Good Housekeeping/ Dark Victory

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

Photography: Con Poulos

I have a childhood friend who was allergic to chocolate, I always felt so bad for her, Imagine a life without it? Easter time would come around and we would watch with chocolate smeared faces as she would have to eat the half eaten carrots left out for Easter Bunny! 


When I was asked to do this Chocolate Story for Good Housekeeping I had visions of some fantastic world coming to life like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and when I turned up at the studio I was not disappointed, It was like a bunch of Oomp loompas in the kitchen, working on endless chocolate creation after creation, It would be mean to say they looked like them because they didn't but Food Stylist extraordinaire Stephana Bottom  had prepared herself with a team of talented assistants to help her farm out the chocolate menu which included chocolate cream pie, brownies, truffles, pave, tart and whoopee pies to mention just a few.


The color palette for the story was rich like the menu with guess what chocolate brown mixed with tan, purple, pink and orange, It was nice to work on such a deep palette after months of doing red white and blue beer heavy BBQ stories, It;s not often when you get to work on a whole story on desert. Needless to say I picked a bad time to start dieting,  I only had a slither of each, I promise! 


The story was shot by the amazing fellow Australian Photographer Con Poulos  

Quistgaard, Dansk and those Købenstyle Pots

Dansk pots in use, Picture left: blueflowerginger

Some of the silhouettes

The pots inspire many pictures, An Ad probably from the 1970's

An Ad probably from the 1960's, Yellow is probably the most popular color

A pitcher in the small size in Turquoise, An Orange Baking Dish

A yellow loaf pan and Red pots stacked the way they were intended to be stored, Picture right: incolororder.blogspot.com

A later style pitcher in red and an orange butter warmer, Picture right: melissaeastondesign.com

A variety of pics showcasing the different styles, Please note: All pics credited where possible, Let me know if yours is not and I will re correct. 

A favorite of Prop and Food Stylists, Købenstyle Pots from Danish company Dansk have been popular ever since their release in the 1950’s. Designed by Jens H Quistgaard who in 1954 co-founded the company Dansk International Designs with Ted Nierenberg, an American entrepreneur with whom he worked for 30 years producing the majority of designs for the company, These pots have stood the test of time with their beautiful colors and lines. Quistgaard was an amazing designer who by 1982 had created more than 2,000 different designs for Dansk of dinnerware, glassware and items for the home. Sadly, he died in 2008.

The pots are made of enameled formed sheet steel in brilliant colors such as bright yellow, crimson, turquoise, orange, blue, almond, chocolate brown, both kelly green and hunter green, They also were very popular in black and white. Most have white interiors that contrast the exterior of the pot, but some can be the same color in and out. In addition to the lidded casserole in its two sizes is a range that includes also coffee pots, fondue pots, a stockpot, a frying pan, pitchers in 3 sizes, butter warmers, a baking dish, a paella pan in 2 sizes and loaf pans, Some were designed with wooden handles and others with the pronged handle that has become so famous.

The term Købenstyle comes from the shortening of København which is the Danish way of pronouncing their capital city Copenhagen, The Købenstyle line was originally manufactured by Danish supplier Glud & Marstrand, but, in 1966, Dansk switched to a French supplier. The earlier Danish-made pieces are marked with Dansk's "four ducks" logo, and are generally more sought-after by collectors than the later French ones. The initials "IHQ" are Jens Quistgaard's mark.

They have indeed become a modern classic. They hold much interest to me in particular as growing up in Australia I never really saw them there but when I came to the States, I realized how much of an affinity people here had for them, Having been distributed by an American owned company whose headquarters for years were in Mt Kisco, in New York, they were readily and easily available in the USA. Dansk is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Lenox Corporation with headquarters located in Bristol, Pennsylvania, Unfortunately they no longer produce the Købenstyle pot, but you can still pick up some vintage examples in Flea Markets and E-Bay. I have been collecting them for years now, I have to admit that are hard to find in good condition, I never tire of them or stop marveling at shiny wonderfulness. 

Color Pops at CB2

Front Cover

Photography: Andy Barnes

Photography: Andy Barnes

Photography: Andy Barnes

Photography: Andy Barnes

Photography: Andy Barnes

Photography: Andy Barnes

Photography: Andy Barnes

Back Cover, Photography: Andy Barnes

It really feels like I was just in Chicago yesterday completing the CB2 Spring Catalog, but it probably has been a couple of months. I spent 2 and a half weeks shooting with a great Chicago based team consisting of Jolene Rivera, our Art Director, you can see more of her work on Paul Lowe's wonderful online magazine Sweet Paul and Photographer Andy Barnes, It was so great to work with both of them.


While some of the Catalog was shot on location, I worked mainly on the studio portion. Working with a wonderful team of set builders at the Crate & Barrel Studio in Chicago, We created some magical sets that included a hotel foyer, a hotel room, a urban cafe and dusty old warehouse. I love the evolution that we go through to create these sets that often days/ weeks in the planning. While it's often grueling and requires a lot of manpower and attention to detail, It's just so fulfilling to see these sets born and photographed. As a Stylist on these sets, I need to think big picture in terms of how the entire picture will read right down to the rivets on a beam to the patina on a industrial goods lift. Everything needs to look authentic and believable.


Here is a selection that I worked on, The new CB2 Catalog has an exciting new look and it was great to be part of a new but ever evolving product. 


See all of the catalog at CB2.

Inspiring Design Legend/ Eva Zeisel

I had just been collecting images on Eva’s work to write a post about her inspiring design and influence on American ceramics when I heard the news that last week we lost Eva at the truly amazing age of 105. The Design world has certainly lost a legend, Born In Budapest in 1906, She studied at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts there. She lived in Germany and Russia where she was actually jailed due to a Stalin purge where she experienced horrific conditions, her reason for imprisonment never really known even to her, it seems narrowly escaping execution she went to England in 1938 and married before moving finally to NYC in 1939 where she created the department of Ceramic Arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn where she taught until 1952.

She has been credited for merging the worlds of the fine arts with mass merchandise and industrial design and introducing modernism into middleclass American homes, Her designs look like sensual modern sculptures but have a warmth and everyday quality that makes you just want to reach out and use them, She said herself: "We feel differently, more intimately, about dishes than we do about shoes or chairs or forks. If we unexpectedly come upon a chair like we used when we were children we say, 'We had a chair like that at home.' But if we come upon dishes like we used on the dinner table with our parents, we will surely exclaim: 'Look! Our dishes!” Her work is so instantly recognizable with their rounded curves, arches, teardrops and wave motifs.

Over the years she designed for well known ceramic and glass companies Hall China, Red Wing Pottery, Castleton China, Norleans Meito (Japan), Rosenthal, Royal Stafford, Noritake and Western Stoneware and more recent collaborations with Klein Reid, Chantal, Design Within Reach and The Rug Company.

Here are a smattering of her huge library of design, I cannot even touch the surface of her massive contribution to modern design, I am so sorry I never got to meet her, RIP Eva.

Dutch Eigen Huis & Interieur Belgium Deco Idee's Magazines

Cover

Article Photography: Jonny Valiant

Article Photography: Jonny Valiant

Article Photography: Jonny Valiant

Cover

Article Photography: Jonny Valiant

While we are on the bandwagon, I received in the mail from Ian at Tripod Agency my issues of 
Eigen Huis & Interieur and Deco Idee's Magazine Both European magazines have featured in their latest issue their own interpretations of my shoot for my last apartment. I have to say I am overwhelmed by the support and interest in this shoot, It's amazing where it ends up, I hope you are not getting tired of me sharing it with you, I have included just a snippet of each one here so you get a flavor as I know many have seen this shoot many times.


I am very excited to be part of these magazines! I love seeing how each title approaches the story differently. 


Again thanks to Ian Philips at Tripod Agency who distributed this cover and wrote the great accompanying story also and Jonny Valiant who photographed the space and made it look amazing! 

Elle Decoration, UK Feature/ Jan 2012

Photography: Jonny Valiant

Photography: Jonny Valiant

Photography: Jonny Valiant

Photography: Jonny Valiant

Photography: Jonny Valiant

So here it is, My first Elle Decoration U.K cover, Such a honor to be on the front of my favorite magazine. This cover appears on the Jan issue and has just hit the newsstands. See also the story inside also that has been beautifully layed out. Many of you would have seen this story before as it has appeared in quite a few European publications and covers. This is the first time however that have used the blue office on a cover. I remember painting that color blue and as assembling the arrangement on the wall, thinking this would make a striking shot and low and behold it did! The room on the cover is actually tiny, 7x7 feet, hard to believe. 


Again thanks to Ian Philips at Tripod Agency who distributed this cover and wrote the great accompanying story also and Jonny Valiant who photographed the space and made it look amazing! 

Italian's do it Better/ Ettore Sottsass

Ettore Sosstass in 2006, photographed by J.Emilio Flores, His famous Memphis piece

Vases for Bisotti designed by Ettore Sottsass

Totem series designed by Ettore Sottsass

Totem series designed by Ettore Sottsass

Memphis piece and Enorme Telephone designed by Ettore Sottsass

Memphis piece, Vase and Olivetti typewriter by Ettore Sottsass

Vases and Vessels by Ettore Sottsass

Memphis pieces by Ettore Sottsass

Memphis pieces by Ettore Sottsass

Vases by Ettore Sottsass

Enamel plates by Ettore Sottsass

Sketches/ Designs by Ettore Sottsass

Sketches/ Designs by Ettore Sottsass

It was in the 1990’s a part of my Design Degree that I first studied quite intensively the Post Modern Movement, In the 90’s we were actually still really going through it and some would argue we still are, Post Modernism refers to a point of departure for works of literature, drama, architecture, cinema, journalism, and design. The movement of Postmodernism really began with architecture, as a response to the perceived blandness, hostility, and Utopianism of the Modern movement. Modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is associated with the phrase "less is more"; in contrast Post Modernists say, "Less is a bore."

The 1980’s was such a powerful decade in the way when we look back but in the minimalist 1990’s we almost looked at this work in shock and horror, It was too close to appreciate. The 1980’s had been so radical, in the 1990’s we came out of the 80’s a bit shell shocked and dazed by it’s boldness and tenacity. At school I remember studying the work in particular of Ettore Sottsass (1917-2007) who was the famous Italian architect, designer and leader of the Post Modernism movement. In the height of it in 1981, Sottsass and an international group of young architects and designers had come together to form the Memphis Group. Memphis was launched with a collection of 40 pieces of furniture, ceramics, lighting, glass and textiles, which featured fluorescent colors, slick surfaces, intentionally lop-sided shapes and squiggly laminate patterns. It hit the marketplace with such force that it influenced the design of that decade on so many levels.

The interesting thing with Sottsass’s work is that although his work hit the mainstream in the 1980’s and is remembered so vividly with being connected with Memphis and seems so iconic with that era, his work right back to the 1950’s still holds the same vision, playfulness and life. I have recently been re connecting with that work, Here on this post I am sharing his range of totems, vases and enamel plates that he developed much earlier than the1980’s I think they are pure genius in their use of colors compositions and form.  

Sottsass was truly a giant of Design, as said by Paola Antonelli, the senior curator in the Museum of Modern Art’s department of architecture and design. “He had a capacity to really feel the times that he was living in and to change with them.”