Matsudai Ramen, Cardiff

If you’ve not heard of James Chant or Matsudai Ramen, then quite frankly, you’ve been living under your rock for far too long ha!

In short, he gave up a career in the music industry to follow his love of Ramen and the geekery that comes with it.

There’s currently a lot of eyes on James and his team, all anticipating the opening of their first permanent restaurant next month.

Matsudai is being featured in a magazine I’m involved with, so I managed to swing by the pop up they were operating in Cardiff’s legendary Milkwood Cafe.

As expected, on arrival, the dining room was being engulfed by ramen fans whilst the kitchen settled in to the beautifully orchestrated dance of service.

Anything But Standard - Society Standard, Cardiff

I’ve been really missing the buzz of the hospitality industry lately. The comforting hum of extraction systems, the deep life affirming chats at silly o’clock in the morning, but most of all, the camaraderie.

I hate to admit it, but I was moments away of going back to a kitchen the other night… Though that was without a doubt influenced by Marco Pierre White’s talk playing in the background whilst I was editing.

In order to scratch the itch, I put a post out on Instagram asking local bars and restaurants if they needed any imagery for their websites and social media. A flippant, spur of the moment question, but one I don’t regret.

The first person to reply was an old restaurant buddy from years back (I shot her wedding a few years back also) who now works in operations for Anything But Standard.

With a new spring inspired menu set to launch in a week or so, we decided to create a collection that could be used for socials and an upcoming web update.

Below is a selection of faves delivered.

Oh, and it totally scratched that itch of wanting to be back around the industry!

An Afternoon with Rae Dwyer

I first learned of Rae after she was a guest on “The Heavy Mental Podcast”.

Rae is an embodiment coach who’s presence in a room is unmistakeable.

She reached out for branding portraits and we set to work.

It was a typical winters day here in Wales, so we favoured the front room for it’s natural light. There was coffee and an appearance from cat Nigel.

Kaktus Vans

Today was a great day.

Kaktus are due to launch their first ever vehicle, the “Saguero”.

Inspired by the big, bold, self sufficient cactus it’s named after, the Saguero is plenty capable of surviving for life off grid.

Seeing as Wales has no deserts to hand, we opted for fire tracks in the Beacons to create promotional imagery.

Enjoy

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Forbesfield Design & Styling

Forbesfield are renowned for their beautiful floristry and luxurious styling.

The imagery for Forever Flowers is a classic example of when Forbesfield and I collaborate.

There is never a brief when we work, only coffee, trust and a handful of swear words.

For this project, we drew inspiration from paintings by dutch masters. We wanted to create a collection of images with a dark, eloquent nature.

As a result these images stand defiant against the bright and colourful images trending on social media.

NATURAL BEAUTY

Shot in an old coach house, we chose to take advantage of natural light spilling in through windows and doorways.

FAVOURABLY FASHIONED

The way Forbesfield pieces are crafted lends itself beautifully to how I like to work. Starting with a rough idea and allow it to develop naturally.

Forbesfield’s pieces are given space to breathe to let shape and texture create feelings of luxurious uniformity.

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