Prop Closet

July Issue of Essence

Here are the shots from the July ESSENCE shoot. I'm thrilled with the way Kan Kanbayashi captured the pretty daylight.

Essence Magazine Food Shoot

The June and July issues of Essence each have food shoots that I styled back in March. It's so exciting to finally see them in print. I'm going to describe how it all went down, from start to finish so you can see what's involved in working on a food shoot. First I received a color palette from the Art Director, Pinda. The one you see here was for the June story, a summer cocktail party with hors d'oeuvres, ice-your-own brownies and chicken wraps, yum!   The July story, with a color palette of blue and neutral whites and ivory, was a BBQ story of steak, burgers, grilled veggies, and slaw. I pulled out the pantone chips to bring along while shopping for props. I received swipes and rough snap shots from their food show of each dish in the menu. My first stop was Prophaus. 

Pulling for two stories at once can be confusing, so I brought  along well organized shopping lists, swipes and swatches for each. I start by setting aside an area to work in at Prophaus. I pull an assortment of dishes, trays, flatware, linens, glassware, and any other special requests, like a bucket for sodas or cocktail toothpicks. I pull a lot, leave to check out some other prop houses, in this case Good Light Props and then return to edit and settle up the next day. For the June Cocktail party, I planned to use fabric to cover the surface, so I looked for interesting textured fabrics. For July I looked for a picnic table surface. Good Light had a white washed weathered wood surface that wasn't the obvious red picnic table look, so I went with it. For the brownie shot, I visited NY Cake and Baking Distributors on 22nd St. to buy some different mini spatulas.

Here's some shots of the things I pulled at both Prophaus and Good Light Props. 

I took was going for dishes with a hand thrown pottery look glazed in washes of pale aqua, mint green and yellow.

The photos below were for the July BBQ story.  

Ok, I'll cut to the chase and show you the finished shots for the July story. Can't show July until it's published. (That's just common courtesy not to reveal before the issue drops). I will post those shots soon.

Signs of Spring

This little hyacinth bud sprouted up from my garden in PA. I get there so infrequently these days, and I rarely get to see this purple beauty before the deer have it for snack. But I happened to be there at just the right time and I consider myself lucky. Back in Chelsea, my favorite time of year is the few-week period when sporadic little dots of buds appear on branches and clusters of miniature leaves shoot out of the trees (see next photo, below). These japonesque branches are too beautiful for words. The moment is fleeting but it signifies new beginnings, renewed enthusiasm and motivation. After another long winter, I am ready for action, new projects, new collaborations, new classes and who knows what else. This is my dose of inspiration (along with iced hazelnut coffee)!

Happy New Year to All!

photo from my latest shoot with Photographer Luciana Pampalone. We got together recently to shoot a promo for my latest project—a collection of easy-to-make, earth-friendly crafts. See a sampling here.

Some of my favorite places

Props for Today

Tinsel Trading

The Store Across the Street

Photographer David Lewis Taylor hosts my FIT students

We had a wonderful evening as guests of photographer David Lewis Taylor. My FIT class in Photostyling for Photography, is comprised of 20 of the coolest, most energetic and fashion-informed college students. David was nice enough to invite us into his lair to show us his work and talk about the business. A large portion of his work is shooting accessories and making them look fabulous. He shoots for Elegant Bride, Modern Bride, InStyle, Zink and he had lots to share with the group. We demonstrated a simple quickie set up with some items I brought.

InStyle Mag Vintage story

Here's a piece that appeared in the November issue of InStyle as the lead page for a vintage shopping section. This job was one of those adventures that went through many transitions over the 4 days from start to finish. On Thursday I received the call from my agent, James Taylor of the Marnie Rose Agency that InStyle needed me to source a vintage Louis Vuitton trunk or suitcase. It was going to be photographed with lots of vintage pieces pouring out of it. I went to my neighborhood favorite, Mantiques Modern and snapped some shots of various sized offerings. I noted the dimensions and shot the insides as well, to show the pockets and condition, since it would be shot from the inside.
I went to the office to meet with Instyle Photo Editor Lisa Martin who had called me along the way to ask me to cover some other possible ideas, a vintage bureau, a dressing table and other types of vintage suitcases as well. Armed with a memory stick filled with images, we printed out several choices for her to submit to her editors. The next day, the idea had morphed into shooting a journal with some vintage accessories and the hunt was now on for a red leather journal. I brought several choices in on Monday after shopping tirelessly over the weekend. The Managing Editor loved the red snakeskin journal from Paper Presentation on 18th St. and I assured her that she could have it. By the time I showed up at the shoot on Tuesday, at photographer Ryann Cooley's studio, there was an orange journal, and several pieces that the staff had sent over: sunglasses, a YSL scarf and various brooches and bracelets. It was my job to artfully arrange them on set and work with the photographer to insure great placement on the page, room for headline copy and text. I am pretty pleased with the results despite all the twists and turns in the assignment. That's just the way it goes sometimes and you have to be willing to roll with it!

Stylist Walking Tours in Progress

Last Friday, we starting walking. 95 degrees, but we walked all over the neighborhood. We started with a visit to Michele Michael's Elephant Props. She discussed her extensive background as a prop stylist for all the top women's magazines and how it was a natural progression for her to open a prop business with all the stuff she collected along the way. She might be known for having the smallest prop company in New York City, but it sure is the coziest with a beautifully edited collection of small items for tabletop shoots.

Sign up for FIT Styling Walking Tour

Here's a great way to find out about my secret resources for photo shoots. Take my walking tour at FIT. There are two sessions on Friday, July 18th and Friday, July 25th. We'll be covering the Chelsea, Flatiron, Midtown neighborhoods. We'll be visiting prop rental houses, suppliers of backdrops and set design materials, floral suppliers, fabric stores and more~! Wear comfortable shoes, because we'll be making tracks! Look for the class SXT 550 Professional Stylists: Insider Resources Tour. For more info go to: Fitnyc walking tours

Oy, I Need a Manicure!

My hands were caught in the act of primping and pouffing a little Coach mini pouch today at the Tribeca studio of Robert Feleciano.