Camera Roll is an interview series where we glimpse into the current moment via the mundane and the ordinary — the life documented and forgotten, lived through our phones and beyond.
Katie Merchant’s creative eye is applied to the photography she shares on her prolific Instagram account, @thankyou_ok, but also to her work as a creative director and stylist for brands such as Glossier, Babaà and Marimekko that share her penchant for nostalgia filtered through a lens of romance that recalls the films of Jacques Demy or Éric Rohmer. As would be expected, then, passersby can find her lit by the screen of a movie theater, or peeking at gardens on her way to the corner of Avenue and Davenport, her favorite place to get flowers near where she lives in Toronto. Here, we speak to Katie about capturing moments of serendipitous beauty on an iPhone, the opposite of buyer’s remorse (regret for a purchase unmade), and women she’s inspired by, from Miss Piggy to Martha Stewart.
What kind of phone do you have and how many images are on it?
I have a green iPhone 11 Pro Max, there are 42,132 images on it as of now.
Where are you right now?
At the kitchen table in my apartment, looking out at the rose window on the church across the street.
what’s your morning routine like?
A glass of half hot/half cold water, black coffee, weights or running, a bath with lots of salts, looking at books or magazines that I feel a kinship with.
How long do you typically spend on your phone in a day?
I use my phone for work so I spend a lot of time on it (I almost exclusively use my phone for taking photos for clients and myself — I recently got a film camera which has been exciting and refreshing). I like to take breaks, of course, and try not to reach for it first thing when I wake up.
What was your upbringing like?
I was born in a smaller city in southern Ontario, on Lake Huron. My mom loved gardening, and entertaining, and interior decorating, which definitely had an influence on my tastes and what I like as an adult. I’ve always been aesthetically inclined and drawn toward flowers, cooking, baking, and nostalgia for my childhood.
how did you first get into photography?
I've always liked taking photos and sharing things I like and that inspire me. When I was teaching English in Seoul in 2009, I started a blog, which then eventually became my Instagram account. I wasn't always creatively inspired in the jobs I was working (an old colleague of mine used to tell me that my job hadn't been invented yet), so I used social media as an outlet and this eventually became my job. Now, I am 100% freelance and create content for brands — I do art direction, photography, styling and set design. A friend once called me a creative consultant for everyday beauty, and I like how that sounds.
How do you use your phone or other tools to mark, store, and remember moments?
I love to use the Notes app on my phone for storing memories. And, of course, by taking pictures! I'll take a picture and say it's for “my files,” whether it's of a special occasion, an outfit recipe, a color combination I want to remember, or a memorable meal.
what is a memorable image on your camera roll, and what does it mean to you?
One of my favorite images is a photo I took on a trip to Paris in 2019 (above left). I was walking by a restaurant and as I glanced inside, I saw a woman eating a perfectly sliced pineapple on a white tablecloth — I quickly snapped a pic. It's a nice memory of being alone and finding moments of inspiration around me.
what’s been inspiring you?
Getting dressed, flowers, dessert cases, table settings, fruit stands, 80s Street Magazine archive, old Esprit ads, diners, memories, the future, Miss Piggy’s Guide To Life.
As for Instagram accounts, here are a few that inspire me: @rachelaliceroddy, @carodiarioparis , @stissinghouse, @maryymanningg, @simplicitycity, @desertvintage, and @_lauren_schofield.
What apps on your phone do you use most?
I use Nike Run Club, Instagram, and the Notes app the most.
What are you watching right now?
I just finished watching The Sopranos for the first time. I loved Carmela. I also just watched Return to Seoul and loved it. I like comforting stuff like Baby Boom and Stepmom. I like to watch the Dries Van Noten doc, Dries, every spring.
What’s in your podcast queue?
You Must Remember This (especially the Erotic 80s season).
What are you reading?
I’m flipping through The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon, always reading the Canal House Cooking Series, and slowly savoring entries in Anne Truitt’s Daybook, which remind me of May Sarton’s Journals, which I will revisit next. I love to reread.
last thing you googled on your phone?
Le Rubis, a restaurant in Paris I went to in 2019. I was just there on holiday, so I was looking up its address.
favorite new possession over the last year?
For my last birthday, my friend Lee gave me a set of circus-tent striped porcelain tea cups. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better present, I was so delighted. They are the perfect combination of her and I, which I feel is the mark of a great gift. Something I really regret not buying is a painting I saw on a trip to upstate New York last fall in an antique shop. It’s an awkwardly painted young girl in tears, surrounded by nefarious geese, one with a biscuit in its mouth — the title card read “The Bad Goose Stole My Biscuit.”
Can you describe your lock screen and what made you pick it?
My lock screen is a black and white picture of a young Martha Stewart posing with a cow. She has this amazing, voluminous blowout. I picked it because I like looking at it, and of course, Martha is an inspiration.
images provided by katie merchant, edited by em seely-katz