Meet Ashley Meaders

Ashley seems to be one of those girls you instantly want to befriend. She's adorable and quirky and spends her days making amazing events. I've loved her event details even before I knew they belonged to her, so when I came across her website and saw all of the gorgeous things she's crafted I became enchanted. And jealous. And inspired. And I had to share these images with you. You've probably seen some of them already, but you can never have too much beauty in your life so look again. And then go to her site to see even more.

Meet Amy Chin

I love a perfectly curated room just as much as the next person but what I love most about Amy's prop styling is her ability to create spaces that look lived in. Her creations are approachable and comfortable and attainable while still being exciting and inspirational. Not an easy thing to do I can imagine, but she certainly makes it look so. Her palettes are stunning and the items she showcases are quite lovely. Of course when you have clients like Real Simple, West End and Anthropologie (to name a few) how could you not produce beautiful photographs? Certainly the brands give a strong base, but it's her knack for setting the picture that is truly admirable.


Amy is based in New York. View more of her work and learn a little about her by visiting her site.

Nina's Pretty Dishes

Nina Invorm combines two of my favorite things—sweet, vintage dishes with lovely hand-drawn elements. Her addition of birds or bunting or hearts to the already delightful ceramics result in a charming piece of art I'd love to showcase. Luckily you can purchase her art at her Etsy shop.


Ugh. So stinkin cute it makes me scrunch up my face.
While I was looking at some of her other work on her Flickr page I happened across some photographs of her darling house. The interior matches her creations so perfectly.



I love the random dresses and high heels and the fact that she has her own artwork splashed throughout the space. Did you see the nursery? What a fun place to be a child!
Visit Nina's website, her Etsy and her Flickr there's tons more to see!

A Little Bit of Autumn

I love fall. I miss fall, but at least it's been a little cool here lately so I've been able to close my eyes on occasion and think about hot cider and scarves and the orchard. Soon enough it'll be steamy and hot and thoughts of cool autumn breezes will seem so far away. In the mean time, I thought I'd embrace it and put together a mood board to inspire you and remind me.



So many sources! Mikkel Vang // Scrapstudio // Elizabeth Anne Designs // Dandelion and Grey // Mary Ruffle // Bunny Victorious // Studio Choo Flowers // LL Bean Signature // Black Eiffel // You are my Fave // Mi Vida Bonita

Oh Amelie!

There's a sweet french movie called "Amelie" that you + I really love (or at least I do and you will). It's subtitled but a delight to watch and listen to and the soundtrack is gorgeous. As is the cinematography (how could it be anything but with Paris as it's backdrop?). Design*Sponge does a fun feature called "living in..." where they take screen captures of different films and then feature different housewares and fashion items that represent the film. They recently did one for "Amelie" you should definitely have a look.
Obviously the movie has inspired quite a few talented artists and in the June 2010 issue of Nonpareil magazine, a handful of creatives got together to create a party based on the movie. It turned out really nicely.



See a fun little video of the party here.
I've been waiting for the perfect post to incorporate these lovely designs from Emerson and I think they have that certain je ne sais quoi that goes quite well with this French party. They're really fantastic and Emerson herself (the blonde is her) is really quite funny. Go visit her.


Darling aren't they? I love the stripes with that big red flower! Perfect outfit for croissants wouldn't you say? Oui!

Sweet sweets

I have always loved a beautiful table. One of the first things I really remember admiring in a Martha Stewart Weddings issue was this gorgeous photo shoot that centered around an amazing strawberry cake table. I couldn't find the image to share with you, but I found plenty of other inspiring dessert tables. This is such a great idea for a wedding or a shower or an afternoon tea with the ladies.

Aren't they so fun? I love the vanity with the tiny fruit desserts and the wedding cake with the paper banner and macaroons. I think it's such a good idea to do a dessert table for your wedding instead of just the one cake. Then people can enjoy their favorite dessert - not everyone loves cake you know!

Images from Hip Hip Hooray // Swanky Tables // Amy Atlas

The Glory of Anthropologie

My city has a pathetic excuse for a shopping mall. It's mostly kiosks of eyebrow shaping and sunglasses and "designer" purses. So when I decided I wanted to try and find some end-of-the-summer deals, I asked a sweet friend of mine to take the trip to a much better mall about an hour away. Because she's a sweet friend (and her husband is out of town), she agreed. My favorite thing? Always Anthropologie. I don't usually buy much (if anything) but I love to wander around the store admiring the displays and smelling the toiletries and touching the luxurious fabrics. We walked out of the store agreeing that it was a little depressing to not have the money to purchase the beautiful items, but ultimately there was so much inspiration at Anthropologie that it was totally worth it. It's like a gallery more than a store.
Anthropologie has a Flickr stream with some of their display designs and I thought you'd enjoy them with me? Good.



Don't you love the eraser maple leaf from their Ontario store? Such a good idea. Check out others in the photostream. A handful of these images are also from the small (but inspiring) Anthropologie window displays Flickr pool. If you have an Anthro in your mall, count your blessings and visit often. If not, it's worth the drive for sure!

Retro Styling

Mad Men is back on Sunday and I'm so ready for that distraction! In honor of the shows return I thought I'd share these photos from artist Alex Prager. I don't know much about her except that she's awesome—her fashion styling and set design and perspective is all so intriguing to me. Every image tells a story (and it's usually a little disturbing). These images of hers remind me of Alfred Hitchcock and the Valley of the Dolls and Mad Men...



And these stills from Beyonce's video "Why Don't You Love Me" fit so perfectly with Alex's aesthetic. (warning: the video is a little steamy).

This is my favorite era for fashion and makeup and hair—it's all so theatrical and put together. I could never pull it off (nor would I want to do all that work every day just to feather dust my Grammy's) but boy do I love to look at it! Can't wait until Sunday!

A Few of my Favorite Things

Sigh. This is one lucky lady. Not only does she live in one of the most beautiful, charming and romantic cities in the States (Savannah, Georgia) but she spends her days doing prop styling and event design. It's kind of my dream world. Look how talented she is:

She works with publications such as Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Living. (all images on this page are from Liz's Flickr, except the first image from Design*Sponge)


LOVE this circusy wedding! The striped curtains in the barn, the kissing booth, the pom-poms, those HUGE, glorious balloons! All of it is so fun and somehow manages to not be over-the-top obnoxious. She's truly talented.


I love that she re-purposes so many items that others may just put in the trash can: broken fruit crates, rusty flower arranging inserts (used cleverly as a pen holder), musty suitcases, random (but oh-so-lovely) drawers. Her detailing is so fun and clever and inspirational. The only problem I have with looking through her portfolio and noticing all of the interesting items is that it gives me one more excuse to collect and hoard random items. And believe me, I don't need another excuse! But you see how it all comes together? Let's go garage sale-ing!

The Kid's Got Talent

I found Simon Filip via designismine. She shared the amazing tent image with the profiles and I just had to find out more about him. I'm so, so glad I did (and so are you). This little guy (ok, he's not THAT little, but he was born in 1991 which seems absurd to me) is extremely talented and has already gotten some press for his fashion photography. Which he says he's been doing since September. When people are so incredibly talented and it seems to come so easy it both inspires me and irritates me to no end. Oh to be young and talented. Let's just enjoy him shall we?





The composition... the lighting... the fashion... the Zooey look-a-like (his sister!)... the styling... geez. Looking forward to watching this talented young man grow.

Summer Styling

It's been awhile since we've looked at the portfolio of a prop stylist so when I ran across the work of Christine Rudolph I thought it worth sharing. Especially since she has so many lovely, summery photographs. I love that her aesthetic is a little chaotic with pictures hung slightly crooked and fabrics draped haphazardly—it's so cozy and friendly. I found her indoors-outside, beach styling to be particularly inspirational and interesting.

Wallpaper

Wallpaper has come a long way. Not only is it much, much easier to put up and take down but it's now available in any pattern you can imagine. I particularly love bold wallpaper in small spaces like hallways or bathrooms—it's so unexpected and fun.


Sources: Top three retro florals // amazing map // cityscape // circus silhouettes // profiles (not sure if that woman has a horn or crazy 80's bangs) // flocked profiles // bottom four are from Dutch artist Inke Heiland and are made from vintage wallpapers. Aren't they amazing? Such a fun idea!
And because I'm a sucker for good prop styling, I couldn't resist showing you these beautiful shots done for Swedish company Decor Maison. The trailers are so beautiful! And the papers are quite lovely as well.

Carl Kleiner

I am intrigued by the styling of Swedish photographer Carl Kleiner's photographs. They are often ethereal always imaginative and definitely creative. His fashion shoots are particularly fascinating: the doll house with the strong lighting and the cloud tethered to the floor are a couple of my favorites.


Aren't the macaroons fun? They're already so whimsical but to suspend them in a cage reminiscent of an electric beater is so brilliant.
Last, I love these sportier shots— especially all of those beautiful shoes!