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Creative Direction

Nov. 10th

I am now offering styling/creative direction service to clients and photographers. YAY!

Hey DAD! Finally, my years of art school pay off!!!

Creative direction for events is kind of a grey area, and I think many people aren’t certain what this means exactly. So, in an effort to shed some light on the whole process, I thought I would share a few design boards from a recent Indian wedding we did. Without revealing everything we do, I feel these simplified versions give a nice glimpse into what a creative and inspiring path each event can lead the mind on. In this case, that meant doing the unexpected thing. Avoiding bold red and bright oranges. Embracing color in a way that celebrated the culture without doing the customary bright, super bold tones.

It’s kind of a weird thing to explain, and a strange thing to tout yourself as creative and stylish. The latter I am most certainly not… I guess everything is debatable. Still, I know what’s good… I’m a fine editor of things, materials, designs, strategies. Some people love to throw more stuff on top of more stuff hoping to eventually find the beauty in it all. But my approach is simpler. Peel back the layers, get to the core, repeat what is beautiful to you as a visual mantra, stay on course, too many distractions and ingredients dilute the intentions and are unnecessary.

The truth is, you can only plan and design so much – the rest you have to let fall into place and if you are really, really good at collecting, gathering, assembling materials, and are able to stay loosely tied to a thought or vision then it will work. The puzzle will almost effortlessly put itself together. And your wedding day will be memorable, timeless, beautiful. Something that really resonates as a celebration of two people finding each other.

I have various processes for finding these mantras for my clients. Playfulness and exploration are my best friends in this process….

Here, I centered everything around various subtle patterns, beautiful textiles, mingled in traditional spices and teas, hinted at ancient Indian love stories; all crafted around these lovely and somewhat unexpected saffron/amber tones, contrasting with the deepest indigo.
Not every idea is visual. Some if it comes from hours spent researching traditions, Indian literature, various culinary traditions, and so forth.

All images in these boards are borrowed from various sources…which I no longer have credits for. Sorry! If you see something here of yours and would like a credit please send me a message and I will gladly add it. The gorgeous indigo calligraphy and art in the final board is by the abundantly talented Chelsea Petja. This is a piece of the actual artwork she created for this wedding. AMAZING artist.
(Guess I’ll have to get better at this part!)

Sharing my process and how these things grow from a speck of a thought into an entire day or series of days or a wedding, is something I’m looking forward to doing more of here.

k

Lately

Nov. 7th

right now I’m most excited about things I can’t share yet…
rules
rules
more rules

Publications can get kind of strict and crabby about this stuff…you know, sharing pics before they print them. So therein lies my boring dilemma.
But I figure we have A LOT of catching up to do since I basically took a year off while I waited for this puppy (new blog) to be launched.

I’m distracted by so many things. projects i need to begin. First and foremost… a closet clean up – good lord! mine is like some derelict and juvenile delinquent, breaking all the rules, churning like a tornado, and basically revolting against all authority. And a studio clean up – same juvie problem here… and a beach day (we need one), lastly, kale chips (SO DISTRACTING! I can’t stop thinking about them, they beckon me from across the room)…I’m pretty sure they are not really good for me, but I refuse to care.

I feel like doing a summer bouquet roundup – along with a few other faves from our adventures; like the picture of alice jumping in puddles after a crazy rare summer downpour.

Then I’ll have some kale chips and you should too.
xo
kate

summertime gypsy

Nov. 5th

Inevitably, I sometimes find myself at odds with my own heart’s desires. See the world (or a teeny tiny corner of it), visit distant unseen coves, meadows, alleyways, dip my toes in the sea, take notes on all nature’s various endless shapes, colors, species – sample wines from the cool fog covered hills of someplace, fall asleep listening to sounds of crickets, or one, lonely, tireless, confused, songbird while I lay in a nest of unfamiliar blankets above a red clay earth…

Or… stay home, get oodles of huggle-snuggles from my favorite people, sip coffee from our reliable neighborhood corner spot, curl up in a pile of pillows, go on an afternoon stroll to collect leaves and pods with Alice, trip on over to the park to see old friends, fall asleep listening to fans churn in the deep summer heat and Max’s train- rumble and sound off in the distance. Sometimes a helicopter circles, sometimes not.

We had the best of both worlds this season. (with a healthy dose of homesick thrown in for good measure) Not to be overly nostalgic, because I am always anxious to look forward and forge a new path…but it always feels good to share some moments from our travels.

k