What happens when you’re a successful commercial photographer and the digital photography revolution hits? For many, at worst, it meant an end to a long and prosperous career; to others, at the very least, it meant a sea change, with a massive devaluing of the industry as a whole and a dramatic decrease in income for many who relied on the industry as their financial bread + butter.
For Los Angeles-based photographer, Michael Faye, it meant turning his lens toward two of his passions—dogs + kombucha. In 2007, the longtime dog-lover sold his commercial studio with the intent of rebooting as a pet portraiture business. Then, as he eloquently put it:
“That’s when Lindsey Lohan changed my life. Stay with me.
I come from a family deeply rooted in holistic tradition. I was raised vegetarian. Father is a chiropractor and Mother made her own yogurt! Sugar was not on the menu. No soda. No chocolate cereal. To some that may seem like hell for a kid, but I stilI hold those core values. I started drinking kombucha around 2005. I was then, as I am now, a strong believer in the raw food movement, with a regular yoga practice. I felt healthy, in shape, even so I felt kombucha’s health effects from the start. The sense of well being that comes with drinking kombucha became part of my every day.
But just as my interest in kombucha was deepening, it disappeared. Literally. The story goes like this: Lindsey Lohan’s lawyers attempted to explain away a failed alcohol test by claiming it was a false positive brought about by a lot of kombucha drinking. The practical (and hysterical) result of which was that kombucha was summarily pulled from the shelves. Such is the power of the Lohan. After a few weeks without, it was time to take action. I started learning how to brew and found that friends and family were really liking my early efforts and requesting more… I also discovered I loved the art of brewing.”
Three years and a lot of work later, Faye turned his new passion for brewing into a business, tying his now commercially available kombucha to his love of dogs + photography by taking shots of currently homeless dogs in the Los Angeles area and putting them on the labels to help them find homes.
We’ve been fans of Kombucha Dog since we first came to LA. They make great kombucha and who could deny such an adorably awesome business model.
A little while back, Michael reached out to us to inquire about doing something together as our roles of running MooShoes Los Angeles. The result is this Saturday’s coming Dog Daze 2015, a celebration of local shopping, local music, local food + drink, and, of course, local four-legged friends (many of whom’ll be on-site and available for adoption).
Admission’s free and you can purchase beer, wine, and kombucha on-site along with some products from our store and the Los Angeles-based Made in America Project. Local vegan restaurant Sun Cafe‘ll also be on hand to cater a dinner for any interested (just RSVP for it on the Eventbrite page).
Details + RSVPing for both dinner and general attendance here—hope to see you there!
Below, more KD labels + dogs; the indoor event space at Kombucha Dog; Katie with the new pup at the brewery, Jax; the KD credo; large scale dog love on the brewery walls; and more kombucha.
