little feet

A bit of behind-the-scene trivia regarding the photos in our May-June 2009 piece on footbaths:

The article describes how calming it can be for young people—as well as adults, but who doesn't already know that?—to take a break from the day and soak their feet in soothing, fragrant water.

Mothering staff photographer Melyssa Holik and I lined up a photo shoot with the daughter of a staff member, bought our official footbath supplies and official footbath containers (a.k.a. salad bowls), then learned the day before the shoot that we needed to shoot in mid-morning, when the light was optimal, a time during which our model was—go figure!—in school.

In looking for a substitute, we quickly realized that not just anyone could step in on the appointed day and help us out. No, this job called for someone both available at 9:00 in the morning (just about anybody on our staff), and with very small feet. (Salad bowls, remember?) Not wanting to make anyone feel self-conscious about shoe size, Mel and I cruised the office, discreetly eyeing our coworkers' feet. . .

Happily, we didn't have to go far, and the featured feet in the footbath piece belong to Mothering Marketing Director Elizabeth Carovillano, a perfect salad-bowl-fitting size 5. Thanks, Elizabeth!

Image above is the opening spread of the article. Photo by Melyssa Holik.