Copenhagen. Denmark/ Summer, June 2013

Left: The Danish flags fly high, Right: In the store, Secher Fine Art & Design, On Bredgade
Photography: Marcus Hay

Left: DLM tables at Hay, Right: Street Sign, Walk this way!

Left: Ceramic pieces at Hay, Right: A room with a view at Hay

Left: Pillows at Hay, Right: Hay

Both at Hay, AAL92 lounge chair AA003 ottoman 

Left: Detail of name tags at Hay, Right: Muuto at Illums

Left: Merchandise at Illums, Right: On the Street

Left: On the Street, Right: House at Illums

Left: At Hay, J110 chair in red, Bella tables, Right: On the Street in Frederiksberg 

Left: Wishbone chair In Store on Bredgade, Right:Still life at Hay 

Left: Water feature in town, Right: Gym in Hellerup

Left: Park in Hellerup, Right: Hermes windows in town, Copenhagen

Left: Beachside at Hellerup, Right: Blue bicycle in town, Copenhagen

Left: Fishmonger at Frederiksberg, Beachside at Hellerup

Left: Strawberry Season, Right: Cute signage in Fredriksberg

Store displays at Illums

I have only been in Copenhagen, Denmark 5 days and I have already fallen in love with it’s natural charm all over again, This is my 3^rd time here, such a great city. Of course for someone who loves and works in design industry, It is like visiting the Design Motherland. I often wonder if most Danes who grew up with these surroundings really understand our over-gushiness and ever so slight misty eyes when experiencing first hand it’s naturalness and the quiet intensity of the design spirit that lives here in Denmark.It's amazing how here it's just a way of life integrated so smoothly its seamless.

That spirit seems evident in every step around Copenhagen, Of course most of my personal steps took me into stores I have been looking forward to seeing for a long time. At DWR, One of my client’s, We get to work first hand with wonderful products from Muuto, Hay, Finn Juhl, Arne Jacobsen and Normann Copenhagen to name a few.

In Hellerup where I am staying, You can smell the sea air, birds are tweeting, families are taking dinner on their terraces, kids are laughing, It's like living in a beautiful fairytale, A far cry from my noisy block back in NYC. 

The flagship Hay Store here in Copenhagen is amazing and I always love visiting the store to see all their products I know well in one place. In Illums Department Store, There is the most amazing collection of home wares under 2 roofs. Not to mention the great Flea Markets I have visited and the stores, I will post more of my finds at a later date, For now, It's time again to hit the streets. 

Poole Pottery/ Freeform, 1950's

An example of Freeform vases by Poole Pottery, designed 1950's

Left: Promotional plate used as signage in stores for Freeform, Right: Freeform vases

Left: pattern Trail vases, Right: Totem pattern shallow bowl by Diane Holloway

Left: Artists at work in the Poole Factory, Dorset, England in the 1950's, Right: Factory Display of Freeform

Left: Unusually shaped Freeform bowl, Right: Platter, owned by myself

Left: Freeform vase owned by myself, Right: Another design in the same silhouette 

Left: lamp bases designed in Freeform range, Right: platter

Left: Tiles designed by Poole in the same period to promote Dorset, Right: Freeform vase

Left: Some quite unusual colors for Freeform in vases, Right: Freeform bowl

Often the most sought out and the most pricey to collect is the Freeform range from Poole Pottery, based in Dorset, England. Designed by Alfred Read and Guy Sydenham, Poole Pottery launched the Freeform range in 1956-57. Consisting of nine slip-cast 'freeform' shapes decorated in eight new patterns and some hand-thrown shapes, with ten additional new hand-painted patterns all designed by Ruth Pavely and Ann Read.

Influence quite heavily by Scandinavian studio Pottery of the period such as Gustavsberg and their work with one of my heroes Stig Lindberg, Scandinavian design was well ahead of the pack in the 1940s and it was in the mid 1950s that UK and USA began to catch up using shapes colours and glazes being produced by the leading Scandinavian factories.

I love the patterns that are used on the silhouettes of these vases and bowls, The soft but structured designs that were largely produced in dusty pastels, It's amazing that they are all so intricately painted by hand. 

I am lucky to own 2 pieces that I have acquired over the years but these guys are not easy to find and if you do, you have to be prepared to pay premium prices. 

Williams Sonoma/ Summer, 13

Photography: Romulo Yanes

Photography: Romulo Yanes

Photography: Romulo Yanes

Photography: Romulo Yanes

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos 

Summer is almost here, At least it feels that way in NYC! A few months ago in San Francisco, I worked on this batch of images for Williams Sonoma for their Summer issues of their Cooks Catalog. 

With the amazing Romulo Yanes we spent a week photographing Ice Cream, Milkshakes and Popsicles, As well as some exciting images for the Australian market (not shown here) for their new store in Sydney, Australia. Food Stylist Merilee Bordin did an extraordinary job of Food Styling, Ice Cream and things that melt quickly are never easy to work with. 

For this section of the Catalog I wanted to use Icy pastel palettes that complimented the product that felt slightly nostalgic harping back to an era like the 1950's when Milkshake Bars existed. We found some great vintage Enamel and old 1950's laminate tables that where used throughout. It was a lot of fun. 

The other 2 images here are of a cover I styled and some rubs/ sauces with Photographer Con Poulos and Food Stylist Alison Attenborough This was from an earlier trip but have just been featured, exciting to see my first Williams Sonoma cover! 

ICFF Report/ 2013

ICFF, 2013, Right: Tom Dixon Fan Chair in Black, Picture courtesy of Tom Dixon

At Emeco, the new Parrish chair designed for the new Parrish Museum , NYC, Silo shots courtesy of Emeco

Left: Dirk Vander Koolj's Chubby Chair, Made out of Recycled Plastic, Right: Crates, Photography: Marcus Hay

Amazing designs both at Tom Dixon, Left: Grid vases, Right: Drum stools, Vase shot courtesy of Tom Dixon

Left: Stone Chopping Board by Tom Dixon, Right: Booth at Tom Dixon, ICFF, 2013, Photography: Marcus Hay

Fab.com's very colorful stand at ICFF, 2013, Photography: Marcus Hay

At Vitra's stand, but does not appear to be stocked by them Flower Me Happy pots by Danish Designer, Meyer-Lavinge

Left: Cool tables from Canadian Furniture Company Bensen, Left: Folded Trays by Mexican company, Panoramica

Left: StrokkeAustadtad's The Woods Autumn glass sculpture, Right SkLO vases from Czech Republic

Left: Garth Roberts Sticks and Mirrors series, Right: Cuboid 47 Coffee table by Pelle Designs

Wire Side Table by Iacoli & McAllister, Left: Silo image courtesy of Iacoli & McAllister, Right image courtesy of Design Sponge

It was on another rainy day last Sunday (There's been a lot of these recently) that I made the trek up 11th Ave from my office to ICFF at The Javitz Center. As usual I only had a few hours to get around but as usual it did not disappoint. 

There were a lot of evident trends, the main one for me seem to be the return of copper and other metallics and the exploration of crates and packaging as inspiration for the silhouettes of many new lines. A huge amount of wire and thin structures seemed obvious. See all images above. 

Glass was making a huge impact in beautiful colors and organic shapes with an emphasis on hand blown.  

Tom Dixon was the standout for me with new product that is both exciting and sexy. 

I had a great afternoon and can't wait for ICFF, 2014. 

Trisha Yearwood/ Food Network Magazine

Photography: Anna Williams

Photography: Anna Williams

Photography: Anna Williams 

Photography: Anna Williams

Trisha Yearwood as many would know in the U.S  is a country artist that has also ventured into Cook Books, Her collaboration with Food Network and  Food Network Magazine lead me to style a feature of her recipes in the June Issue out now. 

Trisha books consists of recipes passed down through her mother, aunts, cousins and longtime friends, with a heavy focus on Southern Style Cooking. An interesting recipe she does which we styled in accordance is Low-Country Style Boil which is simply served on newspaper in the middle of the table kind of like how the British eat their Fish and Chips. 

I took the lead from her books and tried to give the feature a casual feel with a slight reference to the outdoors and a casual Southern way of living and cooking. 

The feature was shot by the wonderful Anna Williams  and the food was styled once again by the very talented Susan Spungen  

Strawberry Shortcake/ Food NetworkMagazine

Photography: Anna Williams

Photography: Anna Williams 

Photography: Anna Williams

Photography: Anna Williams

Photography: Anna Williams

Photography: Anna Williams

When I was a kid my sisters Kristy and Bec had those dolls called Strawberry Shortcakes, For years their bedroom smelt like a synthetic Strawberry Shortcake and Key Lime Pie (Strawberry Shortcakes Cousin) It is a Franchise that still exists today although Strawberry has been updated and had new friends called Ginger Snap and Angel Cake. 

Growing up in Australia, These types of deserts were actually quite foreign to me, We had our own famous deserts such as Lamingtons and Pavlova. It was actually quite delightful to be able to tap into styling these for the June Issue of Food Network Magazine with a regular co-contributor, the amazing Photographer Anna Williams  They were made and Food Styled by the very talented Susan Spungen who did an outstanding job considering strawberries were not at their peak 3 months ago. 

Hope you enjoy and Yes they were delicious!