In the second in what I expect will be a series of postings of Extraordinary People on Puck & Abby, you’re introduced to DNese Miller, a very creative woman and photographer who impressed me early and through our correspondence, I’ve come to call my friend. What strikes me most about DNese is her passion and how committed she is to supporting and promoting small businesses. Using social media and creative networking, she unselfishly shares interesting sites, images, and links to her extended audience.
Here is DNese in her own words:
Hi, I'm DNese. I am deeply passionate about life. I love Starbucks iced coffee, and I am a huge Target girl. I love Paris, but I also love the beach. I am a huge city girl but love the calm of the mountains. I would pick living in the city over anywhere else, though. I live the hygge lifestyle. Everything calm, clean, natural, and organic. Music can change my whole mood. I love candles and quiet. Calm and cozy.
After receiving my Bachelors in Criminal Justice with a Masters in Forensics, I worked in the Government field for over 20 years. My dream was to work in the NYPD Forensic Crime Lab.
Just prior to graduating, I became a Mom to the sweetest little boy. I had to shift my life dream and remain working in the Government Contracting/Finance field. I went right back to work when my son was only four weeks old. I would work extremely long hours every day. It was very hard being away and missing him so much. It's a regret I still struggle with. I don't take any moment with him for granted and I wouldn't change becoming a Mom for anything. Now I just watch crime shows on TV and try to solve them myself. Ha! It's the next best thing, right?
I met and married my husband eight years ago after dating for only a few months. He‘s an amazing man who makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. He’s like a giant teddy bear- one of the good ones. My husband is currently serving our great Country as a Sailor in the United States Navy. Upon getting married we received orders to Japan. It was a HUGE adjustment for my life and even harder to leave my family and friends. I left my career & independence in order to support his.
I took full advantage of finally becoming a stay-at-home Mom. We lived in Japan for three years, and we’re currently stationed in Italy. It's been an amazing experience to live in both of these beautiful countries. My family is from Italy, so it's very emotional for me to be living here sharing a part of their history/story. We aren't sure where we’re headed next, but we plan for it to be stateside since our son starts college next year.
I didn't really even have any social media until about eight years ago. It was then that I started sharing my family, home, and daily life. I share as often as I can now. Living in these countries is something I never want to forget, so I tend to capture as much as possible.
Plus, all my family and friends stateside are kept in the loop of my day-to-day, so it's a plus for them, too.
I snap images of anything that catches my eye. It could be the way the sun is hitting against something. It could be the color of garlic. I tend to look for the beauty in most things around me. I don't really set up a prop station or anything. All of my photos are real-time and captured via my iPhone just as the object or scene is. I want my photos to tell the story, not for a story to be set up by me and then captured, ya know? I want you to see what inspired me that very moment. That's the image I want to share.
I am an avid cook. I am instantly inspired by the touch, smell, taste, color of food. I can get lost inside any farmer’s market or grocery store for hours. It literally excites me and brings me joy. I started out by taking photos of foods that I would make; simple things. It suddenly turned into me snapping pictures of anything and everything that inspired me. It has been a long time request from people for my images to be shared, so one day I ordered a bunch of my work in print and I loved them when they arrived. I sat down at my computer and instantly opened up an online shop. It just happened organically and I've been pretty successful thus far.
I connect with and support small businesses through social media. Either I found them (or they found me) or, it was friends whom I follow that shared them. I’m thankful to have come across many small shops. Beautiful and so kind, each small shop sharing their passion with the world. It's impressive and inspiring to watch. I would much rather shop small than at a big box store.
I met Robin via a mutual friend who had shared her IG with followers and I began following as well.
So happy to have connected with her.
