Jane Frosh has worked as an event producer for more the a decade but it’s the styling aspect of events that really gets her excited and it’s led her into interior styling work too.
When you think event styling you might think dodgy chair covers and centrepieces, things that make Jane shudder. “I style an event as you would your lounge room, or the cover of an interiors magazine. Individual, quirky, on trend. It seemed a natural progression to move from event styling into the interior styling industry. At present, I manage to do both, and consequently launched the company show.pony.”
Jane runs show.pony with her business partner, a designer. “I like to call our company a collaboration, as we often pull in a team of experts in their niche industry, whether it be amazing floral designers or high end technical experts. We set ourselves apart from the crowd by doing things a little bit left of centre. show.pony will not pitch a time worn theme (I refuse to even use the word ‘theme’), rather we will create bespoke, quirky events to suit both our client and their end purpose. No ‘James Bond’ here!” (Oh good, because that sounds like the kind of ‘organised fun’ that Interiors Addict HATES!).
The three main elements of her work she loves are:
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The pre-production stage. “The buzz of creating a concept and then building storyboards to pitch to a client. Seeing the look of joy on their faces as they fall in love with what we are proposing. It is such a rush!”
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Prop sourcing. “I always have my eye out looking for interesting props and tools. I have many favourite haunts that I visit weekly just in case!”
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Seeing the concept come together on the day of the show. “Having the time to walk around, tweaking, positioning, ‘dressing‘ the event. Seeing your storyboard come to life. What could be better than that?”
Jane says there’s no point spending hundreds or thousands on an event which looks the same as three events held last week. “Clients need to have the ability to inject their own personality into their event but need help to do it stylishly and cleverly. Our aim is for the guests to leave saying ‘That was amazing. I have never seen anything like that before’. And that end result often does not come down to budget. It comes down to an events team with an innovative, creative nature. We like to offer ‘new eyes to a tired industry’.”
There’s no denying living in the Blue Mountains with three children has influenced Jane’s own home style. “We have French doors off every room in our house, and at any stage during the day, there is at least one of those doors open and at least one child, dog or chook wandering through the house! My style is not pristine, not minimalist and not designer. It can’t be! My style at home revolves around our lifestyle. It’s a little bit vintage industrial, quite whimsical and filled with objects that reflect the personality of my family. I think that is important.” And Jane’s home is soon to feature in the February issue of Country Style, in case you needed any further proof of how stylish this lady is.
She adds: “I am constantly moving things around at home, creating vignettes, painting walls or furniture. It’s fun and it keeps the space alive. I tend to follow my one rule ‘make it pop with colour and then ground it with nature’. It’s a good one to remember. It helps control your space. For example, a gorgeous, sunny yellow metal chair works perfectly when pared back with a rustic wooden table. The contrast grounds both pieces.”
Jane loves French farmhouse, monochrome and pops of yellow and isn’t one to follow trends, although, as a stylist, she thinks it’s important to research them all and be across what’s hot.
Her favourite fellow stylists? The “amazing” Megan Morton, Mr Jason Grant (for his “fabulous” use of colour) and Lynda Gardener (“she has an amazing sense of style; incredibly feminine with a masculine edge. I love that.”) She also admires Glen Proebstel. “He is the ‘king of beds’ and the master of deep, moody tones.” And then there’s American Kelly Wearstler, whose books Jane finds a great reference in regards colour, pattern and using metallics.”
You can like show.pony on Facebook here.