Let's get out of the house!

Winter's end

the doctor's woods...

Issue No. 1

My concept for an online magazine called VERT OR GREENSTAR (honestly I have not picked a name yet, but I have to call it something for the time being), dedicated to showcasing up and coming green designers. This is just a mock of the cover...an old pic I took of my friend Jen. Anyway, I have two designers lined up to shoot in June...I need a few more, but I think it's really going to happen and I have a large pool of talent to pull from. The goal is to launch the first issue in July. There's going to be three editorial shoots along with interviews with the designers. Finding advertisers won't be too hard, and I already have sourced the blogs to show it to. I'm sooo excited for this project.

Anthropologie's stepchild : Terrain

I can't wait to visit this new home / garden lifestyle concept store of Anthropologie / Urban Outfitters located in Pennsylvannia. I think it's a brilliant concept and it looks beautifully executed. As always Oh Joy has done a wonderful job describing it here for us (thank you Joy!):

http://www.ohjoy.blogs.com/
and here are some pics from her site:

Dames et Chiens

Me, Boris, Sherman, Moe
Above: Kayo and Dr. Dre

My friend M and her dog Bleubird.
I realized that I didn't have any pictures of them! Which is funny because they are two very photogenic beings...I just never have my camera with me while hanging out with them. I adore these shots. Maybe I will do a series of triptychs of girls and their dogs.........We had lots of fun together just hanging out in Hope, smoking cigarettes (I had two. It is customary to smoke a cigarette while in the company of an indian princess.), drinking Hope market Cafe's delicious coffee overlooking the lake, walking around with the most dated cameras around our necks....
I drove past the minty green buildings this morning and I thought M in her orange coat would look so good in front of it.....Usually I have a million ideas like this one, but never actualize them. Today, I felt like having a little spur of the moment photo adventure and these two were the perfect companions.

The lake tonight.........

This is the deepest, cleanest, most beautiful lake I have ever swam in. I hate swimming in the ocean...it's to rough and dark....you never know what's brushing up against your leg or what that shadowy shape is on the sea's floor. ...so not relaxing! Here I can see straight down to my toes .......

Two of my own favorite polaroids....

Heavenly polaroids...........

Prop stylist and photographer Jen Gotch.............they take me to soft, ghostly world. You MUST check out her site. Her writing that is paired with the imagery is just gorgeous....

http://www.jengotch.com/

Art Direction Project: Field Triphttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=4928701629313877259&postID=8496649043927155214 / Photography Inspiration

All photography by Labokoff:
http://www.etsy.com/profile.php?user_id=5481988

I was completely blown away by these little prints.......I have been wanting to try my hand at art direction and these just inspired a whole fashion editorial spread in my head.....more to come later...baby is crying!
Okay Im back. So I've been working through some ideas in my head about a fashion editorial where it's a girl on a field trip in a field somewhere around here, collecting things. In the shots she is fully styled but we never see her entire face...only her lips. She can be holding a book up to her face, binoculars, a map, an old Polaroid camera with bellows, a butterfly net...you get the idea. Then for the accessory shots there'd be a pair of brightly colored patent heels in the butterfly net with butterflies around it, or in the field grass with feathers around them, or on open book of field bird study drawings or other animals. A cool pair of long leather gloves draped over a stump... Maybe a cool bag shot with her field journals, magnifying glass, specimen jars, etc... spilling out of it. Specimen jars with brightly colored jewelry in it......Wardrobe could possibly be supplied by Cabin Fever....or not? I would like to try to have the wardrobe be more modern / folk than western...but we'll see what she has to offer anyway.
The photography style is very editorial and etherial....lots of moody dreamy like soft colors and softly blending horizon lines and shapes...very limited focus.

Things I have already for this shoot:
Feather collection
Old Polaroid camera with bellows
Cool old binoculars
Field journals, vintage illustrated book Birds if Field and Forest

Layouts so far......Vintage blue tie jacket with modern highwasted and form fitting up top pants or something else ...stacked bracelets. Have binnoculars already.

Brightly colored, patent stacked wedge peep toes inside net, on round mossy stump top..netting could be colored. I only drew one shoe because Im lazy , it would be a pair of shoes..maybe style in the shape of a butterfly ?
Possibly one of Alyson Fox's wonderful pocket dresses in a neutral color...with a bright orange or pink net? Colorful flats with this dress. Butterflies on stump and one on her shoulder.



Possible locations:

Mushrooms Im getting....
http://www.victoriantradingco.com/store/catalogimages/1a/i13282.html


Blogger: Easy on the Eyes - Edit Post "Art Direction Project: Field Trip / Photography I..."

Summer Reading List No.1.........

I'm a huge fan of Cynthia Rowley dresses..I own 2 myself and someday I will squeeze back into them again! I think I bought them like seven years ago and they are so timelessly cool I would still wear them today.
Camping under a flashlight chandelier....I would go camping with her! (normally I hate camping)
You can order this at :

http://cynthiarowley.com/shopping_cart/pages/products/memoir/2.html

Style and Children do blend...........

I purchased this book on Amazon the other day and I love all the ideas Anita Kaushal has for having a fun, kid friendly house while still maintaining a designer look. I really enjoy the way the book is edited and how there are these moody nature images sprinkled throughout. I have bookshelves in my house and am always on the look out for good ideas on how arrange them...this book had some good ideas. Also on the front cover is a picture of a sliding pole in the living room. This really struck a chord from my distant childhood. I always wanted a pole that slid from my bedroom down the the family den! Infact, I think I still kinda want it. Back then my dad indulged my fantasy by even going as far as to make blueprints with me on how this was going to work in our house. Alas it never happend........but how cool would that have been?

While you were out..............

Okay. I know I have given this site No Love over the past few months, but in my defense I've been busy with my baby and trying to get our hobbit house up to snuff in time to put in on the market come spring. But I have lots of new finds to share with you and new ideas for this site. First, here's some of the rooms we've been working on.......

Our bedroom...new trim in Spanish Oak, paint Ralph Lauren Tangier Island , Lush pillowcases, artwork is a gift from our talented and lovely friend Jessie Townsend, and a sheepskin hide that feels wonderful on our feet. Another good thing about the sheepskin is that you can just throw it in the washer with a little Woolite, air dry it, and fluff it with a brush and it looks brand new again. Also our friend made us these closet doors out of 300 year old Fir tree from Schweitzer Mountain...they are gorgeous! And of course my favorite hanging Nelson light. By the way this light came in a flat box in a million tiny pieces and my husband and I put it together...

The Living Room....We rocked the chimney in a cultured stoned called Southern County Ledgestone in Chardonnay, paint is Benjamin Moore Lenox Tan.