Left: Founder, Elizabeth Scarlet

Above: Main Office, Dublin, Ireland

    It all started in 1873 when Elizabeth Scarlet, 27, opened her first photo gallery in Dublin, Ireland. She had nothing more than the clothes on her back, a small bag filled with a few belongings, and a whole lot of debt. “I was so poor... Too poor. ”Elizabeth remembered when interviewed in 1952. An old woman at 106, bedridden and health failing, she labored hard to speak. Her voice, quiet and subdued, and her strong Irish accent spilling over; but her eyes held a flame that, while lightly flickering, still remained.

    In 1881, things began to look up for Elizabeth. She found her financial situation rapidly improving. She had made a name for herself in the world of the arts. The world of photography revealed at her talent. Her works were breath-taking, and everywhere you went, her name would be whispered; but that wasn’t always a good thing. “They did not care for me.” She comments, referring to the proper and socially acceptable men and women of her time. “I refused to be a wench.” A small smile tugging at her lips. And refuse she did. She was seen as shameful, “I smoked, I drank, and I wore trousers.” A devilish look in her eye. “But that wasn’t what angered them to no avail; it was my photographs.” Pride beamed from her face “I was -am- an artist and I refuse to be contained!” She declared, with a wheezy laugh.

    But one year later in 1882, something unexpected happened. Elizabeth had become pregnant. She was not only old for her time, but she was unmarried. “I was in love.” Her eyes cloudy and her face wistful, “I refused to let a ceremony and a document tell me what I was supposed to do with this love.” Sadly her lover, Jonathan O‘Reily died two months after her daughter, Celia, was born. “Phenomena.” She murmured with glassy eyes.

    Elizabeth’s daughter grew up in her mother’s world, and just like Elizabeth, Celia too, had amazing talent. She held her first showcase when she was 12. “It was like a dream,” She says, “Being able to look up and see my work on display.” Finally, Elizabeth had someone to help; who she found perfect for the job. When Elizabeth turned 60 in 1906, Celia took over the business. Still Elizabeth continued to create. “No one could stop her.” Celia reminisced, laughing, “And why would they?”

    After her interview in 1952, Elizabeth Scarlet died two months later at age 107. Celia, unmarried, had three children, Allegra, the oldest, Laurence, the middle child, and Jennifer the youngest. They all inherited their mother’s beauty and their grandmother’s skill. “We plan on doing this until we die.” Allegra said, smiling while at a new gallery opening, show-casing her and her siblings’ work.

    Early this year, 2010, the Scarlet children began challenging themselves in different ways. “We are taking everyday objects, molding them into something new, and then photographing them.” Their latest project is Dixie Cups. At the unveiling of the project, Laurence announced with a grin:

“We are so excited to start!”

    The Dixie Project is a project where we take everyday Dixie cups and turn them into new and fun objects. Some of our projects include flowers and book markers. It’s an inexpensive way to create fun for the new generation and to show-case our pieces we turn in to photographic wonders!

What We Believe and What You Should Know

Photos by Laurence and Jennifer Scarlet

Innovation in the 21st Century

Value is first and foremost a person’s perception of an object’s worth. While understanding this we must understand that the idea of value is an opinion. One person might find something utterly useless while someone else may find the object in question extraordinarily priceless. Also, an opinion is always subject to change. A shirt might be treasured beyond its real value since the owner is in love with the show that parades itself on the front. But, next month a new show might come along and all of a sudden the shirt becomes ‘old news’ therefore decreasing its value.

While almost everything surrounding value is an opinion, some opinions have become so supported and believed in that it’s followed by a wide margin of people. We believe that measuring value is: how much you value the object and how much others value it, and the object’s ability to carry out its destined task, along with how efficient it is at reaching its goal. Other, smaller, but with equally important aspects that are involved when an object’s value is in question are its durability, its simplicity and its symbolic reverence.

Still, value would be highly improvable without innovation. Innovation is a change in a person’s thought process when concerned with creating something that is new and useful. Without change there wouldn’t be the chance to develop, shape, mold, and grow.  Therefore, creating virtually any value that could be destined in the future. But, fortunately innovation is change and change will always impact us. The people who come across and dictate innovation are entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur is a person who is in charge of a new venture or idea, therefore assuming significant accountability for all the apparent risks along with the overall outcomes.

The final overlooking stage of innovation is hard. But even harder is the creation of a true genuine innovation. When creating our innovation we took the raw material, Dixie Cups, and examined them closely. We found their weakness and discovered their strengths, all the while thinking about ways to creatively use them. We then discussed different ideas and made a list of them; which turned out to be insanely long! We then went back and edited the list; we retouched some ideas while getting rid of others, which was one of the most frustrating parts because we loved our ideas and it was hard to let go. Another frustrating part was when we actually began to build our ideas some ideas that we loved were impossible to carry out. This was incredibly sad. But, some ideas did work and became even better then we imagined. We then tested them and removed and edited until we were satisfied with the outcome. Even though it was hard work, in the end it was worth it.