benjamin moore 2012 | colorlife app

My first national magazine job was to shoot my own house for Canadian Home & Country magazine (which was so exciting!) & interestingly that story is reappearing in the Benjamin Moore Colorlife App available on iTunes!  Here are a some sneak peeks –  to read my story and really enjoy the whole e-mag you’ll have to get the app. . . I will upload some real photos when we get back from Toronto.

And two other photos of mine appeared as well.  This one is from the Style at Home story – see more photos here:  Kennebunk

amanda nisbet's new book | dazzling design

Being included in our first coffee table book is so flattering and amazing, especially when it is the book of the very talented (& fellow Canuck) Amanda Nisbet!  Dazzling Design is her first book and it has tons of high end and beautiful spaces that are both aspirational and inspirational!  We originally shot this story for Style at Home in the Hamptons with Margot Austin (now Senior Design Editor for Canadian House & Home).  It was a fun story to shoot and lovely to meet Amanda and her assistant.  And who could complain about being in the Hamptons for a few days!

Hope you enjoy a sneak peak at the book!  Thank you to my sweet assistant Alicia for taking the photos.  And if you’d like to see the original story check this out :  style at home cover + hamptons behind the scenes

for the love of... turquoise

We are thrilled for Kara Cox Interiorsbeing featured on House of Turquoisetoday!  Kara is a talented young designer who commissioned us to photograph some of her work a few months ago.  We thoroughly loved working with Kara and are happy to see her pretty new website and all the work pouring in since she launched it.

Thank you Erin from House of Turquoise for featuring Kara!  As you might know, turquoise is my favorite color too and sometimes my clients refer to it as “Stacey’s colour”.  You can be sure to always find some lovely turquoise inspiration on House of Turquoise.

Also, please visit Kara’s site to see more photos of her work.

bernhardt 2012 | mercer

We are so excited about the debut of the Mercer Collection catalogue we shot for Bernhardt Furniture at the Fall 2012 High Point Furniture Market!  We loved worked with the very lovely and talented Heather Eidenmiller (a fellow Withit member) and Ron Fiore of Bernhardt – they allowed us the freedom to be creative and guided us with their expertise.  A huge congratulations to Bernhardton winning Best of Show for their gorgeous new showroom created by Ron Fiore.

Susan Johnson Smith of Studio Xing did the beautiful styling and I am always thrilled to collaborate with her on any project.  Look for Simon Henry, my vizsla’s appearance in this catalogue.  Behind the scenes photos to come soon!

lanalou style | charming cabin getaway

We are excited to have some photos of the cabin story I shot in Nova Scotia featured on the Lanalou Style blog today. . . . this was a very special story to me since it was one of the first stories I pitched and my whole family was involved in making this happen.  And then to top it off, I won a National Magazine award for this story.

So go on over and take a look at Lana’s post today!  Her blog is very pretty and you’ll find lots of things to inspire you there.

And come on back here to see some more photos from that shoot on Monday. . . have a great weekend!

~Stacey & Maria

garden & gun | eliza kraft olander, wine collector

“Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.”  ~ Andre Simon

 Eliza Kraft Olander, a wine collector and philanthropist, graciously allowed me to see a little part of her life as I photographed her for a Garden & Gun story recently.  It was so wonderful to spend time with her and photograph some of her impressive collection of wine.  She has over 24,000 bottles!  And many of the special ones are signed speaking of the close relationships Eliza has with the vineyards and wine makers.

To be honest, sometimes I have felt intimidated by the wine world but Eliza gave me some very good advice – “Drink what whatever wine you like!”  That is kind of freeing don’t you think?

A big thank you to Eliza for her warm welcome, for regaling me with wine stories, and showing me around her beautiful property.

Salute!  Cheers!  Santé!

my little sister's graduation

I am so excited my former little sister Brittany – she graduated from the Bennett Middle College last week!  She also received a full scholarship to study at North Carolina A&T University where she plans to study criminology and work towards being a police detective.  Can you tell I am proud?

I absolutely loved the ceremony at the Bennett College (read about their proud history).  The junior marshalls dressed in white, down to the gloves and pearls, ushered us into the beautiful Ann Merner Pfeiffer Chapel for the ceremony.  Mayor Terry Bellamy of Asheville gave the young women an inspiring speech about working hard for their dreams and the choir sang some wonderful gospel selections.  The exuberance of the families was so heart warming as they cheered for their daughters, sisters, and granddaughters.

I hope you enjoy the photos and celebrate Brittany’s big day with us!

Brittany became my little sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters over 10 years ago and it is so rewarding to see her do so well and have plans for the future.  Please consider becoming a mentor because it does make a difference!

caracole 2012 | modern farmhouse

We are so excited to have shot the Caracole‘s new Modern Farmhouse collection for their magazine debuted at the 2012 High Point Furniture Market!   Our fun &  talented team {Maura Riley, Schnadig; Susan Johnson Smith, Studio Xing} and crew worked long hours to create this beautiful catalogue.  We shot on location at the idyllic country retreat community of Serenbe located a little south of Atlanta.  What an amazing place to shoot – rolling hills of farmland, a little village of town homes, houses & cute shops.  The Inn at Serenbe is very nice  so it would be worth a little hop down for the weekend to relax and getaway from all the busyness of modern life!

FYI:  HGTV was building their Green Home while we were there!  (enter to win it here!)

I always enjoy behind the scenes photos – I hope you do too!  We work hard but we have some fun too.  Mmmmm the pie from the Blue Eyed Daisy was delicious – we couldn’t help but eat that prop!  Many thanks to my first assistant Maria Arce & Sophia Harcourt for your tireless and pleasant work ethic!  And for your sense of humor – see if you can spot Pokey. . .

garden & gun | far-out farmhouse

I am always thrilled to shoot for Garden & Gun magazine and when Art Director, Maggie Kennedy asked if I could shoot a lovely Carolina farmhouse I started packing my gear.  Driving down the bucolic country roads, past farms and lakes, past cattle and horses, I couldn’t wait to arrive at my destination.  The very talented Ken Pursley of Pursley Architecture designed this house that I secretly wish was mine.

Ken and his colleagues welcomed me and gave me the grand tour of the property.  What a wonderful getaway from the busyness of live – a row adirondack chairs on the porch for sitting and reading, walls of windows to gaze at beautiful scenery, a tree swing and a lake, chickens, horses and mammoth donkeys.  And all you can hear are the cicadas. . .

I think you’ll enjoy seeing a few more photos of amazing job Ken has done on this house!

style at home | debbie travis’ london

We were so excited to have the opportunity to travel to London with Style at Home editor Erin McLaughlin to shoot Debbie Travisfor the magazine!  I remember Debbie from her original TV show The Painted House so it was pretty fun to show up at her London townhouse and her greet us with her sparkly smile.  Of course since The Painted House, Debbie has gone on to do many amazing things from more television shows, producing, creating her own licensed products for various companies and winning lots of awards.  She is now restoring a property in Tuscany and even holds a girl’s getaway.

We spent two wonderful days with Debbie, one photographing her delightful townhouse and one exploring the inspiring design stores about London.  Debbie was kind enough to shuttle us around the windy London streets in her car.  She knows the neighbourhoods like a pro – I was glad I wasn’t driving!

I was wowed by the Designer’s Guild – so many beautiful patterns and colours, gorgeous furniture and accessories everywhere you look!  What a treat to be there with Debbie and Erin both. . .  After a lovely lunch and a trip to Portobello Road it was a wrap.  Just one more thing to do – get a photo with Debbie for my mum!

And off Erin and I went to get some Pimm’s (more about that tomorrow).  Read more about Debbie’s London here.

toronto star | at home with anna olson

Last week I received a very fun phone call from Scotland!  I was surprised to hear Justin Ryan (of the dynamic duo Colin & Justin) on the line looking for some photos of Anna Olson I shot for Canadian Home & Country magazine a couple of years ago.  With some rushing around we were able to get the photos to the Toronto Star on time for their deadline & the article appeared on Friday.  You can see it here.

Anna was so wonderful to work with and we really enjoyed spending a little time with her at her house in Welland, Ontario.  There were so many pretty photos from that day, I thought it might be nice to share some of them!