The New Mood/ Contrived vs Personal

For many years I have been following the Photographic work of American, Nan Goldin, Also German born, Juergen Teller and Wolfgang Tillman’s in particular. I have watched how they integrated into their photography a truthful and non-conformist view of people’s lives and the interiors they inhabit.

Nan Goldin who has been working since the late 1960’s from the age of 15, I felt was one of the first to photograph as she saw it, no matter what the circumstances. For me not only were her subjects hauntingly captured on film but also the personal rooms in which they were photographed in, said as much about them.
I liken this approach to another well known American Photographer Diane Arbus, 1923-71, of whom Novelist, Norman Mailer was quoted in 1971 as saying "Giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like putting a live grenade in the hands of a child." I see some parallels with Arbus and many contemporary Photographers who seem more intent on capturing reality rather than something set up.

Some critics in particular have accused Nan Goldin of making “heroin-use” appear glamorous, and of pioneering a grunge style that later became popularized by English youth fashion magazines such as The Face and I-D. However, in a 2002 interview with The Observer, Goldin herself called the use of "heroin chic" to sell clothes and perfumes "reprehensible and evil", of which we saw much evidence of this in the late 1990’s in many Fashion Magazines and Advertising campaigns.

Juergan Teller, It could be said was one such photographer that pushed the limits in this medium, Teller has shot major Advertising campaigns for Comme Des Garçons, Marc Jacobs, Helmut Lang, Hugo Boss, Yves St. Laurent, Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton, amongst others. His approach maybe seen more as commercial but he definitely has a more liberal and unexpected approach to Fashion Photography, I again am fascinated with the locations chosen to shoot, often nouveau riche or slightly shabby.

Wolfgang Tillman’s seminal portraits of friends and other youths who are photographed in their immediate surrounding often accompany beautiful still lives that really capture an everyday but edgy quality, Tillman’s puts it like this: “I take pictures, in order to see the world.”

It leads me to explore this concept in terms of Interiors Magazines and even some Interior catalogues being produced lately that have chosen to capture the way people live in a way that seems more real. A lot of people in my industry are talking about the clever blog: www.catalogliving.tumblr.com and the way it sends up a more contrived approach to producing catalogues for mass consumption. I think some titles and companies are responding to this sort of indirect feedback and producing work that is less “Styled” or contrived. I am not talking my way out of my job, but coming from Australia, the land of “relaxed”,This more natural approach to Styling is something that excites me and when appropriate is a big part of my personal work. West Elm’s latest catalogue definitely takes on a more relaxed aesthetic, you can see evidence in this with images shown here, there is much talk about the new team responsible for this new look and it is generating a lot of buzz in a great way.

Magazine Arpartamento from Spain is the best example of the “new mood”, As they say on their website, Arpartamento is a international editorial project dedicated to the world of interiors, born to tell the story of personal experiences and lives through the spaces where we live and work. Everyday stories, seen without the usual masks of look-a-like interiors perfect to the millimeter, because in real life variables are infinite and unpredictable since every environment has got its own dynamics and peculiarities that make it special, Apartamento has been created by Nacho Alegre, photographer, Omar Sosa and Albert Folch from Albert Folch Studio in Barcelona, and Marco Velardi, an independent writer and curator based in Milan. Check it out at www.apartamentomagazine.com.
The selected images here are as follows, Apartamento Magazine, work by Nan Goldin, Work by Wolfgang Tillsman, Work by Jeurgan Teller and the latest exciting West Elm images.

Inspiring Family Members/ Kit Hay

As a Stylist you look back at your past often and wonder what it was that formulated your style, what were those influences that still come up, even if subconsciously? I have to say the interior schemes of my family still strike a chord and leave an impressionable imprint on my mind. My Nanna, Kit Hay was definitely a major influence, my childhood visits every Saturday to her unit/apartment in the Melbourne suburb of Mentone filled me with wonder, of course I adored her so these visits were very special to me, but her interior scheme, although quite unconventional screamed “Austin Powers meets an English Tea Party”.

My Nanna was no professional decorator that was certain but in her later years she seemed determined to fill her small apartment with the things she loved. Her apartment always smelt of makeup, hairspray, mints and “Charlie” perfume. She had developed a love of purple and her living room was a sea of bright purple, purple shaggy carpet, purple swiveling lounge chairs, matched with turquoise shot silk pillows and crocheted throws in multi color. It was these wild mix of colors that excited me as a child. The soundtrack of “Abba” played in the background, it was an old 70’s LP of the super group that Nanna gave to me and I still have it to this day.

The apartment had glass chandeliers and faux drew dropped roses, sometimes mixed with fresh ones from her small rose garden at the front of her window, we ate home cooked cakes off rose printed plates and sipped milky tea from an eclectic mix of similar teacups.

Kit never left the apartment with out some lipstick and a silk scarf tied around her neck, her motto was “you are only as young as you feel” As long as she could “doll herself up” she did, even if her lipstick could be a little askew, I loved her for it!

These images are more like a mood board of her place, sadly she died in the late 90’s, but for me she still lives in my decorating spirit.

Thanks to Martha Stewart, Purl Bee, Arne Jacobsen, Quiang-Huang and of course Abba for providing these “inspiration” images.

Colorways/ They call me mellow yellow!

In my eyes, mellow is hardly a word you would call yellow, When Donavan sang "They call me Mellow Yellow" in 1966, It was rumoured he was singing about smoking dried banana leaves, Maybe it was just a color that had popularity in the 1960's as soon after in the same year the Beatles released "Yellow Submarine" with Donavan's help, he was obviously into the color!

One of the oldest coffee shops in Amsterdam is called "Mellow Yellow", opened in the 1970's, but the latest significant yellow building in color is actually in Lelystad, Amsterdam, The brilliant design for the Theatre Agora by UNStudio in Lelystad, Amsterdam, Netherlands is part of the Master plan for the city center of Lelystad, was designed by West 8. Opened last year, the theatre has a forthright architectonical look, not un reminiscent of a more colorful, boxier Frank Ghery, It is a beacon of yellow happiness. UNStudio (UN stands for "united network") is an international architectural practice, situated in Amsterdam since 1988, with extensive experience in the fields of urbanism, infrastructure, public, private and utility buildings on different scale levels. Check out more at www.unstudio.com, They are truly an amazing practise.

My first impressions of yellow were formed largely through a "Sports Car" book that was given to me, The car that I immediately wanted to own when I grew up was a yellow Lotus, The "Lotus Esprit" produced by the English racing car company, "Lotus Cars" is arguably the ‘wedgiest’ production car to come out of the 1970s, It was angular, It was sleek, It was sexy. It looked like the future, I always loved the way the Lotus color could slip in and out of ranges from a process yellow to a slight hint of orange yellow. Later studying Art at school meant studying Van Gogh was mandatory, his yellow sunflowers capture their essence like no other, when you think of yellow sunflowers you think of him, As a flower of choice, Sunflowers had much popularity in the 1990's, They lost there way for a bit on the popularity scale but now I think it's time to embrace their brilliance again! Other contemporary artists like Jeff Koons also use yellow and has done in his balloon series, produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces, I saw his "balloon dog" on the top of the Met in NYC a couple of years ago.

Yellow always captures your attention and that's why it is associated with the word "caution" and is the second light on stop lights, It can be used in less attractive ways such as cowardliness, aging and race description, but for me I try to see past those connotations! : ) I like most, see yellow as largely happy!

As a Stylist I love using yellow, It is a color that just jumps out at you, I have used it in many still lives, like the one above shot with Photographer Hallie Burton, I also own a collection of yellow Dansk pots and pitchers that I use regularly in kitchen stories to add some zest. "Zest" is the word to describe yellow, bring some back into your life!

Inspiring Icons/ Vera Neumann

For many years I have been an admirer of Vera Neumann’s work, I first discovered her when moving to NY and finding a collection of plates bearing her name at a thrift store, pretty soon I started to see her name pop up everywhere, It is the iconic signature that always grabs your attention, The Vera trademark also is a ladybug, which features on most of her designs, Apparently she chose it because of its symbolism for good luck and happiness. I love ladybugs so naturally I was drawn to her identity.

Vera was an Artist turned textile designer, She began the business at her 57th Street Manhattan apartment kitchen table in the late 1940’s, and by the 1970’s it was a $100,000 million dollar, worldwide business. For Fashionistas, think of vintage scarves and the name "Vera" instantly resonates, Scarves were actually her first product when venturing into business in 1946 when she and her husband, George Neumann founded Printex along with partner Werner Hamm. In the post- WW2 period, army surplus silk from parachutes became available cheaply and so she used this as her primary material.

Business grew quick and by the 1950’s Vera had expanded the business to include a team of designers. The teams of designers were responsible for taking the original design that was done by Vera herself in the form of a 36" scarf, and translating it into other products. She also increased her line to include clothing and also kitchen/ table/ bedroom linens and dinner/ plate ware and wallpaper. The plate ware and table linens, which I love, is which is mainly what I choose to personally collect. About 500-600 different designs a year were produced, Geometrics, especially dots, were very popular, as were bold florals.

Vera worked nearly up to her death in 1993. After that, the company was bought and sold, actually the artwork and 20,000 scarves ended up sitting in a warehouse in Georgia and it was not till 2005 that purchased assets of Vera’s were starting to surface and being were used again to produce new lines available again. The evidence of this can be seen with the new “We Love Vera” collection at Anthropologie. The clever bunnies at Anthropologie have licensed some of Vera's one of kind designs and are using them in a collection of clothing, bedding, and tableware. There is also a great book available there called “Vera, The Art and Life of an Icon” by Susan Seid, who is the driving force behind reintroducing Vera to a new generation. It is published by Abrams, New York.

You can check out more at www.theveracompany.blogspot.com, also another great site is mrpeacockstyle.blogspot.com to read more about Vera.

As a Stylist I admire her taste and drive for design, Pictures of her homes in the book are amazing and awe inspiring, I hope you become as inspired by her as I.

Decorating Test 1

In between a flight from Toronto and a flight to Chicago, I managed a day of testing with Photographer William Geddes, www.williamgeddes.com, It was a big production and a project William and I had discussed many months ago, It was great to finally realize it! With testing it's often hard to find the right moment to do it. If it works out both timing wise and on a creative level however, Testing can be wonderful source for renewing your identity as an artist. It helps the keep the creative spirit alive and makes you understand why it is that you love what you do in the first place and from it can spark ideas for even other commercial projects.

My inspiration was Dorothy Draper meets modern day, I can't say I delved into books of her work, but since seeing a retrospective of her work in NYC in 2008, She amongst other famous decorators left an imprint in my mind. I am a sucker for the 1950's and the palette seemed to evoke this period also.

Wikepedia says: Dorothy Draper (born Dorothy Tuckerman November 22, 1889, died March 11, 1969) was an influential and innovative American interior decorator of the early to mid 20th century. She helped inspire a generation of home improvement devotees with her 1939 book Decorating is Fun!, subtitled "How to Be Your Own Decorator" Her style was big, brash, bodacious, bold, and bordered on what some would consider gaudy, shocking both men and women of her day. You can check out more at www.dorothydraper.com

I also love the idea of the "age of the decorator" in general, We look back at the past with Dorothy, Elsie de Wolfe, David Hicks, Terence Conran and Sybil Colefax amongst others and to now with Kelly Wearstler, Jonathan Adler, Ilse Crawford and Tricia Guild. The tools of a decorator, measuring tapes, shears, fabric, flooring and wallpaper samples, paint chips and plans found there way into the shoot, I discovered a great vinyl floor sample box from the 1960's at the Flea Markets the weekend before and they become a key prop. Thanks also to fellow stylist Robyn Glaser, www.robynglaser.com and Co at Lost and Found Props, www.lostandfoundprops.com where I found a majority of the fine fabrics used. As well as Julie Patterson at Cloth Australia, www.clothfabric.com/rugs.html who still continues to inspire across the waves.

Decorating Test 2

Here are some more examplesof my Decorating Test with William Geddes, be inspired!

Colorways/ Orange Cool!

Orange is one of those colors, some people embrace it with relish, for others it frightens them, Too much a slap in the face perhaps, orange is not shy. In my world of styling orange is actually used more than you think, It’s one of those colors that sells magazines, When at Real Simple, Orange was a core color, Think of T Mobile Orange, CB2 or Alessi, Orange also sells products! In all honesty though I am not sure that people know really what to do with it with confidence in real life. Personally I love it but I can’t really live with it, same with Lime or Bright Yellow, hits of it are great, but if I had to live with it on mass, it would feel like drowning in a big bottle of Fanta for me.

I really like the combination of orange with other colors, For instance pink and orange conjures up images of an Indian Summer, Everything looks sophisticated with gray, but especially orange! Of course orange can slip into “rust” as well which always looks great, the rusty orange of a Greek urn for instance paired with black can be very chic. In the States orange is probably the official color of Fall, In the months leading up to Fall jobs, for me orange goes into overload mode, like the Holidays/ Christmas, the smell of tinsel can upset my stomach, only because I have to deal with it on mass.

Orange always occurs best in nature, pumpkins, cumquat's, clementines, a rusty sheet of metal, Japanese carp fish, even the orange mould and fungi growing in your bathroom can be alluring, trust me!

In terms of an era, you would have to say the 1970’s spoke orange than most from shaggy rugs to cool hotted up cars, In London’s Brick Lane, I spotted a sporty number, compact, cute and very 70's “New Avengers”, I almost imagined Joanna Lumley’s fish netted leg to come poking out. Orange is racy and it’s loud, embrace but control it, otherwise if in a race it’s likely to overtake the color world like that fungi in your shower!.