A fun, tintype surprise

It made me smile, and actually surprised me when Derek Mosley answered a simple question on The Upswing last Friday.

That question — a 2 part one — was — What is the best gift you’ve received and the best gift you’ve given?

The best gift that Mosley’s received was an easy one. He’s a kidney recipient — it saved his life. But, the gift that he’s given when I asked him that question — he answered this ways, tintype photography for his family.

He has tintype photos with his whole family and the photographer — little did he know when he answered the question — is a dear friend of our family, Maggie Muza. Smallwaukee hits again! Everything is connected here in Milwaukee.

A tintype is a direct positive image, exposed through a wet chemical process directly onto a thin piece of metal. It is one of the earliest photographic methods, dating back to the 1850s. The large format camera and antique lens provides a romantic effect, and Maggie has been fine tuning her tintype process for years in Milwaukee — the process, by the way, is unique in many ways, but the greatest one is that it must be developed right after it is taken.

Maggie was our sitter and nanny for both of our kids from day one — so she is family. And, she has a great business — true old school tin type photography. If you need a cool gift or you just want to buy yourself something special, check out Maggie‘s art and check out tin type photography.

Need more holiday gift ideas? Derek Mosley’s annual local holiday gift giving ideas are posted daily on social media accounts. He posts them on all of his platforms, and last week, he spent some time with us talking about them. Hear that here.

I truly appreciated Derek’s time on Friday, and I wish everyone happy holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy #ShoppingLocal.