As a photographer, graphic artist, social media manager and more, Allie tells stories – for busy business owners, for couples on their wedding day, for anybody who is too busy or maybe too intimidated or who just otherwise needs help. And she’s really good at what she does, talented and versatile and most importantly passionate and committed. Bellu Jean Creative is a news-ish business, launched less than a year ago, but Allie has since high school been honing the skills and acquiring the experiences that she is using today. And the word is out: if Allie is promoting you or your product or services she’ll do an excellent job, and to understand how she has gotten so good at telling other people’s stories you just have to look back at hers.

Born and raised in West Hartford, Allie took graphic design classes at Hall High School and also got a nice Nikon DSLR – and her interest morphed from a hobby into a bit of a business, as she earned money by shooting portraits and events and doing other such projects (for example, she designed for the front page of the Hall student planner). Next stop was the University of New Hampshire, where she majored in journalism and worked her way from a design editor to the executive editor of the UNH newspaper. They published a print edition twice a week and those long late production nights were exhausting but exhilarating. Allie had always wanted to live in New York, so after graduating in 2017 she moved to Manhattan hoping to find a job at some news organization, but everything was becoming web-based … and she was starting to question whether she would be happy with the always-on-deadline lifestyle that can come in that industry. She had a roommate who worked at a Charter School, so Allie took a job there while starting her own company, called A Wildflower Project, which offered essentially the same services she provides today with BJC.

At this point in her life, Allie was at a crossroads. Both of her parents are educators (father Harry was also the longtime football coach at Hartford Public High School) and Allie really enjoyed her experience at the front of the classroom herself. COVID had taken its toll on Wildflower (many of her clients had been restaurants) and two years ago she moved back to West Hartford and took a job at Norfeldt, her old elementary school. That was fun, as she worked alongside teachers who had once had her as a student, and Allie knew there were plenty of opportunities and room for advancement in education but she never stopped taking photos and her interest in and passion for storytelling never waned. Last summer, Allie took a month-long trip to Australia and during that time her plan crystalized, to retool her Wildflower formula and re-commit to life as a business owner.

Bellu Jean Creative is billed as a one-stop shop for businesses that want to develop or refine their brand, re-think or re-do their logo or marketing strategy, maybe get help with or essentially off-load the crucial but sometimes mystifying challenge of having a smart social media presence. Hers will be a bigger business one day but for now it’s just the multi-dimensional Allie. She can blend in as a wedding guest, shooting dozens of candid photos and having a gallery ready the next day. Or hang out with a chef or hair stylist or fashion advisor, learning how and why they do what they do so that she can help them connect with and attract new clients. Allie says her confidence comes from where she has been – from designing the front page of a newspaper to dealing with first-graders and their protective parents. “My background is different and it makes a difference,” she said, adding that starting a business in her hometown also has been an advantage. “I knew once people started working with me, I would do well,” she says. And she has. “It’s really been a lot of fun.”