Tamsyn Morgans, Photographer & Stylist

0:00Tessa: You're listening to The Business of Modelling, the podcast exploring the modelling industry with the experts that shaped it. I didn't mean to kill that policeman. Well, of course not. It's against everything I've ever stood for.

0:16Tessa: I'm Tessa Dewing, Managing Director of Sandra Reynolds, a commercial model agency celebrating its 50th year in business. today i'm at a beautiful vintage styled home owned by tamsin morgans who began her career in manchester as a model before relocating to norfolk i had the pleasure of meeting her when she came to my agency first as a model and then a booker tamsin later established herself as an interior stylist and now also works as a successful photographer

0:53Tessa: hello Tamsin hello it's lovely to have you on the business of modeling well thank you so much for having me um and thank you for inviting me to your beautiful home could you share a bit about your early life so I was a dropout art student um I went to university and did textile art for about six months and then dropped out and went and worked at a supermarket for a bit and this is all in Tunbridge Wells this is all in Tunbridge Wells um and then I got a job at Habitat which I was so desperate to work out I loved Habitat so this is like 1996 19 yeah around 1996 and there I met this guy and we fell in love and he was finishing his university degree up in Salford in Manchester and after we'd been dating a while he said do you want to come up to Manchester and live with me and I said yes please so I transferred my job from Habitat in Tunbridge Wells and I went worked in Manchester.

1:49That's where it all started. I started living my Manchester life and having a brilliant time. And that's where my adventure in the modelling industry began in Manchester. So what first drew you to modelling? So when I moved to Manchester, my boyfriend sent my photo. He did it. He did ask me, he said, is it okay if I do this? I was like, yeah, that's fine.

2:09Tessa: Was he a photographer? No, we'd been to a party and we met someone who was with this model agency in Manchester. And she said you should maybe try it yourself and I went in and I met them and they took me on and that's where it all started. Which agency was this? They were called Respect. Right yeah. This was in about 1997 so I was with them for a few years and I had a brilliant time. I was working all the time I the relationship with the boy didn't last but I ended up moving in with some students and I was basically living the student lifestyle but working as well and I was able to pay my rent and my beer money and I just had the most fantastic time yeah and what was the industry like in Manchester at that time it was I I found it what it was so friendly it was very very commercial so um everybody was really friendly down to earth you know we all used to share you know if anyone had a car and there was a casting out of the out of the city then we'd all pull together and all cram in someone's car and go off to the casting and it was just really really friendly it was I had a brilliant time I made really good friends and it was just a good laugh but everybody worked really really hard yeah and because there was plenty of work around we all worked pretty much full time which was amazing obviously there was lots of bread and butter work in that as well but it was just really good fun yeah and what kind of work were you doing because there used to be a lot of shows back then as well didn't there so up in Manchester at that time there was lots of catalogue work loads of commercial work so I did a couple of tv commercials up there um and then I did I tried to remember who which sort of brands I worked with but it was quite a long time so some of them were JD Sports I worked with for them a few times Deodora I did a shoot for them Ernest Jones they were a jeweller um but then also as I say lots of catalogue stuff lots of workwear catalogues and I did a lot of shopping channel work in Liverpool and there was a channel called Granada Shop and it was just before QVC and it was so much fun I used to get on an early coach from Manchester over to Liverpool and it was in the same studios where they used to do this morning so it had the map of the UK on the on the lake do you remember that I do remember that That's where I used to go.

4:28They used to have the weather guys standing on, didn't they? Yeah. And it was sort of underneath all that. And I would go and I was a regular there. So I did a lot of live shows. And I also did the pre-recorded stuff as well. So went off with a, you know, filming guy and just had the best time. I just really enjoyed it. Had a real laugh. Worked really hard. And I started working as a background artist on Hollyoaks. so it was just all these different it was as well as all the all the modeling stuff it was just really good fun when you are modeling like you know being a model often means interpreting

5:09Tessa: someone else's vision um what did you learn from that so I think really the main thing was that you worked as a team up there and you worked really hard there were no there was no there was no space for airs and graces or ego or anything like that you went and you were always part of a team and um it was makeup the styling everybody all the all the photographers assistants we all work together as a team and I think that really has influenced how I work now it's like you're you're you're a part of it you're a cog in the whole system and I think that was a really important lesson to learn because it was about how we all came together to create this creative vision sort thing so um and I really loved that and I still really apply that to how I work now so yeah and I think that's so important for anyone going into the industry it's sort of young you need to understand how the whole shoot works and what everybody's job is and how everyone is important in bringing that you know that brief to life absolutely and how you all pitch in and help you know I would always offer to carry a bit of equipment or something do you know what I mean it was all about teamwork really and I think that's what it and you're remembered then for that I think people then want to work with you again because you're nice to have on set definitely I might have not have been the the tallest or the most beautiful or whatever but I worked really hard and I was a nice I was a nice person to work with and hopefully that is still the case today but I think because of that I worked really all the time so and as I say I worked full time up there and it was yeah it was a really great few years.

6:46Tessa: Could you tell us about your move to Norfolk So from Manchester, you moved down to Norfolk. When and why did that happen? So I met someone who is now my ex-husband in 2000 and I fell in love, head over heels in love and he was living in Norfolk. So I moved down to Norfolk and yeah, I've been here ever since. And I remember when you moved down and was when you and I met and I remember you coming into the agency and we took you on as a model obviously because you're gorgeous um but we also at that time had a vacancy for a booker and I think how did that happen I think we asked you if you were interested so I came down and at first I was quite scared to contact you guys to see if I could join I could I got really nervous you know it's that what if they don't want me sort of thing but fortunately I came in and I met met you and I met Emma one of the bookers back then and um you took me on and that was wonderful and I think I did there used to be a glossy magazine called the Norfolk magazine they did yeah um and I did that I did that for you um and then I think I was actually on a fitting job up in Manchester because I was still sort of commuting up and down I mean it's not ideal really eight hour train journey whatever but whilst I was just finishing off up there I was on a fitting job up there and I had a phone call and I think you rang me and said do you want to come and work as a booker so I sort of said well yeah I'll give that a go so that's when I started my booking journey.

8:13Tell me about that how did you find that? Well I enjoyed it elements of it I'm not going to like I don't think I was fully cut out for it like booking is a stressful job back then it was and now I think it is I think you need to have you need to have such a call about you keep your head because you've got all these things that you're juggling and I did it I did it for a few years but I just don't think it was it was not

8:37Tessa: naturally my it wasn't something you enjoyed like I found it stressful yeah yeah you know and you're juggling with you know trying to get models places on time and you know trying to get them to and then you're worrying overnight yeah someone's gonna be somewhere and I think I think you have to thrive on that I think you're absolutely right then it's definitely not the job for you so so but anyway having said that it was still the most incredible experience and you know I've met lifelong friends from doing it it showed me the whole sort of the other side of the business that I'd been involved in for sort of three years at that point which was a bit of an eye-opener seeing it from the other side and seeing the work that goes into a booking from the very beginning yeah that the models don't don't know about it doesn't just happen overnight it's all the logistics and all the organizing and that all the skills involved and it was like okay this is really interesting gave you more knowledge oh it gave me loads more knowledge about how it all works So I think that was really, really valuable to me.

9:32Tessa: So you started a career as a stylist and created a beautiful family home in the Golden Triangle in Norwich. Yes. And I remember coming there. You had this beautiful garden studio. And I remember feeling like a terrible mother because you just had craft things everywhere that you would do with your children. And I never did any of that. And it was that thing where I'd look and I'd be, oh, I really want to be like that. I really want to like have a home like this and just crafts that I do all day with my children. But even then, you know, your style has a real distinct vintage feel. Was that something you've always been drawn to or did it develop over time?

10:11Always been drawn to it, really, to be honest. My dad used to take me to car boot fairs when I was not even a teenager and it all started there. And I just was very drawn to old stuff. It's as simple as that. when I had that home with the children you know I was able to furnish it with but it was all pieces of furniture and textiles that I'd gathered from flea markets antique fairs car boot fairs you know auctions and I just really really loved you know loved putting these old pieces together and creating a home yeah with history really so yeah yeah yeah and And what about that style kind of speaks to you?

10:50I just really love, obviously, I think it's more important than ever that we use, reuse, re-love old pieces. That's something that's really important to me. And I just always loved that thing of having a home full of time-worn old pieces and fabrics. And it's just, I just find it really beautiful. And although my style over the years has evolved, and I'm sure it's going to evolve again, it will always always involve you know creating a home using old pieces you know giving new life to old things I just think is the best thing ever not and obviously there's a sustainability

11:26Tessa: part of that now which is so important so yeah absolutely um and then what inspired you to start sharing that with others so so once I um had left the agency I still worked with you guys because I was still doing I was I then started doing makeup artist work yeah I'll have a go at that so I did makeup yeah I think I mean you still work freelance for us don't you yeah totally it's um but yeah I started doing the makeup and then the styling came with that and I literally did um interior styling prop making and fashion styling so I was like okay here are some other strings to my bow from the industry that I've learned and I'm going to do those as well and then I sat the relationship the relationship with my husband well that stopped putting it bluntly so um I then moved I had to move my children were still relatively young at the time it was the worst thing that ever happened to me I'm just going to say though fast forward 12 years I actually in retrospect it's probably the best thing that ever could have happened I hear that all the time it's where I am now has just it's just I'm so happy to be where I am now but I had to go on that journey so and actually I think anyone going through a really really hard time at the moment have faith in that you will look back and you will at some point think actually I'm really glad that happened because I'm in such a better place now absolutely it's been the making of me in a way which sounds a bit weird but but when you're in that place yeah it's horrible and oh it was awful it was heartbreaking and it was just it was the worst period especially if you've got children involved which you did exactly yeah um so then I found myself where I am now in this house yeah and you made the heartfelt decision to buy this beautiful Victorian terrace yeah tell me about that how did you feel when you first walked in so when I first walked in the smell hit me if I'm being honest it was filthy um it was really almost derelict wasn't it it wasn't almost derelict but it just hadn't been cared for or loved or cleaned in quite a long time um there was a quite a bohemian guy living here and he had a few other arty types living here as well in different rooms and they just didn't clean it so it was filthy that was it squat well it wasn't quite a squat but it was you know yeah it was it wasn't pleasant and it yeah there was a bit of a lingering scent let's put it that way but um I did look around when I was looking around I looked around and I was like but actually I can see some period features here and in one of the rooms there was so much stuff everywhere I couldn't really I was like I can't really see the room and I looked up at the ceiling and I was like but it's quite big I think judging by the size of the ceiling so I couldn't really see because the floor was covered in stuff and furniture and dirty clothes.

14:08I always think that

14:08Tessa: you may you know when you make the biggest purchase of your life which is a building yeah you you spend what 10 minutes 15 minutes here and you then have to make the decision I didn't even take any photographs because I think even 10 12 years ago it was still a bit weird to get a phone out but yeah I just had this feeling and I looked as I say I looked up at the ceiling in one of the rooms that was full of stuff and I could see this amazing ceiling rose and I was just like oh I think this might be quite amazing so and as I walked down the road I was I sort of got a bit you know my palms got a bit so I was like oh god I actually think I really like this so I came back for a second viewing and then I put in an offer and got the house and moved in and I have to say I had an amazing group of friends and my mum and dad came and helped me and we basically just stripped it out scrubbed it from top to bottom I was working part-time and I would literally get up in the morning and I would paint and varnish floors go to work and I'd have paint in my hair for like three months at a time and then I'd come back and I'd be up a ladder doing something else and then my dad did help me we put a new bathroom in and the kitchen we put in using old pallets and reclaimed you know wall cupboards and uh the kitchen sink came from the end of my friend's garden um the taps from a car boot fair and we created this place with love but it took a lot of time and you know I didn't have a huge budget either so that was the other thing you know that I didn't have the money to just get someone in and do it from top to bottom I had to do it myself but it's beautiful and you know to have that vision you know to create something that is completely unique you know you're never going to find that anywhere else yeah it took time I remember cooking on a camping stove for about a month whilst we were doing the kitchen so you know it took time but it was so worth it and the fact that we were able to use all these reclaimed materials and then I was able to and you were able to make everything and do your crafts yeah exactly so you've got a craft room here haven't you as well a room where I I say that it's a craft room but I never actually get get to do any crafts in there but I'm a big gardener as well like um I've got a really beautiful garden here and that took a bit of work as well because when I moved here it was knee high and weeds and full of just rubbish and um yeah sort of turned that into a little oasis of calm so

16:31Tessa: and you were an early adopter of social media um did you see it as a way to reach a larger audience and share your message or did it did all that just happen organically so I started blogging that was the first thing I did I started blogging before I moved here and I just did it for me I things were my marriage was already on the rocks so I was like I need to do something I'm either going to go off the rails I've got these young children or I'm going to start blogging so I started blogging and I just thought I don't I don't really know what I'm doing at all and this was in the days when blog spot was big and WordPress started out and blogging was pretty big back then and I don't think Instagram had barely sort of opened up but um I started blogging and it was just an online diary for me and I just took pictures of my home and then once I moved here I then got an Instagram account and just that's where it all started but it was very much nobody knew where it was all going it was very much a case of going with the flow and it was just all very organic and it's just about having fun really there were no pressures there was no pressure that you weren't using it to make a living at that point or anything none of us had any idea that that would be a possibility so it was just fun it was just instead of doing a sketchbook it was like an online sketchbook almost like both instagram and the blog so yeah and then with the rise of social media and new platforms instagram pinterest interior design has become definitely more accessible i think to everyone how do you think those platforms have changed the way people maybe approach home design well first of all I think sadly magazines I think are probably on the decrease but that you know Pinterest and Instagram they're like online magazines in your hand so first of all there's so much inspiration there plus it's just like you just said it's all so much more accessible for people to go out and learn how to do things themselves and decorate their homes and use these different ideas and I think it's amazing you know it just gives there's so much information there and inspiration and it just gives another tool for people to get ideas to get inspired you know to do something similar themselves yeah yeah to look through and think oh that could work in my exactly in my living room or yeah give people the confidence to to give it a go yeah absolutely um now your home i think is often a reflection of your personality.

18:54Tessa: Do you find that your style evolves over time? Or do you feel a sense of consistency in the way that you design and decorate? I think pretty much there's a consistency. I think where my home is now, it's pretty much where it is. I don't see myself changing it much. I think if I do move on from here, and I think I would like to do that, I do think there's another house adventure in me um I have to say I wonder whether it might be a slightly more minimal approach more wood more natural texture yeah I can see you in a real kind of Scandinavian type house by the sea on the beach I could see that as well yeah or a bit of or a cottage or something like that I think that wherever it's going to be it's going to have loads of character I think I think definitely but I think I think you're right I think this house does reflect my personality and I think sometimes I look around I'm like it's a bit much there's too much stuff it's a bit muddled yeah I get that we don't yeah Tamsin you're a bit much it's a bit muddled it's a bit chaotic but I think going forward I think I my style would evolve again but it always I will be about using you know reclaimed vintage antique treasures from the past because not only do I just love that whole feel of living with pieces that have um patina and texture and history i just think from a sustainability point of view it's just so important

20:20Tessa: photography has always been an integral part of your career from your time as a model to well through your work in the agency and then through you know production and then of course the content you create um for social media what inspired you to take it to the next level professionally um So I always loved taking photos. I always had a flair for it. And basically, I think once I started the blog, I started taking photos. I mean, looking back, they were pretty dreadful, but that's what started it all off. And then once I went freelance in 2016 and I started assisting a local photographer called Matt Keel.

20:58He's a really brilliant commercial photographer. And really, he was brilliant at teaching me so much. I learned so many of my skills from him that really transported me from somebody who was a hobbyist photographer, really, into someone who could actually get clients and shoot on a more professional level. So I have a lot to thank him for, to be honest. but really it just moved from there and I started off with a few clients and now I do I mostly do interiors so I do a lot of interior work for magazines such as period living homes and antiques reclaim magazines so again all magazines that kind of align with my whole aesthetic yeah style and um and then I work with a lot of people I do product photography for people who are makers so ceramicists, jewelers, people who produce handmade, you know, items.

21:50And I also do some fashion and portraiture as well.

21:54Tessa: So yeah, your interiors photography obviously is beautiful. But do you think your background as a model influences the way you approach portrait photography? Yeah, absolutely. And I have to say, whenever I am portrait photography is amazing. It's such a challenge because I take homeowner portraits for a lot of the home tours that I do. So the home to as the ones that go in the magazines and 95 % of the people who I photograph for those are women and I would say 94 % of them hate having their photo taken they don't want their photo taken and so for me that's just the biggest challenge to be able to make them comfortable and because we're so harsh on ourselves women we sort of go oh I don't want to have my you know when you get to a certain age it's like oh I don't want to have my photo taken and what have you but um it's just such a challenge to be able to make them comfortable and to try and coax the best photo that I can from them and when I can show it to them on the screen and they're like oh okay yeah that's all right I don't mind then it's like such a lovely thing to be able to get that so yeah and because I have worked in front of the camera I think it's helped me massively because I can tell people to you know just the simple tricks like rolling your shoulders back and just relaxing and you know looking a certain way I think that really helps me be able to draw out the best from someone when I take their photo so yeah definitely yeah and obviously modeling does often lead to other opportunities were there any particular moments or experiences that maybe made you realize that you wanted to expand your career into different fields well I think really having done every almost every aspect I've worked the sort of the whole thing whether starting off model booker you know I've done production production assistant stylist makeup artist and now photographer I feel like I've sort of done everything however there's so much to still learn so it's it's an ever-evolving career that I'm in and things are changing all the time with technology and you know the whole landscape keeps changing sustainability all those sorts of things and I think the best thing I can do to keep working as a freelance creative person is just to keep learning keep working with people keep pushing myself I don't think you can ever sit down and just relax and go yeah I've got this now absolutely not true you have to keep on your toes yeah looking out for the new trends yeah technologies yeah and engaging and working with younger people as well and keeping it really vibrant I just think that's so important and what's next for you do you think in your career and well first of all what's been your what's your favorite thing if you had to go full-time in one of the things that that you can do what what would it be it would be to photography is really yeah but to keep pushing myself and learning new skills within that because I just don't think you can ever sit still with it you have to keep with the trends keep seeing what's going on keep pushing yourself keep learning and would that be interiors or people people that's it right definitely yeah I think that's that I'm I'm not going to say I love say I've nailed interiors because I haven't because you're always you know you always learn but I think with people that's something that changes it depends on the person it depends on so many things and it is something that I would love to do more of and I'd actually love to do some beauty as well I've never done that before so that's something I'd really like to try I just think you know I'm 50 this year as well so I think this is the time for me to really really try and the next decade I just really want to try loads of new things and make it as interesting as possible and not sit back and go yeah I've got this sorted because I absolutely haven't I've got to keep learning and I think that's yeah yeah and it's a good time it's you know you're the same you're a little bit younger than me but you know our children are now coming up to an age where they don't need us all the time anymore which is really liberating but lovely at the same time but it's really it's such an honor to have brought them up for them to now be off you know off and about to be off doing their own thing so now I'm like right I have to nail this the next you know the next decade is going to be about learning and yeah keeping it exciting I think for me I love watching other creatives create so whether that be on YouTube or sometimes I'll go up to the library in Norwich and I'll just go sit down for an hour get a book on an artist or a designer out and read it learn something today like yeah sometimes on a lunch hour I'll be like no I'm just going to go rather than wandering around aimlessly yeah try and learn I think it's important to keep learning yeah what is the biggest piece of career advice you've ever received be nice yeah just be nice be that's it really be nice but also friendly helpful be proactive get up you know whatever it is you're doing can I help you know just always try and be collaborative um yeah just be nice I think that's just a basic thing really yeah um what advice would you give to other models who are thinking about pursuing alternative career paths you know whether either in the creative industries like you've done or something completely different well I mean I think whatever it is you want to do you need to go and get in there and try and get work experience and of some description and when I started assisting as in photographic assistant you know I was like about 43 44 so So it's never too late to start going, hey, I'd really like to work with you.

27:10Do something you're passionate about. Do something that you're passionate about.

27:13Tessa: And want to learn about. You can do it. Absolutely. You can. But you need to be proactive. You need to go out. You need to learn about it. You need to offer up your services. Really watch. See how other people are doing it. Practice, you know, with a lot of photography. I'm not going to lie. I've learned a lot from not only from watching other photographers, but YouTube as well. Especially when it comes to using Photoshop or anything like that. YouTube all the way just keep learning thank you so much your your story I think is a real testament to embracing those opportunities I think as a model you do look out for those opportunities and yeah definitely and change happens but just again try and embrace that and turn it around to something positive

27:58Tessa: you can find Tamsin's work and stay updated on her latest projects by following her online at TamsinMorgans.com. That's Tamsin with a Y. Thank you for joining us today on The Business of Modelling. If you enjoyed my chat with Tamsin, please leave us a review. Follow us on social media to see exclusive content about our guests and to find out what's coming up. We'd love your feedback. Let us know if there are any subjects you'd like us to cover or any guests you'd like us to have on the show. You can find all our contact details and links to our social media on our website, businessofmodelling.co.uk.

28:33Tessa: Goodbye until next time.