We want this to be good. We are empowered to tell your story through our eyes. We believe that everyone we meet serves as a mirror; a soulmate. Through these connections we are able to learn more about ourselves and acknowledge who we really are; divine beings on a soul journey. We celebrate Mother Nature’s ancient wisdom and invoke our powers of feeling and emotional connection in order to honor unity. To walk in the world with intention and purpose is to live in alignment with the Universe.
Our connection happened through a set of beautifully synchronistic events. In February of 2022, after publishing Tuesdays, Heartbreaks, and Soulmates, Julie set intentions in motion, laying a foundation for her future and calling into her life a partner who walked in the world in such a way that aligned with her vision. Most importantly, through this book, she honored her shadows, held heavier things to the light and confessed poetic truth for the world to read. As it turns out, the book fell into Colin’s hands and heart. It is difficult to capture the way we have separately experienced our story, and as a couple; the gravity of alignment we have both felt which brings us to truly believe in the power of this soul journey. Our story continues to show us that the love you give returns to you.
Hello, I’m Julie. I started this company over a decade ago as a version of myself who barely knew the woman behind the lens, but adventure was stirring just below the surface, ready to break my clouded vision of the human experience. The moment of clarity for my future as an adventure wedding photographer was sensed in an Iceland elopement amidst the wild. I could feel every emotion in the Land of Fire and Ice. It was real and raw; an expression of love in its purest form. Not long after, I began traveling alone and found my spirit soaring high above the mountains and swaying with the ocean waves. Travel became more than just about exploring earthly wonders, but venturing into the uncharted territories of self.
On Tuesday, 2/22/22, I published a book with the tagline “the kind of love that brings *you* home.” The intention was to share the story of my becoming through poetry and travel photography; a gesture for no longer hiding my authentic self. Unexpectedly, part way through writing, I felt a divine message tell me that my words would find their way into the hands of my person as long as I spoke from the deepest space of truth. Be it manifestation or prophecy, my story found its way into the hands of the person who feels as immensely as I do.
Just as my personal relationship with life is evolving, Magnolia + Ember is blossoming; rooted in Mother Nature and human connection. Here represents an echoing of the Universe that lives within me, within us. I want this to be a place where others can truly feel themselves. We find it through our bravery of letting ourselves be seen.
Hi, I’m Colin. I believe that this journey we find ourselves on as humans is one of great complexity. It is a journey that we have no way to truly understand in these bodies. I fail to find the words to capture the essence of the heart. How it filled to the brim with tremendous joy, burning like an ember in my chest, standing at the base of the Grand Tetons; eyes in disbelief at the magnitude of jagged-edges. How they bear witness to the passage of time, observing in their wisdom. The otherworldly red rocks of Colorado, grains of dust beneath my bare feet, moved by the wild spirit of the West; feeling every emotion as the warm winds penetrated my bones. The grounded peace that flowed over my restless soul as the cold glacier water in Montana shocked me back to life. The stillness of the Earth at night in the balsams of Appalachia, my mind danced in thoughts of wonder, gaze lost in the sea of stars. The sound of the silent yet roaring, desolate ice-rimmed lakes in the Rocky Mountains etched an echo of remembrance that, beneath the surface, everything is in constant change. I know you’ve felt these things, too. I am a deeply emotional human being; we are all capable of finding this tremendous lifewell within our souls. When I take a photograph, I see the moment with true vision. The emotion mirrors within my own body, often moving me to tears. As a photographer, I believe that presence and vulnerability allow hearts to be unlocked.
