After a battle with breast cancer, Christie Pierce wanted to bring the joy back into her life. Then along came my Mr Stubbs
It’s 7am and Christie Pierce is kneeling in her garden peering into what looks like a bakery. At the counter sits a figure, nibbling on a sunflower seed.
Click!
Quick as a flash, Christie takes a picture.
Click!
There’s another one.
And she’s just in time, because at that very moment, she’s spotted. The bakery visitor snatches up his coffee cup and darts away, out of the store and into the trees.
Christie sighs.
See you soon, Mr Stubbs, she thinks.
Christie, 67, has grown very fond of her visitor. You might even say they’ve become friends — which is quite something, because he’s a chipmunk!
But living in the wild hasn’t stopped him from taking part in what we think are the cutest photoshoots we’ve ever seen.
It all began when Christie and her husband Paul started leaving food out for the wildlife living in the woods around their house.
‘The chipmunks were regular visitors,’ says Christie. ‘They got to know us and to feel comfortable with us.’
Then one day, Christie happened to leave out a novelty pack of miniature playing cards. And she was astonished to see one of the chipmunks pick them up and hold them.
She snapped some photos and loved how they turned out.
‘Paul and I were delighted with the results,’ she says. ‘They were so magical and joyful.’
And it gave her an idea.
She started creating miniature scenes for the chipmunks to play in, and she discovered that one of them was a natural performer.
Mr Stubbs, as Christie calls him, loved to pose in front of the camera. And Christie was more than happy to take his photo.
Friends and family who saw the pictures, encouraged her and Paul to set up a business. And so they created FriendChips to produce and sell calendars and cards.
Getting started was daunting, but her photos were so enchanting she ended up getting a discount off her first order of professional prints.
As getting the sets together took time, Christie started working with the students in the engineering class at a nearby school who helped to make the accessories for her to use in her shoots.
But just as things were starting to take off, Christie received some terrible news.
A routine mammogram revealed that she had early-stage breast cancer.
‘Everything came to a screeching halt,’ she says.
Although she’d been lucky that the cancer had been found early, she still needed surgery and later discovered she had a rare blood clotting disorder that delayed her healing.
For a long time, she was too weak even to lift the camera.
Then Covid struck.
It was a tough time, but having Mr Stubbs and the other chipmunks to focus on helped her recovery.
Now she’s back shooting again and looking to the future.
While Paul handles the accounts and their nephew runs the website, the creative side is left to Christie, which she loves.
‘Sometimes ideas for scenes just pop into my head,’ she says. ‘Other times, I’ll spot an item that sparks a particular project.’
So far, she’s snapped Mr Stubbs and his pals doing some woodwork, pottering in the garden, crocheting and even star gazing.
It’s a painstaking business.
‘It can take up to three years to get everything together for a photo shoot,’ says Christie. ‘You have to keep an eye out for miniature items for each scene!’
And then there’s the question of waiting for her stars to take a fancy to the set.
But Christie reckons it’s all worthwhile.
‘I learnt early on that people are crazy about miniatures,’ she says. ‘And our customers just love the cards. They’re always telling us how great they are for maintaining relationships and starting up conversations.
‘People tell me they’ve bought a calendar for someone every year for the last five years. And I understand why. The pictures are just so joyful.’
