Rodney Smith's 'The End'

Rodney Smith - where to begin!?

I am such a big fan of this creative genius who

has the ability to make the ordinary beyond

extraordinary through his photographic magic.

Actually, it doesn't stop there because he is good

with words too, and when reading his blog posts

I feel I am taken on a pilgrimage through amazing

insightful tunnels of honesty and refection. He is

so clearly connected to that greater source of life

where perspective and insight come easily.

Perhaps it is the fact that he studied theology
and received a degree in Divinity from Yale,
or simply because he walks this world wide
awake, his mind open and his eyes peeled.

I completely 'get' his creative expression and

so enjoy the fact that his fantastic images are shot

using a regular SLR camera onto Kodak film

- i.e. not the result of digital photography.

These photographs are the true reflection

of a person who is one with his instrument.

Someone who is open to the possibility

that life's magic is present everywhere

if only you allow yourself to see it.

Rodney has won 75 awards, however

I have a feeling he doesn't actually care

all that much about these proofs of his skill.

You see, even as a young man, he turned down

a few seriously impressive offers to lecture

at some of the world's best universities in favour

for riding slow trains in India, bicycling through

the Camarque, and strolling the streets of Paris..

It seems very clear to me that he is more interested in

life, the world and the people in it, than in the recognition.

But don't get me wrong though, he is all but arrogant or ignorant!
Instead he is so genuinely sweet when given a compliment.

I have written to him twice in starry eyed admiration of his work

and have received the loveliest replies within a day of doing so.
I think that says a lot about him - that he takes time to

respond in a genuinely friendly and interested manner.

Before this post becomes an essay..

I really just wanted to say two three a few things here..

1. encourage you to jump onto Rodney's website,

see his pictures & take time to read his blog, and

2. announce the launch of his latest book

'The End'.

The book is extremely limited edition - a must have!

From the idea behind it, the creative concept, through to

the images, layout & typography - it is pure brilliance.

I am happy to relay your interest in buying

the book - please just leave a comment below

or drop me an email on charlottaward@y7mail.com.

Hopefully this post marks the beginning of your own

journey into the photographic world of Rodney Smith.

xCharlotta

Coco Chanel's Apartment

In today's overwhelming amount of emails, there was a

lovely subscription post from 'Elements of Style' (*)
about Coco Chanel's apartment on 31 Rue Cambon, Paris.

Please do pop into 'Elements of Style' to read
her post and browse through her blog - it's great!

So, that email inspired me to this post for you guys..

Gabrielle is a huge role model for me, and

such inspiration for women who wish to make

their way up the streams of business.

 It is admirable that a woman in her age and time

was able to create such important and powerful

empire of style & fashion in a time that was

dominated by men and sexist business principles.

“As long as you know men are 

 like children, you know everything!”

Coco Chanel

Coco believed in the power of women and

liberated them in more ways than one.

She was very practical, and never understood

the fashion of corsets and long skirts that made it

so difficult for women to move freely.

(read; that prevented them from being independent & free).

“Women should have the 
possibility to laugh and eat, 
without necessarily having to faint.”

Coco Chanel

Not only did this remarkable woman create an

empire from scratch, but she did it with tasteful integrity,

and such impeccable style and precision that

it will continue to stand the test of time.

In Coco's on words:

“Fashion fades, 
only style remains the same.”

Though Coco actually lived at the Ritz she kept her 3rd floor

apartment at 31 Rue Cambon for entertaining & work.

This is the 'Coco Chanel Suite' at the Ritz, recreated

for affluent guests to stay in whilst in Paris.

Click HERE to read more.

 Exterior of 31 Rue Cambon

On the first floor was the Chanel store, the second floor

the Haute Couture dressing rooms and the fourth

floor her workshop and atelier - still used today.

I think it is fabulous how she apparently ordered her

staff to spray Chanel No 5 around the stairway so that

her signature scent would greet her and her customers

every time they entered 31 Rue Cambon!

What a brilliant way of using a mnemonic device (*)

to reinforce her brand on the world!

"A women who doesn't 
wear perfume has no future."

Coco Chanel

I love how feminine and ornate her apartment is -

such a stark difference to the plain environment

of the convent she grew up in after her mother died.

 Despite her very practical no-fuss approach to fashion,

Coco was elegant & very feminine, and her apartment

reflects that as well as her love and understanding of luxury.

 

“I love luxury! 
And luxury lies not in richness

and ornateness but in the absence of vulgarity. 

Vulgarity is the ugliest word in our language. 

I stay in the game to fight it.”

 Coco Chanel

The apartment is everything but vulgar - here take a look..

Coco's sofa reportedly mixes her favourite colour (tan)

and material (suede) - apparently a combination that was

quite controversial in the world of interiors at the time.

Coco held interviews from this sofa, however was very

particular about who she allowed to join her on it.

Dining room.

Coco was a Leo and collected lions, some of

which are scattered around the apartment.

 This is the famous chandelier that Coco designed herself.

It features interlocking 'Cs', the letter 'G', as well as

her lucky number '5', and is yet another proof that

Coco so clearly understood the power of subtle branding.

 This is the famous faceted mirrored spiral

staircase that Coco designed herself.

It connects all four levels of her property and provided

Coco with a view of the audience's reactions

at fashion shows on the floor below.

In this photograph are the Chinese screens

that Coco had split and re-used as wall dressings.

They feature her favorite flower, the Camellia,

which she often used in her designs.

 

This birdcage in her sitting room was

the inspiration behind the 1992 Chanel commercial

with Vanessa Paradis (see the video here).

The Haute Couture dressing rooms on the 2nd floor.

Here are some great sources if you want to learn more

about this amazing woman and her Paris apartment.

*   *   *   * 

 
xCharlotta

P.S. To read my review of the movie 'Coco Avant Chanel',

please click HERE. Merci X

Howell Conant

Today I came across a series of stunning photos

of Grace Kelly by legendary photographer

Howell T Conant Sr, via a interesting blog called

* Starbucks and Jane Austen *

Howell who died in March 1999 (aged 83),

worked as a fashion photographer for a number

 of magazines and is perhaps best known for

his 1955 cove rshot of Grace for 'Photoplay'.

Howell and Grace became good friends and

she rated him her favorite photographer and

allowed him to shoot intimate portraits of her

and her family - even after she married into Royalty.

You can really see the trusting friendship and

close relationship between the two in most

of the photographs and I get a sense of the

'real' girl behind the iconic image that Grace

had to carry as she became Princess of Monaco.

Here are some more articles you may enjoy.

**

xCharlotta

P.S. Also check Howell's wonderful photographs
of Audrey Hepburn and his book documenting
the legendary 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.

x

Miles Redd

Looking through the gallery of Miles Redd's creations make me smile.

He so clearly has that playfulness of someone who is walking their

own path within an industry that can be oh so clicky & snobbish.

I love the fact that every room comes across as a 'film set', and it is

 quite clear that his early years as a set designer have left their mark.

The tasteful & arty drama comes through in most executions

and I think it this confident cheekiness of mix matching, layering

and contrasting that really defines Mile Redd's style to me.
He has a confident eye for style and eccentric charm,
without going over board with it - which is very hard actually.

Here are some great examples from his look book:

I love the fact that he has filled the room with the

four poster bed, and that the iron cast pipe work

resemble a bird cage for the the wallpaper birds.

Clever.

This image here makes it quite clear that Miles

has worked with film sets and props.

There are so many intimate clues to the person

who lives here - like a 'freeze frame' of a movie.

The hat casually tossed on top of the decorative collumn

on the left, the black/white photographs, and snapshots

under the mirror.. You'd almost expect a half smoked

cigarette still burning in an ashtray in there somewhere..

 The enormous head board along with the purpose built

four poster canope makes it look like the bed is a room

of its own - a room within a room.

I love how the stripes are continued in the mattress,

and how he has contrasted the masculinity of the

straight lines with soft feminine curves of the panels as

well as the vases on above the bed side tables...

The angles of the exterior features of this house are great!

The stripes of the shutters blending in with the texture of

the brick work, and then the vertical lines of the stripy

marquees and window wood work. Brilliant!

Click HERE to jump across to Mile's site

and browse through the rest of his book.

Don't forget to read his Bio - it's very impressive!

xCharlotta

Coco Avant Chanel

One movie that has stuck with me since I saw it is

Anne Fontaine's 'Coco Avant Chanel'.

This beautifully shot film serves up
an intimate & intriguing slice of Gabrielle's life.

It spans her lonely being as an abandoned orphan
to when she steps over the threshold of becoming
the worshipped fashion legend we all know as
Coco Chanel.

What I love the most about the film
are the stark contrasts that so clearly set the tone
for her future style and sobre approach to fashion.
The masculine vs feminine, the simple vs the ornate,
the unique vs the mainstream, the anti-statement to
what was seen to be the core of femininity
as well as her razor sharp ability
to see the true beauty & feminine intrigue.

Though I have always admired the legendary icon 'Coco Chanel'
I now feel so much more for the woman behind the name.

She is so clearly shaped by the monochromatic
and strict life with the nuns, the death of her mother,
the sadness & resentment towards the father that abandoned her,
the tragic loss of only man she truly loved (Boy Chapel),
the fight to pull herself and her sister out of poverty
and the determined & difficult march towards her goals.

I admire Gabrielle's firm belief in women's strength
(including her own) and the courage & resolve she had
to be able to convince her contemporaries that they didn't need to
undermine themselves or hide behind all that frou-frou.

To me, her ultimate fashion statement is that
no luxury deserves the name Chanel if it isn't comfortable.

And with that, she literally reshaped fashion for ever.

Here are some stills from the film..

You can read more ici.

xCharlotta

Hello my name is Heather..

I was a late discoverer of Heather Bailey,

and only started following her blog a year & a half ago.
(she started blogging in 2006..)


This extremely talented woman designs fantastic textiles,
paper crafts, sewing patterns and many more things,
all of which can be seen & bought via her website.


Heather's designs as well as her photograhpy
on her blog and website are fresh, crisp and vibrant.




It is a visual feast that is totally inspiring,
making the products impossible to resist..
... and of course I couldn't...
..so today I picked up a pack of lovely patterned papers to use in my artwork.


Though the papers are so beautiful it pains me to cut them up,
I will love using them in my canvas work.
I will show you once I have completed one..

xCharlotta

P.S. 1
Be sure to look at the photos from her studio/work room..



P.S. 2
Also, don't oversee her free patterns on her blog..

you can make this cute 'gift card box'..

..and these 'flower pin wheels'..

P.S. 3
...and the links to designs done by others using Heather's products.


P.S. 4
Heather's husband (Isaac) is a photographer.
Click 'here' to see his work..



P.S. 5
There is also excellent inspiration for styling projects..



G'nite!