Willow the caravan (Surrey, BC)
This beautiful caravan for rent I found through Sheri who mentioned she is frequently hosting Willow (this is the caravan’s name) on her property for photoshoots. Tracey – the owner of the caravan – was happy to arrange a meeting so we could take some photos and videos of the caravan, and also have a little online chat with me.
Meet Tracey – my today’s guest and the owner of the caravan:
Anastasia (AC): Hi Tracey! Too bad we didn’t meet in person when we were photographing Willow! How about a couple of words about yourself? Where are you from? What do you live and breathe?
Tracey Jirak: Hi I live in Fort Langley, and am married to a pilot so we’ve lived all over from Nunavut to the Maldives.
We have 3 daughters a cat and a dog and we spend most of our free time camping.
AC: Why you started this caravan rental business? How did you find Willow?
Tracey: I was following a lot of vintage caravan accounts on my Instagram and became obsessed with the idea of starting a little business of my own. We have a large modern RV but I always preferred the little vintage ones, especially Bolers because they are so cute and also Canadian-made.
AC: I noticed Willow is soo photogenic! it probably looks great with any setup. What kind of events does Willow usually serve?
Tracey: In Willow’s first year in business she has done weddings, bridal picnics, Christmas, fall, summer mini sessions, some people have used her as a setting for their product display and she’s even been to a couple of vendor markets.
AC: What was the most unusual photo session you hosted with your caravan?
Tracey: I haven’t had anything really unusual but there was a wedding at the Lodge at Harrison run by @valleyweddings and the weather was awful, the rain was pouring down the wind was howling… I was actually amazing at how the ladies pulled that shoot together. it resulted in my most liked photo ever on my page!
AC: What are your top-3 favorite locations you parked Willow at for the projects?
Tracey: I love local farms such as Hazelmere farm.
And I loved parking at Edgewater campground with the water in the background, it’s very picturesque.
But my very favorite spot was the airplane hangar @airsidespaces because you don’t have to worry about the elements and the lighting is perfect.
AC: What areas do you service?
Tracey: All of the Lower Mainland. I’ve gone as far as Harrison hot springs so far!
AC: How much do you charge? Do you have hourly, half-day, full-day rate?
Tracey: Because of COVID-19 my rates were pretty flexible and sometimes I did collaborations with photographers and event planners.
But the typical rate for an event is $500 plus a delivery fee if further than the Langley area.
I have done half-day rates in the past but that’s dependant on location and type of event, I typically stick to full-day rates as it takes just as long to prepare and set up for a half-day as for a full day.
AC: What’s included? Do you provide props? Are there any transportation fees associated with such a booking?
Tracey: I have provided all Christmas props and have a few basic decor pieces but all major decor; flowers, balloons, boho picnic scenes etc have been done by the decor/events vendors.
AC: What’s the best way to contact you to book Willow?
Tracey: I run my business mainly through Instagram and Facebook marketplace for now, until my website is up and running and then clients will be able to book dates, times, and add-ins right from the website.
Contact Tracey for booking and inquiries:
Instagram: @onceuponacaravan
Facebook: Tracey Jirak
Conclusion
If you are as excited as I am, reach out to me about your photo session with Willow.
