Sometimes, it's worth staying in touch
What began with a friendly email to a new Italian bistro in Haslemere grew into a lasting creative relationship — and, three years later, a food photography commission for Carlo’s new restaurant in Petersfield.
It started with a friendly email
In July 2023, while walking along West Street in Haslemere, we spotted the signs for a new independent Italian business preparing to open.
Carlo combined the feel of an Italian bistro with coffee, gelato and a selection of Italian produce to take home. It caught our attention, so I sent Carlo a friendly email introducing Sequoia Studios and offering support with photography, website design and visual branding.
Carlo replied kindly, explaining that a family member was already helping with some of those things. Fair enough. I wished him well and thought that was probably the end of it.
It wasn't.
A conversation became a partnership
A few weeks later, Carlo got back in touch. This time he wanted to sit down and talk properly about the website.
That conversation became Sequoia Studios' first project with Carlo: designing and building the website for Carlo Independent Italian Restaurant in Haslemere.
From there, one project gradually became an ongoing creative relationship. We continued working together across the website, email campaigns and digital content, getting to know Carlo, his business and the personality behind the brand.
“Working with Sequoia Studios was a game changer for our business. Their expertise and dedication helped us achieve a remarkable result.”
Carlo Papagni · Owner, Carlo Independent Italian Restaurant
A new chapter in Petersfield
In 2026, the Carlo story entered a new chapter with the opening of a second location in Petersfield.
This wasn't simply another version of Haslemere. While the original has the character of an Italian bistro, coffee and gelato stop and produce shop, Petersfield was conceived as a fuller restaurant experience with its own menu and identity.
With a new restaurant came the need for a new library of food photography — and this time, that was our commission.
Letting the food take centre stage
The Petersfield commission focused firmly on the food.
The brief was to create a strong collection of imagery around the new menu: authentic Italian dishes photographed with enough polish for Carlo's website, social content and marketing, while retaining the warmth and generosity that characterises the food itself.
Pasta, pizza and seasonal dishes gave us plenty of colour, texture and detail to work with. There was no need to manufacture a lifestyle story around them; this commission was about letting the food speak for itself.
One relationship, two different places
Haslemere and Petersfield may share the Carlo name, but they're different propositions, and that's part of what makes the continuing relationship interesting.
Our work has evolved alongside the business: from the original Haslemere website and ongoing digital support to a dedicated food photography commission for the new Petersfield restaurant.
Having worked with Carlo for several years meant we weren't approaching the commission cold. We already understood the business, the personality behind it and the importance of presenting the new restaurant as part of the Carlo story without simply making it a copy of what had come before.
Not bad for one email
Creative relationships don't always begin with the perfect pitch at exactly the right moment.
Sometimes the timing isn't right. Sometimes the answer is no. And sometimes, a few weeks later, the phone rings.
Three years after that first email, Carlo had grown from one Haslemere business into two distinct locations, and Sequoia Studios was still there, helping tell the story.
I'm rather glad this one did.
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