Meeting Claire Coffee at Hippo Hardware
I love photographing weddings and starry-eyed couples. But sometimes it’s fun to break things up with something a little different.
Two summers ago, the editor of Zooey Magazine reached out. She wanted me to photograph Claire Coffee, the actress who played a witch with serious mommy issues on Grimm, for an interview about her work on the show and her life in Portland. I said yes without a second thought.
Claire and I met up on a chilly, bright Portland day. We spent the afternoon wandering through Hippo Hardware together. I hadn’t seen Grimm yet at that point, so I missed the moment when the employees clocked exactly who had just walked in. They asked for photos. Claire said yes to every single one. Kind and gracious from the first minute. No surprise there.
Inside Claire Coffee’s Portland Home
We ended up at her house after that. She loves vintage furniture, and we geeked out over a project she was in the middle of: a midcentury sofa frame she was refinishing and reupholstering herself. Her home already felt complete and lived-in, even though she and her husband had only been there two weeks. Their taste is incredible and their music collection extensive.
While we were there Claire made coffee we picked up at Barista on the way. She studied lines for an upcoming episode while I wandered the house, finding one gorgeous custom furniture piece after another photographed her. A few hours in, it was time to go. And once I got home (you guessed it) I started watching Grimm.
Looking Back on Photographing Claire Coffee
The Zooey Magazine piece ran not long after our session. I became a genuine Grimm fan myself eventually, watching Claire play a character who was nothing like the woman I’d spent an afternoon with. These photos sat on my hard drive for years after that. One more treasure I held onto a little too long.
You can read the original Zooey Magazine interview with Claire Coffee here: The Day With Claire Coffee.
