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October 26, 2017 by wendylin

Guess what we received in mail?

Our Webby trophies!!

I’ve wanted to write a post about our Webby experience since we won both the 2017 People’s Voice and Webby Award in the Personal Blog/Website category back in May. But I wanted to wait until we receive our trophies, therefore this post got delayed until now.  Although it happened couple months ago, but holding the actual trophies in our hands are still very exciting. This blog post is not only to share our happiness with you but also to share my personal story behind the trophies.

To me, Coffee & Chocolate Milk is a very personal project. It’s about my marriage, my life and my believes. It started with a photo for fun and then it just grew into what it is today. I got asked many times about where am I going with this project. Honestly, I don’t know and I’ve never really thought about it until the question came up. It was really simple for me, it’s a project for me to document my life and express my creativities. I don’t really have a vision for it’s future and frankly I am kinda shy to promote it because it’s too personal.  But one morning in April, M came out the room with a grin on his face. I was making coffee while he said, “congratulations! You are a Webby Nominee.” “What?! How?” I said.  It turned out M secretly submitted our website to surprise me.  It was a surprise indeed, and it came just in time when I really needed a confidence boost.

I’ve alway loved photography, but I didn’t really get into it until 2014.  Before photography, I was working as a PR and Marketing professional for a many years. I took a break and came to New York for my long overdue master degree. But the year I got my degree, the economy crashed. It was very difficult to find a job and even more difficult to find companies that’s willing to sponsor me.  Luckily,  I had a very supportive boyfriend (now husband).  He said to me, ” Why don’t you see this as an opportunity for a change.  Why not pick up something you’ve always wanted to do!” So I picked up a camera and began shooting! Eventually it led  me to create the Coffee and Chocolate Milk project. The project started as a 365 challenge, and not long after I started the challenge, I was having difficulties to find the right props I wanted. As a result, I started to make them myself, mostly with clay. To my surprise, I was pretty good at it. Ha ha ha.  So now, besides photography, I have found another passion for sculpting. (Oh and yes, in case you don’t know, the hands and outfits for the Monkey and Rabbit were all made with clay by yours truly :)) 

However,  as creating, I am having a lot of fun. But as far as building a career goes, I was stocked.  Besides not knowing how to expand my client base, the main reason was because I didn’t think I am good enough. So when I found out that we are the winners for the Webby Awards, I was very happy and it boosts up my confidence. There are still a lot of challenges ahead of me, but I believe I would be able to overcome them!

It might sound odd, but instead of saying I created Coffee & Chocolate Milk, I feel this project opens many doors for me. Because of it, I made many friends. Because of it, I get to hear other people’s story.  When people tell me that my photos make them feel warm and happy, it really brights up my day. And because of it, we had many first. Our first print sales at an art show, my first interview as an artist, and our first solo exhibition. Although we don’t have huge followers or fans, but the ones who stay with us gave me a lot of supports and encouragements.  Because of it, I feel loved and would love to share more love and happiness in return. For our friends and fans, thank you! Like I said, I don’t know where am I going with this project, but I am very excited to see where Coffee & Chocolate Milk is taking me in the future.

Here is the our 5-word speech!