Whether it’s creating beauty through her photography or encouraging her daughter to chase her dreams, Laura Houlihan brings a spark to all she does.
As the photographer and stylist behind Laurels and Stars Photography, Laura lives in Madison with husband Kevin and their daughter, ten-year-old Stella — that is, when they’re not traveling!
Laura shares more.
What brought you to Madison? And what do you like most about living here?
My husband brought me to Madison and I’m so glad he did! (We met at a mutual friend’s wedding here in Madison on my twenty-eighth birthday. It was my eleventh time as a bridesmaid and he was a groomsman … the rest is history!)
We love the restaurants, being outdoors and the community. I have never lived anywhere that has as many amazing local restaurants, lakes and outdoor activities all year round. The people in Madison are pretty great too.
What are your favorite things to do together as a family?
We love to travel and go to restaurants (we’re big foodies), and we love hiking and exploring the outdoors. Stella is a downhill ski racer, so, naturally, our hearts are out West. Vail, Colorado, is our home away from home for sure. But we definitely like to visit New York City, exotic beaches and everything in between.
What’s a typical fall weekend like for you guys?
We love fall and try to be outside as much as we can, hiking, enjoying our large yard and playing with our two rescue dogs (Monte and Summit). We have ninety three trees on our property, so yard work and leaf piles are a must during the fall weekends. A fire or some hot cocoa in the evening is a beautiful way to finish to the day too. We also have a tradition of jumping into our pool on the day that we close it in the fall — last year, it was forty-one degrees and raining when we jumped in, and I think the pool was fifty-eight degrees. Brrrrr!
What is your daughter most into at this age?
Stella’s passion is downhill ski racing. She is a very accomplished downhill ski racer and has been racing with MadAlpine for the past four years. Last year, she earned eight medals ranging from seventh and in the top five and some first places too. She finished the season with a seventh place trophy overall in her age group for Midwest Alpine Racing. We’re very proud of her. But, outside of sports, she’s into friends, TikTok, Harry Potter and making slime.
My husband was a downhill ski racer as well and coached the UW Alpine Team for nine years after he graduated. He is now Stella’s coach, which is soooo amazing and so special. She first went skiing at the age of two — so she definitely started young and it’s definitely in her blood.
I don’t ski at all, but, I’m really good at cheering her on and getting her chili in between races at the hill.
What was your path to photography? And can you please tell us more about your work at Laurels and Stars?
I have always been drawn to the artistic side of things. As a child, I built little sets and was obsessed with movie set design and movie lighting. I also loved light and the way it hit things in nature and through windows — as an adult that still rings true! My dad was also really into photography when I was little and he always had a camera around his neck — in fact, that is also still true. I think he had something to do with my photography journey, for sure, having all those cameras around me growing up.
Additionally, with every job I ever had, I found myself in and drawn to those spaces of creativity, creation and I loved being behind the behind-the-scenes person. With the help of two business partners I was the publisher and co-owner of BRAVA Magazine when it relaunched back in 2008/2009. I really dove into the creative side of things at that time and found myself loving it more than ever.
After Stella was born, I decided to step away from BRAVA to be a full-time mom. After that, I decided to buy a camera, and I started taking pictures of Stella and creating vignettes and then posting them to social media for fun. People began asking me to take pictures for them, and things just grew and grew from there. I was able to grow my business from word of mouth and it was truly amazing how quickly it grew. I still have to pinch myself. It’s been almost ten years and I feel so blessed to be able to serve the world in this creative way. My clients are truly the best and I’m very grateful to have their trust and friendship.
My work is driven by something deep inside. It’s almost like a yearning to create something that didn’t exist, to create something that will last forever — beauty and memories for people to look back on, something that will bring smiles and evoke emotions.
It’s like I was always meant to find my way to photography. If you look on my camera roll, there’s an infinite number of images that have light hitting the wall, casting shadows, light hitting things in strange ways. I have hundreds of pictures of sunsets and mountains and pretty trees. I find myself looking at everything and every experience as it if was a photograph. I live my life through photographs. I think they are some of the most important ways to document life, and I will never apologize for taking a photograph. You never know if the person in that image will be gone tomorrow.
What do you hope your daughter learns from seeing you do creative and artistic work?
I hope that she sees her mom doing something that she loves and rocking it. That it wasn’t always in my plan, but I created an opportunity for myself as an older adult. I went back to my roots, where my inner fire lead me. That creating beauty in the world for people can be just as important as being a first responder, a doctor or a nurse. I want her to know that she can reinvent herself as many times as she wants and she can be successful doing what she loves. To not be afraid of anything and to walk confidently in the direction of her dreams. To follow your passions and not apologize for it. To work hard and to be humble and grateful. That there is a lesson in everything , the good and the bad experiences.
There’s never enough time to do everything, so what do you prioritize as a family? What do you always make time for?
We prioritize the month of December and traveling. I don’t take any work during the month of December in order to be fully present during the holidays with my family. I also usually excuse Stella from school for a day in December and we throw on my Grandma’s old aprons, listen to Christmas music and bake Christmas cookies and holiday treats all day long. We also completely disconnect during vacations — no working, no e-mails, just time together — since we’re so busy.
At a time of year when we often focus on gratitude, what does that word mean to you? And what are you most grateful for?
To be honest, I don’t think I fully understood what gratitude meant until my mom passed away suddenly two and a half years ago. At the time, I was forty and I was flying through life at a high rate of speed, doing everything, focusing on all the wrong things. I was grateful, sure, but now that word goes so much deeper for me.
Gratitude means paying attention … to everything … the big and the small and all the in-between. It’s all meaningful, powerful and important. My mom noticed everything — she called them little gifts — the smallest bug, to a bird flying overhead, to a tiny flower on a weed to the most beautiful sunsets. She talked about it all with such wonder and excitement, almost like a child sometimes. She would find beauty in things most people would walk past and never notice.
Being fully present in everything I do naturally brings the feelings of gratitude and happiness. It’s like little sparks of excitement for me, and at times it’s emotional too. I find joy and gratitude in so much now that I’m taking notice.
What three words best describe your family?
Happy, driven and grateful.
What are the most important things to teach your daughter?
To be a good human being. To be kind. To be helpful. To be brave. To be original. To not care what other people think. To be confident in her body, in who she is, and to never let anyone dictate her happiness. I have a sign in her bedroom that has been there since she was a baby it reads: Be You. Be Happy.
What are you looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to hopefully getting out West again and I’m looking forward to ski racing this winter. We’re lucky that Stella is in a sport that is outdoors, which makes social distancing easy. I’m also looking forward to seeing movies in the theatre again someday and going to Gates & Brovi for fried smelt. I’m looking forward to hugs, to being better and doing better in this world.
– Katie Vaughn
Photo by Laura Houlihan.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.