which one comes first….

• I have no qualifications as a photographer which is something that I have been asked by other photographers starting out. I have never once been asked this question by a client in regards to a job. I picked up a camera and first experimented with landscapes, holiday snaps, food, cats (bonus fact, I love cats) but I just practised and taught myself how to use a camera to get the results that I wanted. It didn’t happen over night but we got there eventually.

• I learn much easier by doing which totally applies to fact number 8. I sometimes struggle to put together shot lists with very specific ideas for clients as I find It much easier to have the items in front of me and work things out from there. I am terrible at sketching ideas and when I did try I ended up looking back at my drawings and wondering what the hell I was trying to create, so not helpful. I love reading and doing courses but always have to take notes otherwise details just disappear.
• If my photography career ended tomorrow I would absolutely look into being a florist – you know I love those flowers! But I am also very inspired by the health and wellness space so maybe some floral design with a side of yoga and promoting healthy foods.

So there you have it folks some very random facts about me, I hope you enjoyed this post and if there is anything else you would like to know about hit up that comment section. Always love to hear your thoughts.