VIGNETTE STYLING WITH KARA ROSENLUND

a couple of weeks i go i signed up last minute to a vignette styling class at the school with the vignette styling queen herself, kara rosenlund.

i first fell in love with kara when i saw the pictures of her place. it is beautiful! you can check it out on the design files. she is a super talented photographer and stylist, and she is so friendly and so willing to share her thoughts. it is so nice to meet such amazing people who are friendly and who are happy to help you out!

the afternoon started with kara taking us through her five steps to create a successful vignette that catches your eye and makes you stop to look deeper, instead of just skimming over it. she then styled a vignette in front of us. it was so refreshing to hear her think out loud, chop and change things as she went - it made it feel achievable. the outcome was the below vignette, did you notice that you stopped on that image instead of just scrolling straight past? she is so good!!

we then had a sneaky afternoon tea (megan morton is always one for putting on a good snack!) and gave it a go ourselves (no pressure, right?). The below ones are some created by others who were there, and i think they all did a really good job.

and then this one is what i came up with. while i could have gone for all things vintage in neutral and muted tones, i know that all of the stuff i have in my house is not that. i am drawn to strong yellows and oranges and pinks and blues so i thought that, to make the best use of the afternoon, i should get some handy hints on using things that are more similar to what is in my house. i think it came up ok, and i definitely learnt some things. kara and megan assure us we will be able to apply these tricks anywhere. so here goes for all my future photos! what do you think?

EASTER STYLING & A CHANGE OF SEASON

soooo... i know it has been a while but i am back! and hopefully a little more regularly now! today is my first day of working for myself (really excited and totally freaking out). i am hoping this new change will really give me some decent chunks of time to work on my designs and work through the best method for printing and making. so as of today, wednesday's are 'owl & bridge' work days. hooray!! i will be adding new things up on my blog as they develop as i will be too excited not to share.

anyway, enough of that...on the weekend west elm, pottery barn, pottery barn kids and williams sonoma in sydney had an easter styling event where four different stylists spent half an hour styling an easter table for one of the stores. some of my favourites (sibella court, megan morton) were there, along with a couple of people i hadn't seen the work of before (cameron kimber, marco meneguzzi). here are a couple of iphone snaps i took on the day.

SIBELLA COURT FOR WEST ELM

i really like sibella's mismatch style that is brought together by colour a consistency in colour. also the different textures of timber, ceramic, glass, enamel create an dynamic tablescape and keeps you interested after the first glance. Sibella and her team dyed the eggs themselves using a martha stewart 'how to', but her brief to the team was 'to keep all the ones martha would have rejected'! Also as a must, greenery! Books were a clever trick to change up the heights which can create a flow to the table. she did put a rug on the table as a tablecloth which looked good, but i don't think i would be that game.

Sibella's encouragement was to use the things already in your house. walk around and find a whole lot of things and then pick and edit from that to create your tablescape. you will always have left overs but that is how styling works - you always gather more than you need so you can pick and choose and edit.

MARCO MENEGUZZI FOR POTTERY BARN

i hadn't come across marco's work before, but what i did like about this tablescape was that it wasn't overly spring. so many things around easter are to do with spring, which is totally understandable given that it is spring in the northern hemisphere at this time but we are in the southern hemisphere! i like that this one suits more the autumn climate at the easter time of year - it looks like an autumn table because of the colours without taking away the eggs and chickens etc. which symbolise new life. it is also very american and county in style which is not traditionally my thing, but it works here and is effective in grasping both the climate and the celebration.

BROOKE HOLM AT THE SCHOOL

on saturday i went to visit the school to do their 'photography 101 for bloggers' course run by the amazing brooke holm. i can now use the 'manual' setting on my camera! how exciting! brooke is a very talented photographer who has done some beautiful work - check out her website and blog. she did a great job of taking us through getting light in your pictures. i've had it explained to me before, but on saturday i just got it and am excited to use my camera on 'M'! brooke also showed us about post production and editing your images and i have used what i learnt already. very useful not just for interiors or blogging, but photography in general.

lunch was provided - homemade sausage rolls by fire cracker event - soooo tasty!

megan morton, who runs the school was there also - she is sooooo lovely. so ready to hear what each person in the class was doing and eager to share her knowledge and experience with us. the school run many courses, from styling masterclasses to inspiration to photography to instagram to screenprinting. i thoroughly recommend attending any or all that you are interested in! i met many lovelies who are all interested in interiors, styling etc. and i hope to keep in touch with a few of them. i am already petitioning my husband for which class i can attend next! below is some of my handiwork from the weekend - they are by no means brilliant but an improvement on my previous photography efforts...enjoy.