Tag: lyn gardener

Steal food and table styling tips from the pros to use at home

Post author By Jen Bishop
Post date August 12, 2015
1 Comment on Steal food and table styling tips from the pros to use at home

Maxwell & Williams headed to the newest property from stylist Lynda Gardener in country Victoria, to shoot their latest tableware for their latest Your Style, Your Way campaign. They gave us a peek behind the scenes and shared some great table and food styling tips.

Maxwell & Williams Diamonds-87

Stylist Stephanie Stamatis (aka Stephanie Somebody) , food stylist Cassandra Morris and photographer Lauren Bamford, worked their magic at The Estate, Trentham.

Maxwell & Williams Colour Basics set up

We asked food stylist Cassandra Morris for her top tips…

What are your favourite ways to use food as style accessories? Being a baker, cakes are my way of using food as a style accessory; a beautifully decorated cake, arranged with foliage and flowers sitting on a ceramic cake stand in the midst of dessert table laden with sweets. You can’t help being drawn to that table as soon as you walk into a party or event and be enticed by it all.

How can food be plated differently for different occasions? If I was hosting a casual party then I would be more likely to do a grazing table that guests can eat from at their leisure throughout the evening. Think a yummy selection of different cheeses, cured meats, fresh fruit, Sicilian olives, quince paste and honeycomb. Then add some fresh sourdough and crackers and that’s my go to. If I was hosting a dinner party, my style is more share plates. I think there is more conversation based around these types of meals; you ask more questions. I’d still use nice crockery and serving bowls placed in the middle of the table.

Maxwell & Williams Diamonds-71

What tips do you have for people who want to create beautiful looking cakes and desserts? I’m all about keeping it simple and adding foliage or flowers to beautify a natural looking cake. My favourite cake combination is spiced pear and cardamom with an espresso butter frosting. With desserts, I like to use seasonal produce keep it simple but packed full of flavours, think a yummy plum crumble with loads of custard.

What do you look for in dinnerware and glassware to bring your recipes to life? I like simple classic white pieces that don’t date and allow the food to be the centrepiece. If I was hosting a high tea, more fine china and tea cups.

Stylist Stephanie Stamantis shared how she gets her inspiration to bring products to life in a photoshoot:

“The inspiration firstly comes from the product and identifying what lifestyle we are trying to convey, and then I will do some research on how to best hero our product. I love to be able to make the product mesh seamlessly into the final shots, but also look for ways to introduce texture and colour palette to the overall styling.

“All of the additional props for a photoshoot are selected to support the hero product and I am always careful that they don’t outweigh what we are trying to sell. I like to add props that sit naturally with the hero and make it look as if it is in use, removing anything that is unnecessary or does not make sense.”

Browse products and find your local Maxwell & Williams stockist.

Tags cassandra morris, food stylist, lauren bamford, lyn gardener, lynda gardener, maxwell & williams, Stephanie Somebody, stephanie stamatis, stylist, stylling, the estate, trentham, victoria

Bedrooms Designers Interviews RENO ADDICT Styling

Empire Vintage closes but Lynda Gardener’s empire’s blossoming

Post author By Olivia Shead
Post date February 16, 2015
2 Comments on Empire Vintage closes but Lynda Gardener’s empire’s blossoming

Open for the past 22 years, Melbourne’s Empire Vintage was at the height of popularity when interior stylist Lynda Gardener decided to close it down! It sounds crazy, but Lyn had a plan. Ready for a big change, she called in friend and business partner Amanda Henderson-Marks (together they own interior design business Gardener and Marks) and decided to open up a new store in the same Albert Park location.

“Empire Vintage was always based on what I was working on or what my home theme was. And while that sometimes took an industrial, feminine or masculine feel, it was always entirely vintage,” Lyn says. “But that’s no longer where my mind is at. Amanda and I do a lot of interiors together and it’s just not 100% vintage, so I wanted to open a shop that represented that.”

Opened under the same name as their decorating and styling business, Gardener and Marks the store stocks 80% new pieces and 20% vintage, the exact ratio they use when designing clients’ homes. “The shop’s a mixture of mine and Amanda’s favourite things. Everything we put in, we’d put into our homes tomorrow. We’ve been open a week and its been absolutely fantastic. I thought I’d have upset some of my best customers who only buy vintage, but they’ve loved it.”

Inside the new look Gardener and Marks store in Albert Park — Inside the new look Gardener and Marks store. Image by Lyn Gardener

While Lyn may be busy with the opening of her new store, she is also in the final stages of renovating and decorating her third boutique accommodation, The Estate at Trentham (near Daylesford, VIC). “The Estate is going to be a very good representation of what’s going on in the store: a mix of old and new, with beautiful crisp white walls and original dark timber floors. There will be a touch of Scandinavia as well, with light, raw woods and all sorts of gorgeous bits and pieces!”

Empire Vintage has reopened as Gardener and Marks. Image by Lyn Gardener — Empire Vintage is now Gardener and Marks. Image by Lyn Gardener

Situated in the small Victorian country town, the property will have three bedrooms; the third being a converted potato picker’s hut! “It is the most beautiful property,” Lyn says. “There’s a veggie garden, apple trees, pear trees, lemon trees, berries, every herb you can think of and then this amazing barn/shed, which we are going to turn into the most boutique, simple event space and photographic studio.”

WHITE ROOM interiors addict 2 — The White Room. Image by Lisa Cohen

Scheduled to open next month, in the meantime you can stay at (if you’re lucky, as they book up well in advance) Lyn’s other two properties: the much-loved White House in Daylesford and the more recently opened White Room in Melbourne’s Fitzroy. “I want every house you stay in to be a totally different experience. I did the White House seven years ago and it has these black walls and white floors; semi-industrial with a little bit of country furniture. The White Room is very white with black and all shades of greys, sort of monotone. I also did it when I had Empire, so like the White House, it has a predominantly vintage feel.”

WHITE ROOM interiors addict — The White Room. Image by Lisa Cohen.

Lyn is clearly very busy at the moment, but that is exactly how she likes it. “Every week, I don’t really know what’s happening, but in a good way! There’s always something new coming, it’s always different and that’s what’s wonderful!”