Showing posts with label product photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label product photography. Show all posts

5.4.12

talent, communication, acceptance & shades of blue ~



crystal clear blue, turquoise, baby blue and all the possible shades one can find
captured in the sky and the sea,
are actually colors I grew up with, being born, raised and having lived for 33 years of my life

while strolling in the corridors of inspiring Internet places,
like Pinterest and favorite blogs,
I kept noticing that these past few days,
I'm drawn to these shades...

it must have all started with Desire (Dees) from Vosges Paris,
who has styled her freshly redesigned and renovated apartment with splashes of blue shades,
paired with an energizing green from plants, like aloe veras and cactus. 




The fact that she has spent time in Greece, visiting islands and in fact being totally in love with 
the whole story is manifesting in the effortless way she incorporates blue in her pretty city apartment in Amsterdam.

She currently has two places where blue flourishes in all its freshness:

her corridor, where the picture wall step by step and in time evolves around the poster from Santorini, admittedly one of the most magical places on earth...





and her entrance, where selectively cut images from magazines... 




and favorite magazines with accordingly colored covers, are resting as if nothing planned has happened...





The art of stylism has really been fascinating me since the very first decoration magazines,
which fell on my lap, already some 20 years ago 
(Gosh I shouldn't be mentioning things like that!)

and what has recently been fascinating me is that a lot, if probably not most of the
super talented stylists and interior designers are ones who haven't actually formally attended a relevant school, college or university.

Instead, the love for creating aesthetically beautiful environments is something that seems to have always been part of them, 
mostly being expressed in the way they bring together their own homes.

There are of course those who refine and evolve their talent by studying further.
Or ones who combined a natural inclination with studies.

Everything will do... but before all there seems to be a prerequisite:

talent.

I'd like to ramble a bit about its notion,
sharing some thoughts, while hearing from you,
that is if you actually have the patience and time to go through all this post!
a cup of tea + something nice to chew on are good companions ; )

So my dears,
talent seems in my eyes to be something very natural,
an inclination to something since the very early years,
something that one practices in his/ her life
with exactly the same enthusiasm whether financial profit is involved or not.

something that evolves with time, investing effort in practicing it,
something that sources from a very clear part of ourselves.

Talent is not a hobby, still one can practice his/ her talent as a hobby.
The happiest occasion occurs - both for the individual himself / herself and the community -
when people can support their lives practicing their talents.

Or when it is all right for them to perform another job they like, love or simply find beneficial enough,
while devoting their free time in their talent.

Talent is something that mostly makes others who encounter it feel at extreme ease,
rather than been just astonished,
something that provokes thinking as much as an instant celebration in one' s heart.

Talent can take countless forms!

                                             Talent is something much more common than rare,                                                                
         as there must be as many hidden talents in each and every person as there are people on earth.

Talent provokes admiration rather than envy,
and somehow enriches the lives of those who encounter it.

When talented people cross our lives it' s like a celebration,
one we feel part of without caring about our own current status quo.

Talent could be resembled with a stream of crystal clear water running down a natural source...


The matter seems to be: who is going to conform with his/ her natural inclinations...
who will invest his / her life in becoming the nicest oak tree 
he / she could ever be for example...

Modern societies could be suffering from too many problematic identity
cases, as so often beautiful lemon trees wish to have been born as let's say coconut trees,
and even worse, there is often time, effort and money invested in becoming something else.


I must make a "little" parenthesis here to refer to the by all means
super loving and caring Greek parent, who often "sacrifice" for their child
in order to send them to college, quite possibly also having picked the subject
or "kindly" reinforced a certain direction...

Seems that doctors, lawyers, professors of all kind and scientists
are all Greece needs...
one must wonder...

And I can't forget the years I was working with teenagers & children,
teaching English, while also applying my psychology insight...

Parents going crazy that their son was lazy and a "bad" student cause well,
grades in history and maths were rather horrible.

who cares if this person was already more grown up than expected in his teenage years,
 completely able of doing amazing handwork,
or show responsibility when working part time.

If only parents could keep a connection to their own childhood years,
rather than abruptly upgrade to an "adult",
how much more wonderful, trouble free and neurosis free this modern world would be?

{here comes the parenthesis closure btw}


Happiness and success are with hardly any doubt lying in:

- hard work, 
- planning, 
- decision and action.

Still it seems that for all those to come in a normal, non violent, long lasting and effective way,
there needs to be acceptance,
a deeply felt acceptance and digestion of one's past,
present and future aspirations.

A happy merge of them. A colorful salad,
where the dressing doesn't cover the ingredients' taste.

Purity. Clarity. Honesty. Vision. Love.

.
.
.

well, there you go, after some time since {the last one},  a life awareness post has just been written,
one I' m sure I'll be wondering how it ever came to life and where did all these words come from.

I can thank the communicative power turquoise and shades of blue carry...
and remind myself of these absolutely beautiful creative moments in our 
previous home residence,
which is still so often getting asked to be published,
while it is expected to be in April's issue of Casa Facile.
{ a little preview + some lovely Italian... gossiping to read here ;) }





The beautiful picture opening this post is courtesy of Mindy Gayer
whose work I recently stumbled up on, only to fall in love...
with the work itself, the way it is presented & the kind, talented person behind it.

oh... not to forget, talent somehow also seems to carry an element of kindness
and certainty, a quiet strength in the most non aggressive ways...

.
.

sprinkling some love to you, through the dance of these characters typed here
and wishing you one lovely day ahead!

lots in my plate, as you probably know, both in the positive + difficulty spectrum,
so I'd better proceed with the day.

which ever project mentioned here recently, might temporarily appear paused is only cause,
life is also about knowing when to recalculate, re access and act accordingly.




till next time,
good thoughts + much positive energy + above a little peek into the new studio and work being done there

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  

Credits 1st picture: Mindy Gayer2nd, 3rd, 4rth dyptich & 5th picture:  Desire for Vosges Paris + Ikea Family Live6th, 7th & 8th picture:  Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos 




24.1.12

~ secrets & spices ~



you know the times when words just don't come the right way my dears?

I think this might be the case since a couple of days here...
yes, that must be it.

due to rather intense emotions...
                                                         from both sides of the spectrum...
                                                           the bright ones & the dark ones...


and then a little tireness due to this silly flu & cold together that came partying in my organism
without my persmission,

then again me being overanxious to get over it
in order to proceed with works at the house,
only to be finding me resting in bed again the next day

uff and uff again.

as a result, it seems like too much of time
has passed since I've been meaning to come here and thank you very dearly for 
warmely accepting my invitation 
&
 having shared a mostly wonderful {cup of comfort} with me.

what an experience!
I really enjoyed connecting  with you
both here & over at my private Fb account

what's really great is that this post & the interaction with you
has served in establishing a clear connection in my thoughts
about a factor very critical in
experiencing Love & Happiness in our relationships and living environments:
well, can you guess what it is?

bingo!

C o m f o r t 

no matter what
no matter who
no matter how

I cannot think of any environment & relationship being
perceived & felt as happy, healthy & lovingly,
unless there is plenty of comfort in them.

you know...
something that begins from acceptance
passes in between warmth & reaches to support & growth


this is what good interior design & functional relationships of any kind are to me:

Comfort. Plenty of it.

mmm... it seems that coming here and starting to type also serves as
a comfort to me
& as I see, words are no longer difficult in any way of being spelled out.

perhaps, cause I also feel very happy for the fact that some of you I really have warm feelings for
 are reading these lines.

perhaps...

o.k. this is the time that you and I agree that enough has been said...
right? ; )
pictures please & to the point!

So, on the opening picture of the post,
you can take a glimpse of the totally unfinished part of our bedroom,
aka the 3.10m x 4.60m {height by width} wall behind our bed, which is patiently awaiting
 a few hands of sanding and then to be dressed
in nice & stylish wallpaper.

till then, you can see how I spent some time taking breaks while busy in the house,
{had been dealing with folding laundry at that time}
away from the main pc, which is a big temptation due to all the creative work that can be done there
& only but temporarily logging in selectively to some of my favorite on line places
using precious mrs netbook

... the lights have been shining on Pinterest these past days.
no doubts for that ; )

and then, there is a little peek into our temporarily arranged
cooking corner, that is for those of you who haven't already seen it 

Love is... the best spice
would you agree with me?


........................................................................


sorry for the big leap without a word,
I hope you haven't missed me ; )

above is a little collage I prepared to serve as an icon for 

not much of written information,
but just some favorite moments in interior design, crafting, styling & photography,
including recent shots of our new home.

All unitied under my favorite umbrella:

S t y l e

well what do you think?

................................

the time has come to say good night cause it's already late for us here...

and I really can't go without sharing with you
a few lines written to describe the picture below,
which turned out to be 
a little, mighty poem,
I'll dare to post here:

S e c r e t s 


They say the night & darkness hold one thousand secrets...
 I find life's secrets hidden in light...
Thousand little miracles masked in eternal white...
Patiently awaiting for the brave ones to unfold them.


and you dear ones?
do you know your secrets?

.... have a beautiful night... or day
and see you quite soon  ~

29.9.11

~ listening to the radio?



love at first sight...
are you familiar with this concept?

am almost certain that you do...

personally, the more social platforms like Facebook encourage us to "like" things,
the more selective I'm drown to be...

resulting in a need to:
 ~> shop less, 
~> have less,
but at the same time the need to like as much as possible
anything and anyone in my life

from people who are in my immediate environment to
to each and every object in our home & household,
to the work I do,
to the work of others,
to how I spend my time
both in virtual & real life.

this being said, there is a tendency instead to rather fall in love 

here is how I define falling in love with someone's work:

"being positively stuck with it since the very first visual encounter,
while both the eyes, the soul and the mind are
experiencing a state of intense pleasure and calmness.
moreover, the object or work in any form 
are since then always remembered
and recognised when seen again"

so has been the case with {AM radio}
or else one of the most stylish and beautiful
vintage shops operating on etsy

what fascinates me is that Melissa,
the creative person behind AM radio company/shop,
 has actually turned her work into art

this fact is something that marks me forever...
I mean when I come through people,
whose love and passion for what they do
instantly tranforms their work into art.

selling can be a very commercial issue (if but anything else),
or perhaps a very artistic issue,
with a successful outcome, counting as commercialsm as well

whenever I think of sales & material things,
then examples like Chanel come in my mind.

would miss Coco ever go out in the streets* "shouting" about the quality 
of her work?

* in current societies it is the Internet

I sincerely doubt it,
as she would have no time to actually produce quality, would she?

now what do Coco Chanel and {Am radio} or for that matter any other 
similar shop have in common?

a dynamic trio if you ask me:


unique quality, originality, love & passion for what they do.

one of the reasons Am radio is shared with you here today
is that its success is mainly based on the
extreme beauty of the work,
may it be the vintage finds Melissa choses,
or the impeccable in every way styling and photography
of the objects

there is no blog connected to the shop, neither a FB page at the moment,

I admit to not being always informed about everything that is going on
on etsy {therefore I only read Melissa's  interview just today}
or even all the blogs that I follow,

 simply cause if I really did,
then there would simply be no time to actually live a life,
even more a creative life,
as everything that I would create would be nothing but a mere
combination of countless inspirational stimuli from here and there

allow me to say that this is not my idea of creativity.
as fine as it may be to reproduce a favourite DIY project that we saw in a magazine,
or a blog,
as fine it is not and it cannot be named as creativity
when we see something, like it and then set on our
"adventure" to recreate it or "cleverly" reproduce it

yes, I do believe in the freedom of ideas to flow and to even change hands,
but at some point, there is a source,
and for me the source of creativity can be nothing but our true selves

so to return to AM radio, 
going through the shop's items,
I'm left with no doubt in the world,
that the person who is doing all the creative work,
is actually in love with what she does,
from the time she sets off to discover new treasures,
to taking care of them by cleaning them,
to styling her "models" to photographing them
to finally communicating with customers

it is all there
the love
the passion
the care
the excitment

 I believe this to be and to forever remain the basic ingerdient of success
how many years they may pass, how much technology may evolve,

advertisment will always be a help in promoting one's work,
but in the first place, there should be work worth of mentioning,
in order to survive in time.

on another point of view, I'm extremely happy to be sharing these finds
with you here today,
as these beautiful porcelain letters below
are the first purchase I did for my future, little studio corner
in our soon to be new home

adoring white, natural materials like porcelain and typography in general,
these could have not been any better for 
putting together my creative corner

and even though I' m since a long time extremely careful with expenses
and shopping, I'm happy that new horizons are opening for me,
therefore allowing for such small spontaneous treats as these
ones below


aren't they just darling?

so you already know by now, which is the basic inspiration
my future studio corner's creation will be based on:

well, hello ideas!


saying that, I'm so thankful for the fact that through the renting process 
of our current living space,
so mamy doors are opening to me

the clouds' silver linings are slowly and steadily beginning to appear...


 these amazing milky white glasses
would have easily ended up in my shopping cart,
 had I not efficiently learned to "hold my horses"

they would indeed look marvelous 
all lined up with flowers inside, at our new dining area,
but I have to keep in mind that
there is a renovation awaiting ahead
and this is no time
 to be indulging in
every temptation

perhaps they'll still be there next time I visit the shop
or perhaps the'll end up in one of your
 beautiful houses

so my dears, 
I' ve really mentioned enough points in this post
and will just let you enjoy looking at some more
pictures...

I'll wait for you at the end for a nice closure...


[via]





I suppose that after this visual bath,
it's time to share a picture of Melissa* with you....

*btw Melissa means bee in Greek, quite an appropirate name for a creative & productive person,
don't you think?

honestly, when you see such a person's eyes & face expression,
is there really any doublt in the world,
that above all, 
she's trully a kind person,
appreciating the life she has and all she does?

do hop {here} to read her whole interview...
I' ll just fininsh this post with some of her words that deeply touched me:

Where would you like to be in ten years?
Still seeking out vintage treasures, loving my husband more than I do now, watching my little girl grow into a lady, and possibly building a cottage tucked neatly away by the waters edge.



wishing you all a wonderful day ~

it has been such a pleasure putting this post together,
while at the same time mails were being exchanged with Melissa,
in her effort to assist me in every possible way she could.

till next time... 
take care and consider this:


........................

All pictures are originally styled and made by Melissa for AM radio.
The first collage, second diptych and the one before the last are put together by me for Domestic Stories 2011
[all rights reserved]


8.9.11

~ sunshine on cloudy days...



hello everyone!
 how have you been?

since I wrote this morning about "living a slow life"
and the essence of it,
 the day has been grey and quite chilly,
easily reminding of first winter days already...

no rain, but these heavy clouds,
taking over the whole sky,
allowing for no sign of blue to appear...
persistenly blocking every sunray, too

sounds depressing?
well, I have to tell you that it needs a lot of effort to stay on top of such occassions,
but after some time in Germany,
some tricks automatically take place
to make such days brigther ; )

how?
first of all, candles...
all over!...during the whole day...
much like the ones seen here
&
my favorite {vanilla one}
for a pleasant sweet aroma... 
then, nice music...
and working on {the table} placed in front of the big window
to be exposed to as much light as possible...

 using hands to create, rather than working on the PC or laptop screen...
and off course making use of this bright, white, cold light
that I have really come to very much love,
I really find it extremely charming...




the notebooks seen above are made with the same concept that these ones below were made



this polka dot cutie above was actually part of {this amazing lady's order}

 everything started a few weeks ago when I needed a new notebook for myself
and came up with this one,
which you can read about more detailed {here}



if there is supposed to be a trial period when one produces something new,
until the product is ready to reach the wide audience,
then these ones have successfully passed it!

 laminated, consisting of wonderful quality paper,
all handcut, they are handstiched using
extra strong, waxed threads in
beautiful colours,
found during supply expeditions while visiting Athens

I actually love the fact that everything is thought of and produced from scratch,
while using materials brought from my home country, too

it makes this whole creative process more meaningful, don't you think?




 {this} little notebook found last year during {my mother's visit in Germany}
has been the source of inspiration for creating
something that was going to be apart from pretty,
just a little bit more practical too.

the laminated cover gives you the freedom to wipe it with a wet cleenex when 
something has stained it
& so long as it doesn't take an actual bath,
it can stay with you for quite a long preriod!

still the little detail that I absolutely love and am proud to have thought off,
is the extended {from the notebook's spine}
thread which actually
ends in a lovely bow, to keep your little or bigger journal
securly closed
while off course looking irresistebly cute.

maker's bias?
perhaps!
what about you? what do you think of these little journals?

....................................

as soon as there is a decent stock created,
they'll be available on the {online shop} in the next days
till then, you may either pre order them and pick them up yourselves
or have them sent to you

in both cases just drop me a mail, stating which patterned design of all you prefer
and which of the two sizes:
small ~> 12,5 x 9cm
big ~> 17 x 12 cm


time to say good bye...
it is great that I found some time in peace to come and post here
about everyday life's simple happenings
have been missing connecting with you, 
the readers of this journal!

just before I go, a little bit of something {more} for inspiration:

 the new collection of 16 favorite items 
from the corridors of etsy,
making up the new treasury put together this morning:



"Three {and more} keys to living a happy, successful life"
quite intriguing title, or?

what are your thoughts on the subject?
here is what came to my mind

~ dream big... {but then also} prepare to live small ~
~ connect to your true feelings ~
~ count your blessings ~
 ~ accept your natural rythms ~
 ~ invest in discovering who you trully are ~

.............

well, I hope that there is input for you to think about,
 enjoy watching, get inspired from
perhaps do some shopping
until the next post!

as for us, legal procedures involving the purchase of the new place seem to be moving smooth as 
butter, so soon a pleasant, relaxing period can be enjoyed 

so looking forward to that!

1.9.11

~ goodbye summer ~






Hello everyone!
 it 's one of those times that I'm  happy to be managing to come here 
 and post despite the late hour of the day.

 So first things first,
 let me wish you a great new month ahead,
 together with the new season...

 whenever September comes, it makes me look back to my school years
or even the ones I was working as an English teacher back in Greece...
I remember the bittersweetness it brought with it at the beginning...

on the one hand so eager to begin something new,
on the other hand still wishing that there would be more days
free left for swimming & a relaxed way of life

but then, which kid {and teacher} doesn't love having a great excuse to 
 get their hands on new stationary?

see my point ; )

anyways, 
 before I move on to current news and autumn related stuff
{coming tomorrow}
I wanted to say the sweetest goodbye to this summer,
and cherish some of its wonderful moments 

 one of these was our preparation for a mini 5 day vacation
 on Kos {a Dodecanesean Greek island}
and off course the heavenly delighful days
 we spent there, for which you can read about it 

 As you have probably suspected from the pictures floating around this post,
 one of my favorite part of the trip's preparation was packing for the trip
having the chance to use the new Tote that has just arrived at our door.


in a perfect size, perfectly sewn & double sided in beautiful black & white
cotton fabric,
I was so pleased to have ordered this 
from the {etsy shop} of a very {creative woman},
who also happens to be a marine scientist
living in Faro, Portugal.

Rita's passion is to sew and she certainly does a fabulous job!
I discovered her shop after she placed an order

So happy she did!
not only for honouring me by choosing somethimg handmade & thought off by me,
but also cause I got to the chance to get familiar with
 her wonderful bags, more of which you can see {here}


this is my order shortly after I opened it {the bag is folded in the middle here} 
 it was nicely wrapped,
 there was a thoughtful personal letter
&
a proof of having contributed to a good cause with my purchase!

I like that so much!
 the cherry on the top of the cake,
was a very practical & pretty present:
a tissue "pocket"

however of a detail it might be,
I really disliked having to carry my tissues in their plastic package
so this little accessory has been making my day 
everytime I need to pull out
or to offer a tissue!

Even though I have already since a long time personally thanked Rita,
I had also promised to link you to a few 
shops connected to bags,
worthy of their price
and 
{Ogato tigrado} is certainly one of them.

Thank you Rita,
I spent a fantastic summer carrying your bag!

it accompanied me from the beaches in Greece,
to the Spa in Frankfurt
&
the river in our neighbourhood,
carrying blankets to set on the grass...

 and now that the season has changed and so do the colours of the wardrobe,
it is finding it's space around our home,
other times filled with magazines
&
others with crafting supplies.

still I think "she" was at her happiest right there: 

Good bye summer... till next year!

have a good night everyone
&
a warm hearted welcome to all new readers
I'm so glad to see you here and be reading your comments 
Thank you so much : )

 c u all tomorrow... 
  with  more posts
 {one of which was planned for today, which is being posted with a little delay though}

better late than never said the Greeks ; )