Fall 2014

Poppy
Creative
Agency

Other Works

Creative Magazine Fall 14







A Note From The Editor

I’m obsessed with magazines - shelter
magazines (Elle Decor, Livingetc),
cooking magazines (Food & Wine,
SAVEUR), craft magazines, yoga
magazines...all of them. I’m even still a
Martha Stewart Living fan, cliché as that
may be. Sitting with a fresh mag, flashes
of inspiration spark with each turn of the
page - ideas for updating my office, paint
colors I’d never considered, clever crafts
to try...

These days, with so many new magazines
in a smaller, cooler format (Anthology,
Kinfolk, Tiny Atlas), my obsession has
grown beyond my control. (Don’t tell
anyone, but I even troll Kickstarter to find
new publications in the works.) I’m always
on the lookout for that feeling of aspiring
to something that’s maybe a bit beyond
my reach but that feels achievable when
seen on a printed page.

While mulling over marketing materials
one afternoon, my photographer
mentioned that Blurb had expanded their
self-publishing platform to include hard
copy magazines. “What a cool approach,
so different from our usual postcard
mailings,” I thought. Thrilled, I decided
to print quarterlies for Poppy Creative
Agency, focusing on our team’s travels,
side projects and personal ventures.

So it began, our journey to create the
magazine’s first edition. We hope to
entertain and inspire you, to encourage
you to experience life, and to motivate
you to work with us in the future.



Contributors

Shaun Sullivan

He is Poppy’s veteran photographer
with 20+ years experience in shooting
beautifully elegant images for a wide
variety of clients. He has a reputation for
being the most amazingly calm guy on any
crazy set and always gives the art director
and client something more than was
expected.

Sean Dagen

With a keen eye for capturing the mood
of any everyday object through his
camera, Sean is always creating stunning
still photography. He is the least likely
guy to enjoy hunting, but does, and he
also loves his son Cypress more than
any father I’ve ever known. Sean has an
amazingly talented wife as well.

Eric Zepeda

A budding food photographer with
an amazing way of making even the
vegetarian’s mouth water at the sight
of his grilled ribs, Eric enjoys everything
outdoors. When not shooting for a client,
he’s at home, test shooting his latest
edible creation.

Joy Coakley

Poppy’s super soft goods stylist also
gets behind the camera in her free time.
Joy is a tea drinker, magazine addict,
and mother of two beautiful little girls,
Phoebe and Sybil.

Magazine Design: David Valentine
Copy Editor: Lindsay Pietroluongo

117ºin the shade

When I was eight, my parents
announced, “We’re driving to Tucson.”

I don’t remember dreading the middle-
of-summer, eight hour drive from Los
Angeles to Tucson. I didn’t have any
concept of the distance or the type of
trip it would be. We would just get in
the car and arrive in Tucson.

The drive was hot, to say the least. Not
warm or pretty hot. Hot hot.

My mother had the great idea to give
us socks filled with ice to suck on. Yes,
socks. My mother is a funny lady, but
that’s a whole ‘nother story. In the
backseat, with all the windows down,
sucking on my sockcicle, I actually
enjoyed the hot air blowing through the
car, the endless neutrality of the desert.

Fast forward to present day: I head to
the desert any time the opportunity
arises. I roll down the windows to let the
hot, dry air blow through. I’ve given up
sockcicles and traded them for bottled
water. I wander the backroads, looking
for all the strange and wonderful things
the desert has to offer.

photography by Shaun Sullivan























Found Moments:

A Visual Journal

I have to admit, I love Instagram. I’ve
always preferred to express myself
visually rather than through writing.
Through Instagram, I’m able to keep a
visual journal that I can share with not
just everyone I know, but also the
whole world.

While out during the day, I try to find
what inspires me at the moment: what
captivates me, what is beautiful, what
represents love. If I find something
intriguing I’ll take a photo and post it
to Instagram.

I want to share the beauty that I see in
the world. Whether it is scenes from the
city, sunsets, rolling fog, a garden hose
that was left undone... I love the found
moments. Glancing up, I may notice
something that I was completely unaware
of a moment ago because I was focused
on something else. There’s so much to
experience in the world just by slowing
down and being present.

Cypress, my son, has very much taught
me to see differently - he has cerebral
palsy and his view of the world is pure
love. I’ve learned to see the love all
around me through his eyes and I’m so
happy to share my journey with you all.

To follow along, visit:
Instagram.com/Dagen or find me on
Tumblr at seandagen.tumblr.com.

photography by Sean Dagen



















Out Back

“You can’t get much growing out there,”
the young woman said, describing the
backyard while we were looking at
the place. “It needs new soil.” To me,
the yard seemed just fine - the typical
North Bay clay was desperate for the
right plants, but not necessary new soil.
Thanks to my collection of natives and
the various orphans I’d taken from past
photo shoots, all I had to do was put
them in the ground. There began my
landscaping journey.

Gardening, along with my love of all
things grilled, smoked, and otherwise-
cooked-over-glowing-embers, is now
one of the most satisfying, rejuvenating
pursuits I’ve ever encountered. Every
morning, a cup of tea in hand, I watch
the sun as it plays through the flowers
and meanders up to the mountain
farther behind. At the end of a long
day, nothing beats watering the plants
and starting a fire as the kids run
around - their curious energy keeps me
wondering how they keep going.

I think about that energy often, usually
while in the midst of tending plants or
breaking down a side of ribs. I think of
how the whole cycle flows back and
forth, where my place is in the grand
scheme of things. I’ve yet to find the
answer, but I’m pretty sure it’s in there
somewhere, in the plants or on the grill,
in that light that snakes through the
leaves. It’s there somewhere - I swear I
can feel it.

photography by Eric Zepeda













Prather Ranch Ribs

With Pasilla Chile Cinnamon BBQ Sauce

Ribs Pasilla Chile Cinnamon Sauce
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1 Side of Prather Ranch Ribs, St. Louis Cut 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
If full spare ribs, then trim to St. Louis cut 1/3 cup brown sugar
and use the trimmings for sausage. The rib 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
tips are especially tasty, but pull them early 2 tbsp smoked pasilla chile powder
so they don’t overcook. 1 tsp chile powder
1 tbsp cinnamon
Season both sides of the ribs with salt and 1 tsp salt
pepper, then allow them to reach room 1 pinch cumin
temperature before placing in the smoker. Combine all ingredients in a bowl (the night
before if possible). Use on ribs mid-cook,
Bring the smoker to 225 degrees, with Mesquite towards the end and when serving.
charcoal, then place ribs on center rack.
Cook for 2 hours, then baste with Pasilla Serves 1-2 people
Chile BBQ sauce and replace, cooking for
another 2-3 hours at 225 degrees. Mop with
BBQ sauce 2-3 times in the last hour of cook.
When ribs have pulled back from bone and
are ready to fall apart, they are done. Wrap
in foil and rest for 1/2 hour before serving
with BBQ sauce.

One Camera,

A Million Milestones and a Dash Of Luck

Lucky. That’s what I am each time I
capture someone’s special occasion or
freeze a moment of love and fun shared
between two people.

Tiny toes of a newborn, special shoes
and jewels that a bride will wear only
once, light that wraps around a growing
momma’s belly at just the right angle...
These are the things that inspire my work
as a photographer.

My main focus for over a decade has
been prop and soft goods styling, but
my photography career has been thriving
thanks to a background in advertising
photography. Instructors always told me
that I’d have to choose between styling
and photography; though I never wanted
to believe them, I still stuck to styling.
Then a few years ago, I decided to listen
to my camera - it was calling me again.

Yes. That was my answer when asked
to shoot a couple of weddings and
portrait sessions. Amazed at how free
and exhilarated I felt shooting, it became
clear that I was to turn whatever was put
in front of me into beautiful images, all on
the fly. Even more surprising was that my
years of experience as a stylist helped me
with this type of photography. What fun!
Before, I had never thought of myself as a
wedding photographer, but I love it. This
side to my career creates a nice balance.
When escaping the studio to run around
on a shoot, there’s no guarantee of what
will arise.

The smiles, laughter, happy cries... Who
wouldn’t want to flood their work life with
some of the most joyous milestones a
person can have?

photography by Joy Coakley



















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For Further Inquiries, Please Contact
Traci Terrick — [email protected]
or call 415.517.2558