Hello everyone! I’m Emilie Guelpa from Paris and I’m one of Holly’s brand new columnists on decor8. I work as a freelance stylist, photographer and cookbook author and maintain a blog called Griottes. I love food so it was only natural that I met up with Holly recently at a cafe in Paris. We became fast friends and it was decided then that I would write once monthly on decor8. Today is my debut and I hope what I’m about to share makes you smile big. But first, a bit about my column…

Once a month, around the third week, I’ll be popping in to share my column: Playing With Food. I won’t be providing recipes or step-by-step instructions on how to make anything because my column isn’t about holding your hand and telling you how to do stuff, rather this column is meant to inspire you, to build your color confidence and to show you alternate ways to look at things and how to think of ways to translate the things you see around you into the kitchen or next dinner party and to have some fun while doing it, careful not to take yourself toooooo seriously. I love to laugh and so I wish to inject some of my more quirky thoughts into the mix, too.

Spring has Sprung! In the streets of Paris all of the cherry trees are in bloom and the days have begun to lengthen. I felt inspired by the color of cherry blossoms so I took that inspiration into the kitchen and thought to pull together a quick trio of desserts meant to invite you to embrace spring’s arrival. With March being the third month, three seemed like a good number to work from.

First, I made a small pink Bavarian torte with a light meringue on top, as fragile as the petals of flowers.

To invite spring to the table I brought in a few Persian buttercups along with ranunculus, pretty pastel ceramic cups, fresh pink, mint green, and a bit of Liberty fabric which is always inspirational to me. Then I decided to add some element of fun to the table, something with a little humor because this comes each and every Spring – rain! But…

These cloud shaped cookies twirl around the table and the rain is much prettier with blossoms and tiny pompoms.

These cookies landed gracefully upon a soft minty green plate…

then chewed and enjoyed. :)

The final dessert in my trio is this grapefruit sherbet which gives a soft and happy ending to this tabletop and adds something refreshing and cool. Cake has a completely different texture than a cookie and sherbet is an entirely different sensation from there.

You can serve sherbet (or sorbet, ice cream, frozen yogurt – whatever makes you happy) in a cone or in a cup topped with pretty sprinkles and mini flower-shaped cookies or serve both ways (in a cone and in a cup) to vary the height of your tabletop arrangement of pretty desserts and to suit the desires of your guests as some prefer being offered a choice.

Have you heard of the poem, Spring has sprung? It is a short English poem that my friend Judikaela sent me. I find it perfectly sums up the return of spring, “Spring has sprung, the grass has ris (risen), I wonder where the birdies is. Some say the bird is on the wing, But that’s absurd, from what I’ve heard…The wing is on the bird.” So cute!

Note: If this is all a bit too pastel for you, don’t be afraid to work in brighter pinks and greens as shown above! Play with color and play with your food, always!

See you next month! – Emilie.

(photos: Emilie Guelpa text: Holly Becker & Emilie Griottes)

I thought to further inspire you today on the first day of spring that I’d link you to some fabulous flower making tutorials online that may get your creative juices flowing from craft queen, Martha Stewart. The first are these fab coffee filter flower baskets.

You can change them up by adding stems and turning them into bouquets. There is a video that you can watch here to get you started. Try to venture out on a limb and think of other ways to apply this craft idea. You may imagine them as garlands, perhaps?

I love this magnolia blossom how to. I remember watching my mother work with crepe paper to make flowers when I was a little girl. She made them beautifully and with great care. She even made them for my bridal shower, the room was filled with crepe paper flowers – some huge, some dainty, along with fresh flower arrangements too. Her creativity influenced everything that I do, she taught me how to see the world as having endless possibilities and countless approaches. She loves taking the conventional and flipping it upside down. Unconventional yet approachable – a fine line, but she never went too far. She rarely crossed over into the crazy craft lady territory where unconventional becomes tacky or looney. When crafting, I try to exercise the same restraint and edit things when I approach that crazy craft lady zone. For me, that’s a sign that I need to step back and step away from the glue gun.

Some tutorials that you can link to: 1. Crepe paper flowers are affordable and add a soft touch. 2. This is a fab tutorial, too. 3. Such a beautiful DIY addition to clothing or to a tabletop (A video showing how to do this can be seen on this page). 4. For spring, I suggest trying this DIY with some colorful papers, but this tutorial can put you on the right track. 5. I love this branch idea with birds from the craft store and paper flowers on the branches. 6. More lovely paper blooms with a helpful how-to.

Doesn’t this inspire you to get creative for spring?

(images and projects: marthastewart.com)

It is no secret that I love the things that springtime brings… From cheery blooms to blades of fresh grass, plants on the balcony, flowering branches in a vase — all of these things inspire me endlessly. I passed by blossoming magnolia in a flower shop yesterday and my heart did flip flops as I was reminded of my childhood in South Carolina and how much I anticipated the bloom of the magnolias each Spring during my birthday (I was born on March 21 – tomorrow!). I enjoy bringing nature into the home and since today is the first day of Spring for this year at least, it’s a nice time to talk about flowers isn’t it?

In some parts of the world, a freshly picked daffodil from your garden won’t be a reality for some time. You may (like me) be turning to your favorite flower shop for budding branches and blossoming blooms. There are other options though of the paper kind that perhaps you’ve not given much consideration to. In fact, I encourage you to play with flowers that are fresh and those that are faux – even mix them in your vases, and see what you can come up with that is creative and as fresh as springtime.

Granted, you may find the silk variety a bit ‘grandma’ but have you considered faux outside of silk, namely paper flowers? Whether they be crepe, tissue, scrap, wrapping, vintage or even wallpaper leftovers… you can make your own gorgeous flowers using paper quite easily. There are plenty of kits in craft stores for this with pre-cut blooms or you can try your hand at the myriads of tutorials on sites like Martha Stewart, for instance. There’s a great coffee filter flower how-to currently on their crafting blog that could easily be translated into some kind of fun tabletop arrangement if you’d like.

Another option, especially if you are pressed for time or lack patience altogether to fuss with flower making, is to buy paper blooms pre-made. This is where Helen Frances, illustrator and paper artist for Frances & Francis in London, can help you. She just launched several new paper bouquets in her Etsy shop made of paper mixed with real twigs and branches for the stems. I think they are beautiful and adore that they can be reused, repurposed and can last for years if you need them too. Sure, they may not provide a fresh fragrance to the air, but that’s what room spray or those wonderful Diptyque candles from Paris come in, right? :)

Gorgeous and so inspiring, right!?

(images: Helen Frances)

This is such eye candy! New decor8 columnist and French author and stylist Emilie Griottes (details here), recently pulled together a column for French magazine Fricote mixing one passion (food) with another (color) to result in a story about Pantone colors as yummy tarts!

I really love this and admire how Emilie really knows how to bring her imagination to life. When I met her recently in Paris for breakfast, I admired her energy and love for styling and producing things that are fresh and creative. She has only been working as a stylist, photographer and cook for one year and already she has produced books and styled for other books and magazines. It’s amazing really, to see such growth so quickly — but of course, well deserved as she is quite amazing.

Her yummy tarts as Pantone color swatches is quite brilliant! In the magazine you can even find the recipes for each of her creations in case looking at them has made you hungry. This is just so ahead of the curve and creative, I adore Emilie’s work and can’t wait to share her first column later this week on decor8 with all of you!

(images: emilie griottes)

Hello friends! I’m in one of those writing moods today where words just bubble forth like some kind of crazy fountain! It’s a great mood to be in because now I’m home and no longer traveling so I CAN write on decor8 regularly again and it feels wonderful. I always miss blogging and the practice of writing daily when I’m on the road, writing is total freedom for me. Another freedom, or shall I say creative release (sounds weird but it really is), is when I pull together things visually into handmade books. I’ve been doing this for ages, since I was a little curious kid, and it started by pulling pages from teen magazines and Highlights magazine then collecting them into photo albums with those giant clear pages… You know the ones that you peel to stick in your pages on that strange adhesive so when you lay stuff on it the paper sorta sticks, then you press the clear page on top. Yeah, those old school albums, woot!

I filled those things with inspirations from magazine pages to stickers, letters from penpals and labels from things that I liked. I also used blank journals and diaries or handmade books that I made by stapling together copy paper with a stapler to form a gutter down the middle. I started doing those in the late 1970′s when I was maybe 6 years old and I continued making them my entire life – writing in some, sticking things in others – I had sticker books, inspiration books, books I wrote and illustrated with my own stories, and diaries filled with secrets and wishes and how I imagined my “adult” life to be — which usually involved becoming an author, marrying a cute boy, having a baby and living in another country in a really nice house.

Well… Little me ended up wanting the same goals as I grew older and I often wonder at times if that clarity came through the consistent exercise of capturing my imagination and dreams into something more tangible like the books that I made over the years? I believe that the more you either write down or visually share with yourself and/or others, the more you capture your imagination in a sense and freeze it,  perhaps it helps put you on your way to gaining a bit more clarity as you make your way through life. Interesting to ponder, right?

This spread was inspired by a home we shot in the English countryside recently. I came home and pulled this together using images that felt like the home I had worked in in the same color palette.

I almost want to challenge you to test this theory on your own life and to see if, after a year of consistently maintaining private journals and books, whether or not you start to gain a better sense of self. We’re constantly evolving so there is never an end point to all of this since we’ll be growing as long as we live (or at least lets make that our goal!) but the act of conscious “slow” living vs. hectic “speed” living IS something we really want to do, at least that’s what I find most attractive these days as I see the hectic path is ultimately reallyyyyyyy boring and makes time go by much to quickly.

I’m wondering now if all of this tapping in and recording our inspirations, goals, heartaches, lessons learned, ideas, etc. is what enhances the experience of living in a way. What do you think?

This is a capture of fabrics and ribbons that I collected while in London for a project from various stores like Liberty and VV Rouleaux. I wanted to pull them all together in one place because now I’ll always remember them in case I want to work from this palette in the future on another project.

I thought to go along with my words that I’d share a few images that I took with my iPhone today of these mood board pages that I made in a book over the past six weeks – they show some of the impressions that I’ve had on the road while I’ve been working on my next book. I didn’t feel like writing my impressions from each trip in a diary because I have to write so much as it is INSIDE of the actual book and on this blog that the thought of writing a diary during this time made me a bit tense. I still, however, wanted to keep track of my inspirations along the way so I thought to do it in a visual way instead. Plus, it ended up inspiring me through a bit of a creative challenge. This book gave me a chance to record things with a glue stick and a few minutes of my time. I shared this with our Blogging Your Way Road Trip students recently in New York and they seemed to be very inspired by it. I hope you are too.

This was pulled together based on the same home in the English countryside that had inspired me so, so much. I used found items, washi tape, paint swatches, buttons, clips, etc. to pull together a paper that reflected the mood of that home.

Creating visual records can be very inspiring while you’re doing them but also to look back on them, for me at least, I inspires me all over again. For instance from this book I am able to recall the exact things that struck a chord with me on certain trips — seeing them again gave me some new ideas for the future.

Remember… Mood boards don’t have to be on actual boards on your wall. As I taught last year in the series of Mood Board Workshops in the US and London for Anthropologie, mood boards can be on a wall, in a book, in a manilla folder, in a mini mood board book (aka portable photo album with clear sleeves) or an inspiration wire which is horizontal and hung across a wall, window or above a sofa or bed – anywhere that you want really – where you can tack on what catches your eye at the moment. Visual recordings like this can be enlightening, especially as you begin to see patterns in your thinking, spot a theme or discover new ideas.

This is a spread that I created using tears and bits that I’ve been collecting in my desk drawer for several months. I noticed everything I had collected there fit together in a strange way so I decided to put them in the book so that I could refer to this later. I love seeing how gray, cream, goldenrod, industrial elements, strong graphics (like numbers, silhouettes and maps), polka dots and a bit of olive green can work with a touch of a floral fabric that is a bit country. Again, it’s all about capturing moments and collecting them someplace outside of our own heads (or a desk drawer).

What I love about the books that I’ve been creating at home since I was a kid is that, unlike a board or string or something that’s a bit decorative and public in your home that others potentially see, you don’t have to edit out anything or hold back in your books. It’s also different from a blog or Pinterest because your book can be private and a total immersion into self. Often when you compose mood boards at home or online you tend to hold back for some reason whereas a book that you can store can be less about sharing with others and more about sharing with yourself, personal growth, learning and saving to look back on for years to come. You can include themes that may be too embarrassing to share publicly or explore topics that you may feel are too private to pass around within your online social network. It’s a very nice way to bookmark your life visually and I love it.

This was created when I got back from Paris a few weeks ago. Some visuals that reflected how I saw Paris…

I hope this post today inspired you somehow to be a bit more active when it comes to recording your thoughts in a more visual, organized but still fun and freestyle way. Always take time to absorb your surroundings, then collect them into something tangible so that your inspiration can be tapped in to during those “creative rut” periods…

What do you think of this idea to collect visual notes into small books at home? Do you do make these too? If so, post them on your blog and share the link below if you’d like so we can see them!

(images: holly becker for decor8)

I recently met Paul Lowe from Sweet Paul and he was so calm and well, yeah, sweet. I didn’t know what to expect really, but I thought that it would be nice to meet him while I was in NYC so I took a shot of courage and sent him a message and said that I’d like to meet him in person and would he be interested in popping by the light studio where I was teaching in Soho to say hello. It was a long shot since we aren’t really web friends and I’ve never really talked to him before, but I believe in just asking people for things because if you don’t ask, you have no right to complain when stuff doesn’t happen in your life. So I asked.

And I received. Paul Lowe walked in during our class and not only did I meet him, but he so nicely met lots of my students too who wanted to know more about my mystery guest – and for those who did know who he was, well they had a total “moment” — I could tell.

Most of us are inspired by and like to see those who find success primarily from blogging as Paul has, I have, and so many others who began their career mostly by sharing their passions online first and then wham-o! It resulted in amazing things for their life and careers. Paul is incredibly talented and deserves his success and from my brief chat with him, he was very warm and polite but also grounded. He seems like someone that I would get on well with if I had only had spent more time chatting him up. But of course, I had a class to teach and so the Sweet Paul visit was quick but still deeply inspiring to me personally and I wish to thank him so much for stopping by to say hello. I’ve met some incredible people throughout my own blogging journey over the years and Paul was a highlight. Thanks, Paul.

I love these two spreads (above) as it really reminds me of the work of my favorite stylist, Dietlind Wolf in Germany whom I wrote about in January – she did the same thing with watercolors and food. Dietlind is a known trendsetter in the world of food styling here in Germany. The two spreads above are by Alicia Buszczak.

And with that, I’ll shout out the recent issue of Sweet Paul magazine (Spring 2012) with some images from it, and you can watch for it at Anthropologie stores sold nationwide and in the UK as it will arrive in printed fashion there very soon for Antho customers. Yay to Paul for scoring that collaboration, a huge win!

(images: sweet paul magazine)

I recently had the pleasure of dining at ABC Kitchen in Manhattan not just once, but 3 times in the span of 11 days! I know, right!??! Amazing. It’s a hard place to get a reservation but it seemed I knew the right people or had a stroke of luck. I want to tell you about it because I was so deeply inspired by the interior and from the exquisite organic meals that I enjoyed there. Here are some of the things you can expect to see in this space that are also sold in the adjacent ABC Home store in case you wanted to get this look at home…

Above: 1. Jan Burz porcelain 2. Vintage plates from your local flea market or antiques dealer 3. I loved the mugs – I ordered tea and was immediately impressed by these. I was told they sold out but now I see them on their website and am sad because I wanted a set of 6 for my home here in Germany. They were the absolute best mug ever. 4. Clear glass egg lamp, 5. Integral tables, 6. Basic white chairs you can find anywhere – these are the Steelwood chairs but they no longer stock them at ABC so try something like the Arper instead, 7. Elena Lyakir fine art photography, 8. Integral bar stool.

(I snapped this above with my iPhone during brunch on Sunday.)

Amazing chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten is also the mastermind behind this gorgeous eatery, who also happens to be an author of a cookbook called, “Home Cooking with Jean-Georges,” and I just bought a copy after visiting his restaurant because the food was that good. I’m so smitten by ABC Kitchen that I want to shout out to the world that if you ever get a chance to eat at this place, DO IT. These photos that I found online don’t even do this place justice, it’s even better in person.

ABC Kitchen is heavenly – the service was great and the crowd was completely free of pretentious creeps – you know the ones that normally flock to these types of foodie places – this was definitely a cool crowd but without the attitude which made the atmosphere even nicer. The food was top notch – fresh, organic, locally grown and amazing and the price point for what you ordered was excellent. Everything from their wine to cocktails, desserts and breads, brunch and dinner, salads and entrees – it was all impressive and exquisite – it’s a real farm-t0-table experience.

The interior design is equally delicious with white brick walls, mercury glass behind the bar and in the bathrooms, exposed beam ceilings brought in from old barns, gorgeous furniture and lighting, lots of recycled elements… There was nothing about it that I would change. The design was mostly done by Paulette Cole, CEO and Creative Director of ABC Home, and felt cozy, unique, delicate and intimate. I also loved the vibe and that no matter how packed it became (and it was always packed), it was never too loud and the music never overpowered the conversation, it was there but subtle and the lighting made everyone look their best – it was always beautifully illuminated day or night. There are no windows in the dining space so there was no natural light, which definitely made it an ideal place for dinner but not idea for taking photos and definitely not ideal for brunch – I enjoyed brunch but it feels more like a nighttime spot for me and I totally loved it.

Another highlight of this space came down to the attention to detail – like the place settings. Brown eco-friendly kraft paper place mats, vintage linen napkins, petite flower arrangements in tiny square glass vases, vintage silverware, mismatched floral-patterned vintage china, handmade porcelain dinnerware in white by Jan Burz — nothing was too precious yet everything felt so, so precious – how did they do that!?

Some of my favorites on the menu included: Roast Carrot and Avocado Salad with Crunchy Seeds and Citrus, Cookie plate, Shaved Fluke with Blood Oranges, Roasted Kabocha Squash Toast fresh ricotta and apple cider vinegar, Crab toast, Roasted Beets with Homemade Yogurt,Caramelized Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Eggplant Toast with marinated peppers and lemon , Pear Bourdaloue Tart, Birthday Cake, Salted Caramel-Peanut Ice Cream Sundae, Grilled Chicken Waldorf Salad, Roasted Eggplant Toast with marinated peppers and lemon, Still Warm Fresh Mozzarella olive oil, sea salt and black pepper, Black Sea Bass with chilies and herbs, baby market potatoes and spinach and of course a glass of Riesling trocken, Sybille Kuntz 2008, mosel, Germany!

Yes, all of that – whenever I went I was with several people and we just ordered lots of plates and shared everything tapas style which I highly suggest doing because then you can try a little of everything. What a special space and a new favorite place to eat in Manhattan. While in NYC, I also ate at Il Bagatto (sat next to Kirstie Alley! ha ha!), La Esquina (great Mexican food in a really cool underground “hidden” space), The Standard Grill (ate undercooked fish and got deathly ill for two days – spent a lot of money to get sick), The Breslin (nice place but severely overpriced and very salty food, incredibly rude waitstaff – we were all shocked.)… Also ate at a few random places in Koreatown that were excellent and ate at a little cafe above Kinokuniya book center which had great sushi and Asian desserts and ate at two different locations of Le Pain Quotidien which has really good food for a “fast food” eatery.

Can’t remember all of the other locations where we ate – but had breakfast a few times at egg in Brooklyn and that was fine but I still don’t understand why Biscuits and Gravy had one biscuit on a plate with a bowl of gravy on the side – the waitress promised me that it only came with one biscuit, maybe I was just hungry or daft but I thought for $10 that was quite pricey for one biscuit! I noticed this happened a lot in NYC though with waitstaff, most acted totally disinterested when you had something to say that wasn’t super positive and gushy. Oh well.

But ABC Kitchen rocked – loved my experiences there and I’d definitely go back and hope you’ll check it out too!

A special thanks to my dear friend Leslie for sharing this gem of a place with me in the first place!

(images: 2nd image: holly becker, all others: abc home)

Hello friends! How are you today? I’m so happy to be back home from NYC because I’ve missed blogging daily and feel so energized and motivated to write and connect with you once again. I thought I’d begin with a lovely post created exclusively for decor8. Ready?

I love a good tour – especially of a creative workspace since so many of us dream of having a nook (or entire studio) where we can do the things that we love in an environment that supports us in every way. This is the studio of photographer Jeremy Harwell who recently built a new studio for his photography and he wanted to share it with all of you today. I think it’s a gorgeous space and I hope that it inspires you!

About Jeremy, “He started his own freelance business in 1992 working as a photojournalist for several newspapers, covering news events as well as professional sports. He recently spent 8 years at Ralph Lauren, where he was the Creative Director for the New York stores as well as shooting fashion and interiors. In 2003 Jeremy and family moved to Georgia to live the simple life and start a studio in Senoia… Jeremy has won numerous awards including Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Accolades of Excellence. He has also been published in Bride and Modern Brides magazine.” I love reading about his journey and how long he has worked in his field – his blog shows so many gorgeous examples of his work, I encourage you to check it out for loads of eye candy inspiration!

What do you love about his photography studio? I love that it is both masculine and a bit feminine, I think the interior is well thought out as he deals with a lot of brides so having that feminine touch is essential in the decor. I adore the soda, that pale salmon is gorgeous and works so nicely with the brown and green tones. I also love his big silver LG monitors, they look great but also quite classy for a monitor. What do you think?

(images: Jeremy Harwell)