CREATIVE STUDIO
"DREAMING OF A CHÂTEAU"
The Lady of the Château Creative Studio is centered around storytelling, imagery, and cinematic artistry, powered by the creative visions of Julia and Caroline. Through diverse mediums—filmmaking, photography, and thought-leadership—they craft and share narratives that celebrate freedom, beauty, connection, and community. With heart and soul at its core, this studio acts as the brand's heartbeat, channeling their values into every project and inviting all to find beauty and meaning in their lives.
We draw on our 10 years of filmmaking careers in the camera department of NYC film and television sets to helm the Creative Studio of Puy Vidal. Our first project has been to tell our story- documentary style, to capture and share the daunting journey of moving from California to France as a five person family and starting our Retreats business.
Critical to our process is a period of reflection and absorption, where we let our lived experiences settle in. This helps invite objectivity and a sense of perspective. Like many crafts and arts, this process requires time and multiple stages. We call it our "distillation" process.
The result is videos that we feel proud of- bits of imagery, sound, and message that convey a sense of truth. By so doing, we hope to contribute to a better, more meaningful YouTube, internet, and world.
CAROLINE IBARRA
Having worked in the New York City film and television industry for almost a decade as a 2nd camera assistant, Caroline worked in the heart of the film set, right next to the camera, with some of the biggest names in film and television. She was a member of the International Cinematographers Guild Local 600 Union since 2012.
Although no longer working on film sets and now fully dedicated to the care of Château du Puy Vidal and the growth of The Lady of the Château workshops and events space, she leads with her passion for teamwork & visual storytelling in everything she does at Puy Vidal.
"Living at Château du Puy Vidal feels like we are living in a movie. Sharing the story of a family who decided to take on a piece of History. To witness it, to help preserve it and to share it with the world."
Film & TV studio credits:
- Warner Bros, MGM, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Starz and more
- In the Heights, Tick Tick Boom! Power, Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Y- the Last Man, Respect.
Our love of storytelling drives everything we do
JULIA LEACH
Having studied Anthropology at Barnard College in NYC, Julia entered the film and television world through a boutique documentary company in Dumbo, Brooklyn. From there she entered the larger studio television world as an Art Department PA on the production of The Knick Season 2, an incredible period piece set in 1902 New York City. Constantly awed by the camera department on this set, and having come from a lifetime of loving photography, she sought to make her way into the International Cinematographer's Guild. First step was to work as a Prep Tech at ARRI Rental, putting together camera equipment packages for NY's leading camera crews. After her training here, she passed the Cinematographer's Guild entrance exam, and started working as a Loader on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Loving the camera department and aspiring to become a Director of Photography one day, Julia rose from Loader to 2nd AC on the sets of Amazon Prime's Sneaky Pete, Netflix's Pose, FX's period piece Fosse/Verdon, Prime's The Tick, and CBS's The Good Fight.
Loving her work on the historical film sets, Julia has always sought to find immersive ways of connecting with the past. When COVID hit, and the film industry shut down, she reawakened an old dream of creating a business in a historic monument in France- and bam, the Chateau dream was born again.
Now at Chateau de Puy Vidal, she and Caroline seek to bring the world of cinema through its gates- to animate it as a filming venue, to develop filmmaker trainings, and to produce their own film and video content. Indeed, even in their other Creative Retreat programs at the Chateau, they seek to bring the spirit of storytelling and filmmaking into each guest's expeirence of this place.
OUR BACKGROUNDS IN FILM & TELEVISION
FIND BEAUTY WITHIN
Follow our Journey in France on our social media channels.