Insta...

We've been working steadily on a number of obvious goals at PJP, like having more pie flavors and ensuring tarts available for sale each day.  And also on some not-so-obvious goals, like not micromanaging every second of every minute of every day at PJP.  And because we've done pretty well over the past month with this "YES TO TARTS, NO TO MICROMANAGING" philosophy, we started to think about what other goals might be within our reach if we just tackled them head-on. Which is precisely how Jeanne and I started a long conversation about Instagram, starting with the who/what/where//when/why/how it all works (one guess who in this show needed the tutorial).  And while we've long since had a PJP Instagram (/peggyjeanspies), we certainly haven't consistently focused on the account with regular updates.

But not long ago, my almost 11 year old developed some major Instagram love.  Suddenly she was watching videos and tutorials and giving me lip liner tips...even though she isn't allowed to wear lip liner.  Thanks, Instagram.  But her video watching and photo scrolling became a bit addictive for us both and as beautiful pictures flooded my feed, I thought..."well we could totally do that."

And we can.  But it would only be fair to admit that it takes a lot of time and a tremendous amount of creative effort to stage a great Instagram shot.  Last week a customer stopped by while I was on the fifth rung of a ladder over a staged shot while Katie and Kevin backlit it with their iPhone flashlights and Jeanne drizzled streusel over the blueberries and I videoed (using Boomerang, an app that Katie taught me about because she is 19 and knowledgable and not 41 and distracted by trying to keep her kid from following any of the Kardashians on social media...but whatever.)

Just like baking and owning a business, I've discovered that putting together something beautiful for Instagram is easier on some days than on others.  It certainly requires thinking about our product with a different mindset and a step back to view it through different eyes than simply baking and boxing.  And that perspective is actually refreshing.  For example, my favorite shot from last week was done using something we purchased at Ikea before we ever opened PJP Buttonwood in the anticipation that it might hang in our front window as a decoration.  And then it never did because it didn't fit our vibe.  And then last week, the almost 11 year old Instagram addict opened it up and slowly we all started to work together presenting pie in different colors and layouts and until we discovered a beautiful summer shot...

A totally new perspective on Key Lime pie, no?

So, I hope we maintain it and make the time to do it each day a priority...not only for sharing images from PJP with our followers, but to push us to start thinking about things inside our storefront in a new and refreshing way.  But please stop us if you notice we start to talk about lip liner...