WHO’S BEHIND THE LENS
Sam is a creative, solutions-based thinker and content creator with extensive experience in sales, visual merchandising and marketing. He is also a photographer, videographer, musician and skateboarder.
He was born and raised in the Yarra Valley in Victoria and is now settled at the base of Mt Dandenong in Montrose, where he is inspired by the beautiful, natural landscapes in which he lives.
Fresh out of High School, his first job was at JB Hi-Fi where he eventually made his way onto the shop floor working in camera sales. His love for photography started from that day on. Not knowing at the time how to even use an SLR Camera, he thought there was only way to learn and that was by purchasing one and teaching himself how to use it.
Eight years at JB Hi-Fi, saw Sam working across several stores and using this experience and product knowledge to grow sales in all areas and locations. In 2011, he joined and assisted the team in setting up JB Hi-Fi, Forest Hill and became the IT Sales lead. He was soon asked to join and assist the team in setting up the new JB Hi-Fi location at Chirnside Park. The years at JB Hi-Fi was instrumental to Sam’s growth in sales, marketing and merchandising expertise and it wasn’t long before he caught the eye of one major company known for their visual merchandising and marketing excellence.
In 2014 Sam was asked to join Apple and the ASC (Apple Solutions Consultant) program. During this time at Apple, he gained further experience in retail, marketing and visual display. He was involved in many iPhone launch events in Melbourne CBD and assisted in countless fixture installs in third-party retailers like JB Hi-Fi, Myer and Telstra. Sam was the lead for JB Hi-Fi Bourke Street’s Apple Shop 2.0 install and also creatively curated and ran Apple training sessions for the Team Members of JB Hi-Fi, Myer and Telstra.
While he loved his role, the people he worked with and the creative challenges he faced every day, he yearned to travel and see the world. In March 2018 he resigned from his position from Apple, sold everything apart from his camera gear and left Australia, to experience and capture what North America had to offer.
Sam’s passion for photography, videography, skateboarding and fashion saw him exploring the cities and countryside’s of Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, Montreal and Toronto, capturing his travels from a creative and unique perspective.
After settling in Vancouver, Sam started a position at Herschel Supply Co, a fashion accessory brand in Vancouver. Here he was a customer service agent.
In his downtime between shifts at Herschel, he studied E-Commerce, Shopify and Google Analytics, honing his knowledge and understanding of sales data and numbers.
This newly learnt skill of Google Analytics along with his Videography experience saw him collaborate with Jack Thomas, a well-respected Canadian drummer. This new friendship saw them launch a Jack Thomas YouTube channel in which Sam filmed, edited and uploaded the video content. This showcased Jack’s inspiring (one-armed) drum talent and since launching the channel and releasing weekly Drum Covers, they have managed to grow a following on a world-wide scale. Sam continues to edit the new Jack Thomas videos and upload them to YouTube.
In September of 2019, Sam moved from Herschel to SportingLife to take on the role of Visual Display Manager for their first store location in the province of British Columbia. In this role he was able to flex his creative muscle and create stunning seasonal window and in-store displays throughout the high-end fashion/ski retailer. Sam was able to use colour stories and his unique style to create displays that were impactful and visually eye catching.
“If a customer walks past a display without looking at it or the need to want to touch it, then it’s not impactful enough” - Sam Anderson
In March 2020, when the world was hit with Covid-19, Sam returned to Melbourne and decided this was the time to focus his experience and skills to create his own freelance business. His aim is to help musicians, retailers or start-up companies with their Photo/Video, Digital and Visual display needs.
If you’re in need of some Product photography for your website/social media, or you’re looking to understand the Shopify platform to get your business online. Sam can assist you. Feel free to contact him below to inquire about any of his services.
Thank you for stopping by.