I’m so excited to share with you the recent shoot I did for Holly Stalder, an acclaimed clothing designer based in Portland, Oregon, whose work has been featured all over the web and in magazines such as Elle, Lucky and W!

Holly’s work is pure romance. She mixes delicate Edwardian lace, faded velvet ribbons, beaded appliques from the 1920s, rhinestone buttons, tulle, and other salvaged antique fabrics and trims, to create one of a kind masterpieces full of feminine touches.

I’d been a fan of Holly’s work for years, so as soon as we discussed the shoot, I was immediately inspired and overwhelmed with ideas! For this shoot we focused on three very distinct looks instead of a collection. As I share the shots with you in the upcoming weeks, you’ll see that although we kept the style of the shoot consistent, each design still came through with a magic of their own. If you are like me, you’re now fantasizing just the right occasion to indulge in your femininity and wear a Holly Stalder dress! So please go on and order one of Holly’s unique styles on Etsy. You deserve it and I promise you will be pleased.

The shoot took place at a gorgeous Victorian in San Francisco, owned by my friend Rosy Fridman, who is a well known and talented prop stylist in the SF Bay area. Rosy’s place and work have been featured in numerous high profile publications, and she only rents her space for a few special photo shoots. I feel very lucky that we were able to get in there. Thanks, Rosy! Between her attentiveness, her husband’s help, European chocolates and champagne, I cannot think of a better hostess! You can see more of Rosy’s styling work at thirdfloorsf.

Next, I must mention my lovely talented team:

Alexis Hutt was my beautiful muse! Alexis is represented by Look Model Agency and she is fantastic to work with. Alexis and I booked the shoot months before it actually happened, and throughout the entire time we stayed connected discussing ideas and concepts. I feel fortunate to work with models that are not only gorgeous, but that also have a fantastic personality. Alexis is certainly one of them.

Megan Cavalli was once again my hair/make up artist of choice. You can see why, right? Megan is going places for sure! I need to make sure she gets a website to feature her amazing work next. She shows up, she works diligently, and in addition to bringing in amazing styling ideas in her areas of expertise, she also always jumps in to do whatever is needed during the shoot. If you live in San Francisco, you can have your hair done by Megan at the Oxenrose Salon in Hayes Valley.

Beth Barton was my lovely 1st assistant. Beth oh Beth! As our friend Heather said, as soon as we met, Beth and I hit it off like beans and cornbread! Beth is a great lighter and problem solver, and she understood right away what I was looking for and how I wanted to set up the shoot. She is fun, professional and she has many years of experience as an assistant and sharp shooter. She also got along great with my 2nd assistant and mentored him through the course of the shoot. This incredible guy, you know, Richard Cave, the Mister, as you may have noticed, has been putting in tons of time to help out with this dream of mine. He helped with lights, he steamed clothes (I did not have a wardrobe stylist in the last minute, a story for another post!), took care of catering, moved furniture, carried equipment, etc. Having done that assistant job myself, I sure know how to appreciate it. You can only imagine how in love I am with this guy…

Anyhow, I’d love to keep going, but I know you’re all busy and must go on with your day… So next time I’ll share a bit more about my process and talk about how I produced the shoot in addition to actually shooting it.

But if you have one more minute to spare, tell me:

What do you think of this whole aesthetic of shooting white on white, really soft and ethereal? I personally totally fell in love with this look, but would love to hear what you have to say.

xo

Hello, friends!

After months and months of plotting and designing, I am pleased to welcome you to my new website! This space truly embodies the essence of what I want my photography business to be, look and feel like. It is what I am calling: a place to grow. If you are a reader of my other blog, you know I chose the words “nurture and grow” to shape my year of 2010, and in this new home, I’m giving my photography the right space to develop, to be featured, nourished and promoted. Here I plan to grow and share my process as a photographer and a creative business woman.

For those of you who have been following my creative journey at Gypsy Girls Guide, you will now be able to follow it here. In the meantime, you’ll notice that Gypsy Girls Guide will still be up and running, while shaping itself a bit more like an inspiration board, featuring lovely people, sites and products, that make the world a better place and that reflect the ‘gypsy girl lifestyle’. Despite my focus on photography, I’ve been drafting great plans for our ‘gypsy’ community, so if it’s not too much to ask… I’d love for you to stay tuned over there as well.

Finally, I’d like to give a shout to the two web experts that made it all happen. My designer extraordinaire is Jo Klima from The Darling Tree. When I decided to invest in a new website, I consulted with several designers, but upon exchanging the first couple of emails with Jo, I immediately knew that she was right for the job. She is incredibly professional, talented and fast. We did everything over email (she is in Australia!) and she never failed to respond and deliver promptly. She is also so very patient, which is a huge plus given my ‘control freak self’, who wants everything exactly my way! I can’t recommend her enough. And last but not least, I must send some love to the Mister. My husband did a great job programming the entire site and putting up with all my moods, demands, etc. (web and not web related!) throughout the process. He is a top notch web guru and he will be taking on select clients for “indie” web projects.

Please hang out and spend some time making yourself feel at home. The site is already full of great links and information, so go on and explore! And if you have an extra moment, sign up for my newsletter. I will not share your information with anyone whatsoever and I will only send occasional emails featuring news, special promotions, events and photography tips. You will not want to miss it!

Also, I plan to blog regularly on this site, so come back tomorrow, because I’ll be sharing some more news and introducing new work! Exciting! You can take a peek {here}, if you must. ;)

Thank you again for being here. And Yes! Please do let me know what you think of my new digs!

xo