Spotlight: Becca Gilgan
Welcome back to the Worker Bee blog. Continuing in our series of team interviews, we want to introduce you to Becca Gilgan. Becca is an integral part of our team and the other ½ of the Worker Bee co-founders. She’s the person who leads the charge when we’re fostering relationships with clients and bringing their visions to life.
Her calm and collected manner puts our clients at ease and she is such a treat we dare you to not instantly want to become friends with her. We asked her some questions to give you a little look into the life that is *jazz hands* Becca.
Worker Bee: Hey Becca! Thanks for sitting down with us to chat all about you today. We hope your tea is nice and hot, would you like a cookie?
Becca: This is going to be fun & Absolutely I would love a cookie.
Alright, let’s start off with the question we have been asking everyone on the team. Where do you live?
I’ve lived in the historical neighbourhood of Parkdale for over 6 years! I love the network of supportive independent business owners as well as the fierce community of locals who protect the history and people of this neighbourhood. A great bonus is that the Worker Bee office is a four-minute walk from my apartment, and I also live on the street that my great grandparents lived on back in the day, which has always been so special to me. And with Lake Ontario being so close by, it’s a beautiful and convenient destination for a walk and a place to just chill out and watch the world go by.
Are you willing to share your favourite places to grab a drink in Toronto?
For a fun time, it would have to be the Shameful Tiki Room & for a chill time, I like going to Blood Brothers Brewing. (@shamefultikito & @bloodbrothersbrewing)
Chill seems like a great word to describe you, what about your personal style?
I would definitely say comfortable and colourful. I’ve never been afraid of wearing colour or patterns and incorporating them into both my everyday and dressier clothing. While I wouldn’t describe my style as particularly “feminine”, I do love getting dressed up when the occasion calls for it. And white sneakers are one of my wardrobe staples.
We do like your white kicks, do you have any other favourite pieces in your closet right now?
I purchased a patterned jumpsuit from Osei-Duro after having my eye on it for a year. They’re a sustainable clothing company that works with artisans in Ghana and implement many hand-done methods into their designs. It was definitely a special purchase and usually only comes out on special occasions, but damn, I always feel great in it! It’s just so unique and different than anything else I have in my closet.
If you were a new addition to the crayon box, what colour would you be?
A shade of orange, of course
A studio portrait of craft queen Kalpna Patel by Becca Gilgan.
I can just imagine you rocking more orange ensembles once the warm weather hits Toronto. Note to self, pitch idea for #OOTD post...ahem, but back to questions. Do you have a dream vacation plan?
I’ve been wanting to go to Portugal, that’s definitely been topping my list for a while now. Eugen and I plan to drive along the coast one day and I can’t wait to experience everything from the tiny streets and trolleys of Lisbon to the cliffs and beaches of Porto. While eating every custard tart along the way.
What if Eugen is too busy to go to Portugal. Is there a celeb crush you could bring along instead?
Taika Waititi. The hair. The hilarity.
Becca capturing a dramatic portrait for the Downtown Yonge BIA.
Maybe we should dive into work-related questions for a bit lol, would you be up for chatting about Freelance? For instance: when did you realize that freelancing was right for you?
I’m not sure if there was ever a “lightbulb” kind of moment for me, as it wasn’t something I planned to do but sort of naturally fell into. My university didn’t particularly set me up with a freelance career in mind because it was so art-focused, but I knew a job in the arts wasn’t going to be realistic for me. I think it was the important network of people I met after graduating that inspired me to shoot as a living.
Was there a defining moment, that you can recall, that pointed you in the direction of Worker Bee?
Connecting with Eugen after university was an important step forward in my life because he was already working professionally in photography when I graduated. He had his freelance career as an editorial photographer and worked at a studio that photographed interiors and architecture. Through Eugen’s work at the studio, I got to reconnect with our friend Erika who had been a TA during my first year at Ryerson (and therefore graduated a few years ahead of me), and she became a great mentor to have in those early days.
The first corporate events I shot were with her, and when I became interested in wedding photography she gave me direction and advice (and made me create my first website with a set deadline!) and also connected me with the first person I would shoot a wedding with. It all kind of snowballed from there.
Supportive friends and mentors make life better! Erika sounds amazing. Now that you have found your groove are there things you love about your job?
I love being able to shoot a variety of work: portraits, events, headshots, creatives for social media, documentary! Because each shoot is so varied, work rarely becomes repetitive.
Photography takes me to so many different places and events that it opens my eyes to work people are doing in a variety of fields, such as design, engineering, medicine, small business, fundraising, and food and drink. Holding a camera is always a good conversation starter and a lot of the time people are curious as to the kind of work I do. It’s a great way to connect with new individuals who may end up becoming a friend or a new client!
Can you recall if there was a piece of creative work that inspired you to pursue a career in photography?
It was in high school photography class that I was introduced to the work of André Kertész, a Hungarian photographer who worked throughout the 20th century. There was a newspaper article about him taped to a cupboard door, and it featured a photo he had taken on a trip to Toronto of a billow of smoke emerging from the side of the Royal York Hotel, and I was just struck by it. His images were simple documentation of his every day but beautifully composed with that delicious black and white film charm. They also had an underlying hint of emotion and sensitivity, which is something I became very inspired by and tried to incorporate into the artistic work I did in university.
Where do you find inspiration in your creative world now that you’re not discovering newspaper clippings?
I’m really inspired by what others share with me. I think if someone is being vulnerable with you and opening up about something that interests them, listen! You’ll learn something new and connect with them on a deeper, more personal level. Who knows, they may just spark something in you that you explore further and turn into a new hobby or business, or you become an advocate or supporter of.
What do you do outside of work that keeps you motivated to pursue a life as a creative?
If you’re a creative, there’s a good chance that you’re naturally surrounded by creativity every day. Maybe you have a network of friends that do creative work outside your own field, or there are galleries or maker spaces in your city that offer workshops so you can get hands-on experience with a new medium. Or you spend your evenings and weekends working on personal projects or hobbies. But even if these types of things aren’t physically accessible, social and online media provide an endless stream of imagery, videos, tutorials, classes, blogs, and more that you can tap into at any time.
Personally, for me, I’m always following what my friends are working on, but also watch a lot of YouTube and browse Instagram for inspiration for posing and new photography techniques, cooking and baking, and travel and dining. I think embracing these everyday interests can feed into the work you do “professionally” and therefore keep you motivated creatively. For example, 2 years ago I was really into baking muffins, and thought “Hey, I’m into food photography and would like to give it a shot, why don’t I set up a homey scene and photograph my muffins?” So I did that on a Saturday afternoon, and because I’m me, I never showed the pictures to anyone. :)
Ok, now we need some muffins & caffeine. Is there any honest advice you would give to those starting out in your field
One thing I like to tell people is to “cultivate interests” and to not ignore the things outside of your creative field that you love, as they can be terrific gateways into doing exciting, inspiring work. Perhaps you’re an active runner or love going to craft shows, what opportunities can you find within those interests that you’d be able to lend your services to? Perhaps you become the photographer for a local running club and your work gets featured in a magazine, or if you love craft shows, you can volunteer to design a show poster for them. Also, do not disregard low paying or “volunteer” based work, because it may lead to bigger opportunities down the road or connect you with the right people who are willing to pay for your service.
With that in mind, patience is an important skill that you need to develop as a young freelancer. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you wanted them to, or you don’t get hired by a person or company right away- that’s okay! By the time they do come around to hiring you, you’ll have had months or even years of developed skills that will help you create an even better product than you would have in the beginning.
I think sometimes we can feel discouraged b/c we want to see success pretty quickly and we forget it can take lots of time to hone those skills, what about you? was there ever a time you wanted to just give up and go find a 9-5?
I would never go back to working a desk job (though I’ve barely had a traditional 9-5 “desk job”) but there was definitely more than one occasion where I thought I would supplement my photography income with a few hours of work a week at a local business. But the realization that doing something like that wouldn’t necessarily contribute to me doing better in my own creative work and would actually take away from it would always win over and I would return to the freelance grind.
An image from a campaign Becca shot for Cambie Design.
You mentioned that you find inspiration online is there anyone who are you #Obsessed with on Instagram right now?
I’ve been loving @annannunez’s account lately. I’ve been following her for a few years, but for the past 6 months, her feed has really caught my eye. She’s a talented artist and illustrator and comes from a creative family (her mum has her own sustainable clothing line and her sister is a fantastic baker! What?!) She runs a lifestyle blog, Chez Núñez with her husband Jésus (they’re hilarious together) and has one of the most charming newsletters around. I love that she incorporates creativity into every aspect of her life, like adding digital scribble designs into her photos or illustrating free phone wallpapers and printables for subscribers to her newsletter.
That sounds like an awesome and inspiring creative we should be following *adds to to-do list*. We’ll wrap things up with one last question. Do you have a favourite inspirational quote?
From the prints that Worker Bee has made, there are two quotes that share a strong message and therefore compliment each other really well: “Nothing will work unless you do” and “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” I love these because they apply to any aspect of your life, be it starting a new business or hobby, adopting a healthier lifestyle, or perhaps even making changes to a relationship that is no longer serving you. They act as reminders that you need to put in the effort and take the necessary steps to create a change in your life, as nothing will happen if you don’t put the work into even starting. Also, I personally like to keep in mind the saying “it’s cool to be kind” because anyone can be nice, but to be kind comes from a place of genuine care and selflessness.
Thanks so much for taking the time to sit down with us today Becca, we know you’re busy with your projects so I’ll let you get back to it. Wanna go for a walk later? I’m craving some cookies!
Cookies? For sure! That sounds like a sweet way to take an afternoon break.
LOVE WHAT YOU READ ABOUT Becca?
You can follow her on Insta at @workerbeesupply and @beccagilgan. Subscribe to our emails for updates, freebies, and creative giveaways!