Faces of the South Bay
Through their Instagram account, @facesofsouthbay, sophomore Clara Reckhorn and her mother Ute Reckhorn have been supporting and raising awareness for local family-owned businesses since April 25. On their page, Clara and Ute Reckhorn post stories of local businesses and their struggles during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in an effort to create a more connected community of locally operated companies in their project, Faces of South Bay.
“[In supporting] local businesses struggling during the COVID-19 crisis, [we are] trying to bring the community together and draw attention to those who are being hit the hardest by the pandemic,” Reckhorn said. “We photograph the business owners, [such as Gayle Eskridge of Eskridge Law and Nicole Papayans of Papayans Fitness], to tell their stories so people can understand the faces behind the companies.”
Clara Reckhorn and Ute Reckhorn find it important to bring the Palos Verdes community together, as they recognize the importance of community support. As Clara Reckhorn began pursuing journalism on staff at The Pen Newspaper during her sophomore year, she has employed her writing and reporting skills in this extracurricular project by writing captions for their posts and interviewing business owners. Clara Reckhorn combined her journalistic skills with her mother’s photography in this project and has been able to share the stories of local businesses through their shared passion of photojournalism.
“Within the community, [our posts] create a tighter-knit system,” Ute Reckhorn said. “People read our articles and are reminded of the little hidden gem businesses that they might otherwise forget. It helps to tell people’s stories so customers feel more inclined to shop locally instead of at a chain.”
Since they began their project, Clara Reckhorn and Ute Reckhorn have featured 43 businesses, including cafes, copy stores, pet hotels and aestheticians on their page, which has 615 followers. By providing this extra source of publicity for the businesses they have featured, Clara Reckhorn and Ute Reckhorn have created customers for these local and family owned businesses, such as Joju, a baby food company based in Redondo Beach.
“Ute has a special way of bringing your story to life that warms the heart of the readers,” Joju Foods Co-Founder Christine Elfalan said. “[Having been featured on the @facesofsouthbay page] there is a long term benefit of brand awareness that will ultimately lead to economic benefits.”
Having worked and taken pictures together for many years, Clara Reckhorn and Ute Reckhorn are proud of the success of their Instagram page and what they have accomplished for the businesses featured. Especially during this difficult time, Clara Reckhorn and Ute Reckhorn plan to continue supporting businesses on their platform. Those who personally know Clara Reckhorn, such as sophomore Sam Shao, recognize her passion for photojournalism and the Faces of South Bay project.
“I think it is great that they are spreading awareness for local businesses during this time to help them [promote their] business,” Shao said. “Clara enjoys getting to know the people in her community and she seems really invested in this. She is always happy to help those around her.”
