Hello my dear friends on the day of love! Here is a very sweet video that I thought you’d enjoy featuring the work of Nicole Licht, a talented in-house designer/artist over at Etsy in Brooklyn. This makes me happy to watch, I hope it does the same for you.
By the way, say aloud Olive Juice while looking into a mirror. That’s how I feel about each one of you.
xo,
Holly
Hello everyone, how are you? I took Monday off from blogging to catch up on administrative tasks (oh so fun! not!) but the good news is that I’m on top of things in the office and feel loads better and more inspired to write again! I find writer’s block strikes when I have mountains of emails to reply to, tax stuff to sort out, expense reports to complete and calls to make – then it’s impossible to write with a mind heavy with tasks. I feel free again with my To Do lists in good form so let’s kick off the week by enjoying some beautiful photography by Corbin Gurkin, a super amazing wedding photographer based in Charleston, South Carolina.
I thought since weddings are not the focus of this blog that I’d highlight more of her lifestyle shots – particularly those that focus on texture, detail and color because in decorating, all three are key elements in making a space feel cozy and special.
What I love about Corbin’s work, in addition to her fantastic attention to detail, is how she works with light and her notice and capture of moments that some would have overlooked otherwise. I also appreciate how diverse her portfolio is – it’s a lot of work to be a destination wedding photographer! She is available for hire to shoot all over the world and she definitely has shot everywhere from Tuscany to Paris, London, California and Hawaii.
With work regularly praised by top wedding blogs and featured in top publications like Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, and Brides magazine, it’s no wonder why she is a sought-after photographer. To top it off, she was named one of the top twenty destination wedding photographers for 2011 by Destination Weddings & Honeymoons magazine. You can learn more about this talented lady here. Wonderful work, Corbin! Your work really kick- started a new week for me!
(photos: corbin gurkin)
I recently discovered yet another Swedish decorating blog to swoon over, it’s called HEM and is authored by a lovely lady who decorates in mostly black and white and her name is Annaleena. Her home is so pretty and I love this collection of photos that she has snapped around her space, they make me feel peaceful.
Though stunning to behold, I couldn’t live in a black and white home but I do admire them from afar and love the extreme discipline that it must take to not bring anything with color or much pattern into the home – the editing one must do to ensure things stay perfectly black and white would make me go a little bonkers. I still love this look though and feel absolutely clear and calm when I see spaces that are so graphic and yet so natural and soothing.
I am so inspired and in love with Annaleena’s gorgeous home and the light she has filling each corner by day along with her classy, lovely decorating style. To be only black and white, it still feels so cozy and warm to me. The natural wood and different textures definitely make this space. LOVE. In fact, she’s the decor8 blog of the week so do visit her divine design posts daily over on HEM.
I wonder how many readers live in a mostly monochromatic home… Do you? What do you think of living around only black and white? What makes this look appealing to you personally?
(images: annaleenas hem)
For the past year or so, I’ve been completely smitten by the trend of loose-fit covers for sofas and chairs but it’s mostly being done by expensive furniture companies in Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Italy and I couldn’t seem to justify the expense.
Lately, I’ve been trying to “save” my IKEA KARLSTAD sofa which is currently sitting lonely and sad in my storage room. I’ve been dying to make the time to actually make my own loose slip to cover it, but I never seem to make the time to actually do it plus it’s a big undertaking for someone who has never covered a sofa before – I’m guessing it would take me about 3 days of non-stop work and another week or two to source the fabric at an affordable price. While I love to make my own stuff when I can, I was thrilled to find out that Swedish company BEMZ, who ships all over the world, recently releases their own loose slips for IKEA furniture. I’m thrilled beyond words and plan to order one as soon as possible so my IKEA sofa can come out of storage and play with me again!
This is my favorite one above…
You can also find some that fit more snugly if you love cleaner lines…
What do you think, do you like this look?
(images: bemz)
I’m so happy to announce that the class I’ve been teaching online for three years alongside of Leslie Shewring is going on a road trip – we’ll be teaching LIVE in NYC on Saturday, March 3rd and Sunday, March 4th. This will be an inspirational and intensive weekend long workshop for those interested in learning the creative business of blogging (for all levels but you must have some knowledge of blogging). We will teach you the art of producing beautiful color stories, still life photographs and gorgeous inspirational vignettes that you can photograph and use on your blog and how to blog your best. (Full details here.) We have split the class into two days so you can take them both or just one, full details are below.
I have been blogging full-time as a business for over six years and Leslie is a color expert, photographer and stylist who holds a degree in Architecture and another in Interior Design who has a background in product design – her designs have been stocked on the shelves of stores like Target and some of her most recent clients include American Greetings, UPPERCASE magazine, Stampington and more. Together, we plan to share our experiences, ups and downs and our expertise in blogging, styling and photography through hands-on lessons and lots of discussions and one-on-one time with our students. We want to share what we’ve learned over the years in a supportive, intimate setting so that you can walk away with the tools that you need to blog your best and to produce content that you can be proud of that is uniquely you and from the heart.
Class No. 1: The Creative Business of Blogging
Instructors: Holly Becker, Leslie Shewring
Teaching Assistant: Melissa De La Fuente
Date: Saturday, March 3
Location: New York City
Time: 10:00-5:00
Join Holly Becker and Leslie Shewring for a day to explore the creative business of blogging. In a relaxed approach, we’ll discuss the key themes from the Blogging Your Way e-course and expand on them with new information and loads of inspiration and take away. This will be a small intimate class, giving you the opportunity to work closely with us to help you achieve your creative goals. We’ll share case studies and tons of tips and tricks that will leave you inspired and ready to blog!
Some topics we’ll cover:
- Finding your niche, personal style + your voice
- Writing from the heart
- Building your readership
- Getting out of creative ruts
- Social networking
- From blog to book – getting published
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Class No. 2: A Day of Color + Styling + Photography
Instructors: Holly Becker, Leslie Shewring
Teaching Assistant: Michelle Verdugo
Date: Sunday, March 4
Location: New York City
Time: 10:00-5:00
On Sunday, Holly and Leslie will spend the day sharing their approach to color, styling and photography. We will go over the importance of color palettes and how to collect inspiration. Then we will share composition tips for styling vignettes for your own photographs so you can watch us during our creative process and then, you’ll be invited to join in with hands-on lessons in styling followed by a photography how-to. Holly will also share her experience of styling people’s homes for photographs.
- Creating color palettes
- Gathering inspiration
- Composition
- Styling Vignettes
- Styling Homes
- Photography tips + editing ideas
Note: Please bring your camera to class on Sunday. It is helpful if you have a Digital SLR camera so that we can talk about manual settings. A tripod is helpful but not mandatory! You are welcome to bring your laptop so you can upload the photos that you work on. Have Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Elements on your computer so we can give you some tips on photo editing, too.
Cancellations: Absolutely no refunds can be given for this workshop friends, so please make sure that you can make this date.
Costs: The cost of our workshop for two days (discounted 10%) includes all materials, coffee breaks and lunches is $711. If you choose to only take one day, the cost is $395.
Location: Saturday and Sunday we will meet at our studio space in NoHo, NYC. Address will be sent to students upon enrollment by February 25th.
Space is extremely limited and we are at 50% enrollment already so if you’d like to join us, here is where you can learn more and make payment. Hope to see you soon!
xo, Holly & Leslie
(image: leslie shewring)
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