Stars and Stripes

Its been a really busy week for me, hence the lack of posting. Saturday I got a call asking if I could assist on a shoot for the magazine Homes and Gardens with none other than Katrin Cargill, one of the very best Interior stylist's on the English Interiors publishing circuit and a star amongst stylists. Of course, I jiggled my work load and said yes I would absolutely LOVE to help. What an opportunity.

The shoot was taking place at a location house near Waterloo over 3 days and the theme was Stripes. Katrin had come up with 3 very different room sets, all of which would have 3 shots - an opener, a double page spread and a detail shot. I can't give too much away, as the photos are under wraps until October's Issue comes out, but the mix of wall coverings, fabrics, and furnishings was fabulous.

On the ground floor we set up quite a smart casual dining room scene, with plush haberdashery used in novel ways to create stripes on a fairly neutral backdrop; the sitting room was elegantly styled in subtle stripes and soft tranquil shades and felt really light and airy; and the bedroom was bold in contrast and stripe-tacular. The theme was carried through to the max, and the shot felt young, modern and playful.

I really enjoyed the shoot. They are always hard work - running up and down stairs, fetching, carrying, unpacking, ironing, repacking, bubble wrapping, labelling - and require amazing feats of organisation to get everything ready to shoot. Although they can be stressful at times, there is a great sense of camaraderie as everyone is working together to get the job done.

One of the things I enjoy most is unwrapping all the packages. Its so exciting seeing what goodies the Stylist has called in for the shoot, sometimes it feels like Christmas! Its great learning about new designers and artists too and seeing how the pieces all fit together. You can really learn a lot from working with someone like Katrin Cargill who has years of experience of Interior Design, putting together and styling room sets for editorial and advertising shoots and has written tons of books on soft furnishings.

At the end of the shoot, I am shattered but looking forward to seeing the photos in print and looking forward to the next one.