Styling Details...

My Styling feature for You Magazine-Vintage Botanicals.

I'm so pleased to finally be able to show you some of my sketchbook ideas, prep work and final shots for my editorial piece in You magazine. It's been a long time since I did regular magazine work and it's great to see some of my work in print again.
After building up a bit of an on-line 'home-made' portfolio, I took my work in to the Interiors Editor Clare Nolan. We've both been in editorial styling for a fair few years(!) and had a good laugh at some of my older work, which now looks incredibly dated. After almost one year of taking my own shots for the blog, I've finally managed to gather together a fairly decent selection of pictures to show the magazines.

My project book at the beginning-starting to collect fabric and wallpaper samples to go with my sketches 

Since having Evie and Gabriel ten years ago I've worked (very) part time on a mix of residential interior design and space planning, commercial styling for PR agencies and local Interior Design companies. It has all been fantastic experience and worked pretty well with the childcare/work balance, but last year I decided it was time to get back to my first love, magazines.
Looking through my portfolio at the time, I decided I wasn't happy to show my old work and there was nothing for it but to re-invent myself and start again from scratch! I really had no idea that stylists had their work on-line and as I had nothing current to show, I had no choice but to pick up our unused DSLR, which had been gathering dust for almost 5 years, and teach myself to take my own shots.

Before going in to see Clare, I had been putting together a few feature ideas, but kept coming back to vintage botanical. During our first meeting, we discovered that she had been planning an identical feature and so plans for our shoot started! The next stage was to find a photographer that Clare felt would suit the style of the shoot,  pull together a few ideas sheets, then find a suitable location that would give a very moody vintage feel. I was thrilled when Catherine Gratwicke said she was free to shoot with me. We last worked together almost 20 years ago, we think possibly on a book  for Murdoch publishing, but to be honest, neither of us can quite remember! Anyway, it was fantastic to work with her again and felt more like 5 minutes since we had last seen eachother. Take a look at her website, her work is beautiful.

During London Design Week, I was walking back to Old Street tube and on the way took a few Instagram snaps of some of my favourite Huguenot Weavers' houses in Spitalfields. The one that has always caught my eye you could say is the most delapidated in the street, but on the other hand, perhaps the most beautiful? Click on the Instagram link and tell me what you think! Anyway, this very house turned out to be the next location for our shoot-No 4 Princelet Street. Built in the early 18th Century, this truly incredible Georgian property has been preserved in it's original state, with just a few modern trappings, such as central heating, electricity and hot and cold running water! The house has appeared in countless film, TV and photographic shoots and has got to be my most favourite place ever to have done a shoot (thanks for the recommendation Cath!)

Initial line drawings of Princelet Street to plan shots.

More detailed sketches and props in specific rooms.

Thinking about colour schemes and moodboards.

Calling in wallpaper and fabric swatches.
Louise Body, GP&J Baker, Sanderson and Brunschwig & Fils

Painting Autumn leaves!

Transporting dried flowers and leaves in tupperware to the shoot!

We shot the feature in late November-Winter shoots are notoriously tricky due to bad light and that day was no exception. Typically, the day before had been beautiful, but by 4pm our light had got so bad we couldn't manage any more shots- I had boxes of unused props left and still a ton of ideas-it was gutting! Huge apologies go out to those people I just couldn't get into the shoot (particularly Nordic Rose and HK Living-priority next time!!), something that happens so often, but I hate letting people down...Without the help of my two fantastic assistants that day, I wouldn't have achieved what we did and certainly wouldn't have left before midnight. By 7.30 pm  we were finally done and out.

Anyway, you've seen the sketchbooks, the location, the on-line article. Here are the final shots. Huge thanks to Clare for taking a punt on an old-time stylist, Nicole at the office for handling nightmare deliveries and returns, Catherine for the beautiful shots and Robert for his wonderful location and being so helpful. Last, but not least to styling assistants extra-ordinaire Polly Ord and Tiffany Grant-Riley.

Have a great weekend and I hope you like the shots!

Paints from the Sanderson range, botanical notebook from a selection, The Garden Centre Group, vintage-style scissors, Red Lilly, Plant Life Greeting Card Sticker Set, Louise Body, leaf selection, Velvet Brown.

Vintage Botanical