A Creative Partnership That Started in College
Weekend Creative is the product of a long-standing creative partnership between Elle Mott and Arabela Espinoza. Based in San Jose, California, the duo runs a full-service creative studio specializing in commercial and conceptual product photography for brands around the world.
The two first met while studying at San Jose State University in an Intro to Studio Lighting class. Elle was a design major, while Arabela studied advertising with a minor in photography. Their collaboration began when Elle, who was working at a local magazine at the time, brought Arabela onto the team. Before long, they were producing fashion shoots together and naturally fell into their creative roles — Elle as producer and art director, and Arabela behind the camera as photographer.
Outside of their day jobs, the pair began organizing creative shoots simply for fun. These passion projects gave them a space to experiment and stay creatively energized.
One small opportunity changed everything: they reached out to a local ice cream company offering to trade photos for product. Instead, the brand offered to pay them $500 for the shoot. That moment shifted their perspective.
They realized that the kind of work they loved creating could also become a real career. As they continued building their portfolios, they mostly scheduled shoots on Saturdays and Sundays — which eventually inspired the name Weekend Creative.
Turning Passion Into a Business
Leaving full-time employment to pursue creative work wasn’t easy. Like many freelancers, Elle and Arabela had to quickly learn the business side of creativity — everything from pricing their services and writing contracts to managing timelines and communicating with clients.
This learning process eventually inspired another venture: Saturday School, an educational platform where they share insights with other freelancers navigating the same challenges.
Both Weekend Creative and Saturday School grew from the same philosophy — creating meaningful work while building a sustainable creative career.
Inside Their Creative Process
Every project at Weekend Creative begins with understanding the brand. The duo works closely with clients to clarify goals, audience, messaging, and how the final images will be used.
Sometimes brands arrive with an established art direction team, while other times they rely on the studio to help shape the creative concept. To map out the vision, Elle and Arabela create detailed mockups using tools like Adobe Firefly and Illustrator so clients can preview and approve the shoot plan before production begins.
From there, they handle the entire process — building sets, booking talent and crew, organizing locations, preparing model releases, and assembling call sheets for the shoot day.
Creating Images That Elevate Brands
Today, Weekend Creative collaborates with brands ranging from startups to major companies including Adobe, Benefit Cosmetics, CamelBak, OLLY Vitamins, Blue Bottle Coffee, Pinterest, and many others.
What began as weekend passion projects has evolved into a thriving creative studio — one built on collaboration, curiosity, and a shared commitment to producing imagery that helps brands stand out.
For Elle and Arabela, the journey is proof that sometimes the best businesses start with simply making the work you want to see in the world.
Learn more about Weekend Creative at weekend-creative.com and saturdayschool.co, and follow them @weekendcreative.
