Your luck is in! Mr Jason Grant happens to be one of our favourite stylists and Kartell one of our fave furniture and homewares stores. And of course we LOVE a discount! On Wednesday night (6-10pm, 23 November 2011) you can meet MJG at Kartell’s flagship Westfield Bondi Junction store, enjoy 20% off everything and even ask him for his top tips. What’s not to like, I ask you?! More details here.
I really am beginning to wonder if stylist Sibella Court ever sleeps? She’s been busy sourcing inspiration overseas, she’s about to embark on publicity for her new book NOMAD, she’s planning her next styling workshop later this month and now she’s curating exhibitions!
If you loved her cult book Etcetera (I don’t know anyone who’s into interiors who doesn’t have a copy), you’re going to love this. “I am creating an installation so you can explore within life-size pages of Etcetera,” she says. “At Barometer Gallery, you can touch, see, marvel and enjoy, as if you are within the photographs, discovering them in a space that you exist in, rather than the book that you hold within your hands.”
The exhibition, sponsored by Absolut, is made up of her favourite images from the book, taken by her brother, photographer Chris Court. She also asked fans to tell her which photographs they found most inspiring.
“You will be able to feel and experience all the special textured papers that make up Etcetera. Choose and purchase your favourite photographs based on both content, scale and paper textures. This is part installation, part photography, and part paper exhibition.”
Exhibition dates:
Opening Night: Tuesday 15 November, 5-7pm
Open: Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 November, 12-6pm
Exhibition Event: Q&A with Sibella and Chris Court, Saturday 19 November, 2-4pm.
For further information, email Hannah@thesocietyinc.com
Barometer Gallery | 13 Gurner Street | Paddington | NSW 2021 | Tel: (02) 9358 4968.
How adorable is this super stylish caravan?
The gorgeous Carrie is an Australian 1950s Castle caravan bought on eBay by stylist Jane Frosh and collected from beachside Wollongong. She now lives in Jane’s garden in Wentworth Falls NSW, providing both a handy guestroom and a photoshoot prop.
“We totally gutted and refitted her,” says Jane. “The exterior is painted Black Fox by Taubmans and the cupboards inside are Dulux French Pink. The couches convert to a fabulous double futon, so it is awesome for guests!” Jane’s next plan is my favourite bit: to install a claw foot bath under the tree. Imagine taking a bath under the stars!
The dream doesn’t stop there though: “How awesome would it be for an entire beachside caravan park to be styled with gorgeous retro vans? Outdoor showers and baths, fire pits, communal veggie gardens, a hand built pizza oven, chooks, all set on rolling green pastures by the beach. That is a project I would love to do!”
Now we just need to persuade Jane to do it. I’d be there in a flash!
Jane is a stylist for show.pony and has a cool blog here, where you can read more about the Carrie refurb.
A sneak peek inside Sibella Court’s upcoming book!
I’m so excited about the release of Nomad next month! Etcetera is one of my favourite interiors books of all time and I’m expecting great things from the super stylist’s latest tome! These pages should hopefully whet your appetite!
Pre-order your copy of Nomad, signed by Sibella herself, here.
Read my interview with Sibella, which she talks about the book, here.
Whether you know it or not I can pretty much guarantee if you have even a passing interest in interiors you will have admired Kirsten Bookallil’s work at some point or other.
It’s been published in editorials everywhere from Vogue Living, Belle and Real Living to Harper’s Bazaar and Gourmet Traveller. Her clients include huge brands such as Country Road, Sheridan and David Jones.
Here she talks about the less glamorous realities of working in styling, her own home, where she finds inspiration and why she loves her job.
Mother of two Kirsten, who first studied graphic design at Enmore TAFE, finds design touches every part of her life. “My environment is important. This flows from interiors to architecture, art and then food. I realised I could use my design sensibilities on different projects.”
She enjoys doing editorial work for magazines (“I like work being photographed as it captures life with light, the vignette of a moment.”) and says it’s just as interesting working in print as it is styling someone’s home which they’ll actually live in.
Behind the scenes though, it’s organised chaos and many people have an unrealistically glamorous view of the industry. “It’s not nine-to-five. You work late into the night and a lot of the creative process happens over paperwork.” She adds: “The ability to juggle different projects, having organisational skills and getting along with people help a lot. My days are never the same and I love that!
“Freelance is a hard and often confronting way of working. I personally love it. I have a wonderful agent who organises my clients and work for me. I’m lucky I’ve been in the industry a long time so I have a good list of clients.”
Meeting and working with great people is one of the best parts of the job for Kirsten, who was born in Chicago, raised in Johannesburg and now lives in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. “The best thing about my job is the variety of work and the scale of detail from small projects to events.”
As for inspiration, it’s everywhere. “Inspiration can be a typeface on packaging, the colour of a paint, it’s all around. I feel most inspired when I’m travelling, but it can also be in my local supermarket or at the beach.”
Kirsten’s style has been described as understated and luxurious. Her own home (she is pictured here in her home office/dining room) is relaxed and ever evolving. “My home is my haven,” she says. “I’m very relaxed about my space. There are always changes as either things are being taken to be used as props on shoots or I get inspired by a collection of items and change areas of the house.
“We all need a spring clean to keep us fresh and excited about life. Even me.”
Photography: Michael Vang and Nicholas Watt
Jason Grant left his prestigious role as style director for Real Living magazine last year and hasn’t stopped working since. It’s a good job he loves his work so much it feels like play.
One of the most positive and passionate people I’ve interviewed, while he may insist he’s been given a lot of ‘lucky breaks’ there’s no doubt people warm to his infectious enthusiasm and his natural talent for what he does speaks for itself.
He just spent eight weeks styling the new Freedom catalogue and the results are divine. No doubt Jason’s work has something to do with the fact I want to buy almost everything in it! “Working on Freedom’s summer catalogue was a great experience,” he said. “It was one of the biggest jobs I have worked on and the end result is very pleasing.”
There’s plenty of other commercial work too. He styled a home organisation catalogue for Officeworks and will launch his own range for the stationary store next month. He released his first range of paint colours (“a very exciting collaboration”) with Murobond earlier this year. “I love working with them as they believe in me and understand me creatively. The ability to transform a room or a furniture piece with paint cannot be underestimated. I love to paint (everything)!” A second range of colours will be released later this year.
While Jason still does plenty of work on Real Living, going freelance has opened the doors to more variety. “It’s a magazine I’m very proud to work on but being a freelance stylist means I can work across multiple titles and have even more variety of work.”
He has a passion for his work which you just couldn’t fake. “I do work very hard and don’t really switch off. Work is play. I guess it comes down to the fact that I don’t really suffer from a case of the daily grind.
“Yes, I do love my life. I work every day with amazing people creating beautiful images for publications. I guess I’m living my dream.”
The generosity and faith of other creative people who spotted his talent gave Jason his start in the interior styling industry. “I guess I’m very lucky making contacts with people in the industry early on that believed in me. Glen Proebstel and Karen McCartney (of Inside Out) are two people that gave me a chance. Starting out working in a small capacity for Inside Out magazine, my career grew, eventually taking a big leap moving to Sydney to be the style director at Real Living.
“I guess it’s a combination of enthusiasm, hard work and lucky breaks. I believe you can’t buy style. You either have it or you don’t. In life I believe you should live what you love and love what you live. I like to make a list and make it happen, to dream big.”
Jason is quick to heap praise on other interior stylists and the list of people who inspire him is long! “I believe people fall into leaders or followers, innovators or imitators,” he says. “I’m very lucky that I get to work with so many amazing, talented people. The people who inspire me are confident and have their own point of view. They are kind, creative and happy to share. Most of all they are passionate about what they do.”
He adds: “I’m inspired by likeminded, creative, hard working people such as stylists Sibella Court, Lara Hutton, Megan Morton, Kirsten Bookallil and Glen Proebstel, photographers Paul Barbera, James Geer, Prue Ruscoe and Felix Forest and fashion designers Lisa Gorman, Fleur Wood and jac + jack.
“Internationally I love Else Crawford and Abigail Ahern, Jonathan Adler, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Todd Selby and Martha Stewart.”
Jason also respects people who are experts in their chosen field like green crusader Liane Rossler (formerly of Dinosaur Designs), “super cool florist” Simone Gooch, modern day man Greg Hatton and “walking 20th Century furniture encyclopedia” Dean Angelucci.
So how does Australian interior design compare to the rest of the world? “Australian style is unique and exciting and defined by the beautiful light we have here. We have world class designers in all categories, be it fashion, art, architecture or interior design. I think Australian style is relaxed and unpretentious and in tune with nature.”
Last but not least, most successful interior stylists seem to be women or gay men. Can straight men style? “Hmmm… I’m struggling!” he jokes. “But I can say that (Australian artist) David Bromley has one of the most beautiful homes in this country and his personal style is very impressive.”
In part 2 tomorrow, more stunning photos of his work and Jason’s must-read guide to the best shops and websites. Read his blog here. See my top picks from Freedom’s new range here.
Portrait by Murray Harris
Interview with interior stylist Glen Proebstel, part 2
In part 2 of my interview with the delightful Glen Proebstel, he shares how he and photographer Sharyn Cairns “just get each other”, talks about his prop hire business and who he admires, as well giving tips on breaking into the competitive styling industry.
Compare the photos above with those in part 1 of the interview and you’ll see how Proebstel isn’t just a ‘mean and moody’ one trick pony.
How important, as a stylist, are the photographers you work with? I know you work with Sharyn Cairns a lot.
Just as a stylist has a certain aesthetic, a photographer also has a particular feel or style to their work. When commissioning talent to do a shoot it is important that you pull together a team that bring about the desired look and feel that you envisage. If you were to give three photographers the same set and camera, they would all capture their subject matter differently. The tools may be the same, but it’s the technical skills, lighting and composition that make or break a shot. Whether you are after a soft emotive feel or images that are punchy and artificially lit, you select a photographer based on their body of work.
When you work with a photographer that has the same visual perception and can see the world through a lens the same way you do, it makes styling all the more exciting. This is why Sharyn and I tend to work together a lot. We have a strong working relationship where we know what each other is thinking and how to get the best shot. I feel very blessed to be able to say that I have worked with her in creating amazing imagery. We just get each other.
Tell me about your prop hire business, prop.d
Prop.d focuses on providing surfaces and objects for photography and styling, which began trading almost a year ago. It came about as I began collecting all sorts of props, crockery and kitchenware for styling in cook books. After working in Sydney where there are a number of props houses specialising in food styling, I found nowhere in Melbourne that offered the same. I spent a number of years collecting and collating objects and after some time I felt we had enough to open up shop. Everything is available to view online and of late we have managed to grow our business further by supplying props for weddings and events.
Do you ever style people’s homes for them?
I am often asked to style people’s homes, however I am so booked up with editorial and commercial work that I don’t have the time that it takes to work with a client to develop their style or select pieces for their interior. I usually point them towards an interior designer or offer them small suggestions where I can.
Which other interior stylists do you admire?
I have a huge admiration for Christine Rudolph. To me, she is the best there is. Sibella Court also has an amazing eye and way of putting things together that just works.
The industry seems to be very much about word of mouth. Do you agree?
It is a very small industry indeed and you can imagine how many people want to start a career in photography or styling. Everyone starts out assisting. It’s the best way to get your foot in the door. I constantly have people working with me on shoots through work experience which then leads into assisting work if there is potential or the person has exceptional organisational skills or a passion for what they do. Once you start to get a reputation, it spreads like wildfire on the styling network.