Oak & the Owl: Interior Design

One of the most common question I get from other designers is “why do I do so many shoots?”. My response typically comes from a place of anxiety over the amount of money I just spent and I say “I don’t know, I must be crazy”… In that moment with all my looming bills in the back of my mind, and the fact that getting ahead seems to come so slow, I forget all the positives. There are the extreme positives of all the networking a shoot inherently brings about. Or the fact that if the shoot is good enough, it will be published, and hopefully generate future work. But the thing I love most about creating shoots is how it is essentially creative play for me. I don’t have a client’s wishes to fulfill, I only have mine. And this can get addictive.

It reminds me of my favorite undergrad painting teacher, Franklin Williams, and how he would tell us to be true artists, we had to be obsessed with creating. That it had to feed our souls and be the main thing that brought us deep personal satisfaction (other than our loved ones). Now, he was talking about fine art. He wasn’t a lover of design, he thought it was for the weak minded who wanted an easy way out by making spoon fed visual connections for the viewer. And if he were to see what I were doing now, he’d probably be disappointed and call me a “weekend artist” or say I’ve gone to the other side. Oh well, I can live with that. And anyways, I wasn’t able to get my painting career off the ground and bring any money in, which did not make me feel like creating. I’ll always love Franklin, and have his wonderful and crazy a** lectures in the back of my head as I work. I also have the same passion for design that he has for painting. If I’m not creating something, I’m unhappy. And currently my medium is definitely easier for my viewer to appreciate. In a way it’s hugely cheating because I didn’t create what is the most beautiful part of my work, the flowers, the linens, the flatware, the crystal. I’m using them to fill that creative void by using bits and pieces to make what used to be my painting, but is now an event, a centerpiece, a tablescape.

Since I get such a high off of creating these shoots, I’ll keep doing them. Maybe just not as many, because hot damn, they are expensive, in money, and in time. I hope you enjoy this re-cap of my Art Nouveau shoot I created last spring for the Contax 645 Group, Sealed with a Kiss Events, Aerialist Press, Studio Cake, and Hartmann Studios. It was also featured on Style Me Pretty, which is icing on the cake. Check the bottom for the vendor list and links along with a DIY post on how to create my Longiflorum lily chair back. Happy New Year!!

DIY Lily Chair Back – Louis Ghost Chair

Materials Needed

Two Louis Ghost Chairs
Twenty Four Easter Lily Heads (silk flowers recommended)
Hot Glue

Step 1

Take one lily and put a small dab of hot glue on the end that would connect to the stem. Attach it to the inside upper edge of the chair back. Then put a small dab of glue on the petal that lines up to the inside edge.

Step 2

Take your next lily and again start with the glue on the end that would connect to the stem. Place that underneath the petal of the lily above and connect it to the chair. Then put a small dab of glue on the petal that lines up to the inside edge.

Step 3

Continue this process until the lilies meet up with each other back at the top. When the event is over, just pull of the flowers and peel the glue off the chair. There should be no marks left on the ghost chair.

Vendor Credits

Contributing Photographers: Josh Gruetzmacher, Coco Tran, Hannah Suh, Em the Gem, Justin Parker, Michele Beckwith, Spencer Sanchez

Shoot Concept + Styling + Floral Design: Oak & the Owl

Wardrobe Styling + Coordination: Sealed with a Kiss Events

Stationery: Aerialist Press

Calligraphy: Michele Papineau

Tabletop Rentals + Chairs: Hartmann Studios

Cake: Studio Cake

Dress: Model’s Own

Hair Accessories + Belts: Amanda Judge

Earrings: Waffles and Honey

Hair + Makeup: Kristen and Gigi

Wow, it’s been a long time since I blogged! This wedding season has been busy, and I’m SO grateful for it. I’ve been slowly gearing up for the off-season and trying to brainstorm ideas for a few shoots during the next three or four months. I just finished one last week, and I want to do at least 2-3 more where I am in charge of all creative direction, as well as the flowers. One of my main focuses for Oak & the Owl is to have more of a presence in the overall design of the weddings we’re involved with. After a degree and 5 years in Interior Design firms, I know how much Oak & the Owl has to offer our clients. So I’m using these shoots as an opportunity to showcase the type of design I’m inherently drawn to, and what will hopefully be known as my creative direction for wedding styling.

I’ve found that I have the hardest time coming up with anything creative when I’m slammed with weddings. Some times ideas come quickly, but more often than not, I have to take my time and let them come to me – most often in my sleep. Take this shoot for instance… I spent about a month last winter winter coming up with ideas for it, and about two weeks to produce all the details. And boy was it worth it. This shoot turned out just as I imagined, and my imagination can be hard to live up to.

I created two totally different shoots for a group of film photographers from Contax 645 in the Bay Area. When I found out there would be close to 10 different (and incredibly talented) photographers there to shoot, I knew I wanted there to be a lot of details to capture, and I wanted it to be spectacular. Everything was photographed beautifully, so I was beyond happy. I worked closely with Josh Gruetzmacher in coordinating the shoot as well as preparing the submissions, which was a treat as his work is stunning and he’s just a great guy. The other photographers involved were Coco Tran, Hannah Suh, Em the Gem, Justin Parker, Michele Beckwith, Spencer Sanchez.

The team of vendors I worked with to make this happen were amazing and I love that I now have a whole new list of incredible artists and designers to work with, and refer my clients to. Lara Choma from Sealed with a Kiss Events helped me from start to finish with coordinating rentals from Hartmann Studios, culling the wardrobe pieces, and bringing on Studio Cake in Menlo Park who made the most perfect cakes for this concept. Lara also found the stunning property to use as a backdrop for the shoot. The family was so gracious and kind as I took over their yard and turned it into two mini weddings. Lara and her handsome fiancé (at the time of this shoot, but now husband as of October 12th!!) also modeled for us. I can’t thank her enough for all of her priceless help and I’m so happy we’re friends now.

La Tavola had the perfect linen for this concept, their black leather dot – and it was even better in person. After I sourced the linens, all that was left was to bust out over 25 gold sunburst mirrors, pack my car full of different odds and ends to shoot, and drive to the Bay. I loved going to the SF Flower Mart again, and found some choice pieces I can never find in LA. Although that trip ended my whining about the LA market. We have just as good of materials, even if it’s not all the same, and the price point is a bit lower here. Still, I wish I could get gardenias on a stem in Los Angeles (you’ll see them in the Nouveau shoot)…

I worked closely with Alexandra of Aerialist Press in the East Bay on the paper goods. Well actually, I just told her what I was thinking, what my inspiration was, and it was like she read my mind. When she sent me the first (and only) proof, I couldn’t believe how exact they were to what I envisioned, yet never fully communicated to her. I’m not a big believer in fate, but it was as though the creative end of this shoot was fated. It all came together so perfectly.

I love working in the Bay. After living there for 13 years, it’s still like going home. And I get to see a lot of my best friends, most of whom I met at Bloomies where we all worked as designers. Which also means I have my friend Jenny P. to help me with install (bless her, she strung up all those mirrors after I had a few choice words with tangled up fishing line) and design when I’m up there for larger weddings. I wish we still lived down the street from each other, but someday our forces will be joined again in a business venture in a more permanent way.

I also had the unbelievable luck of having Alicia Schwede of Flirty Fleurs come and help me with the install too. She was so fun and great to work with. We had been social media friends for about a year before that, and I honestly couldn’t believe that she wanted to come down and help out. Her support and advice from years of experience in this business have proven invaluable. I feel very lucky to call her a real deal friend and I can’t wait to work on another project together, or just get lunch.

This shoot was also featured on Style My Pretty where I included a DIY for the sunburst mirrors. I’ll include it here too in case you want to try your hand at making them. They’re really easy and inexpensive. Let me know if you have any questions!

Materials

(1) 5” Round Mirror
(1) 5” Brass Ring
(1) Package of Large Bamboo Skewers
Hot Glue Gun
Cardboard
Spray Paint
Super Glue

Step 1: Take your 5” round mirror and draw a template on a piece of thick cardboard. Cut the circle out. Draw a line down the center of the circle, then from the other end, draw another line. And so on until you’ve divided the circle into at least 16 sections.

Step 2: Taking your skewers, divide them into 4 groups of 25. Take one group and cut them by 1”, the next by 2”, the next by 3”. Leave one group of 25 at its original length.

Step 3: Take the longest skewers and using the hot glue, place them equidistant around the circle. Start with 4, then take the next size and place them in the middle of the longest skewers. Do the same with the next size down, and keep going until the sunburst is complete.

Step 4: After you’re satisfied with the mirror, spray it with whatever spray paint you’ve chosen, making sure to coat the sides. Then paint the brass ring to match the skewers. Glue the brass ring to the top of the mirror with a thin coat of super glue, being careful to not get glue on the surface of the mirror. After is has dried, turn the mirror upside down and place a hanger on the back with the super glue. And you’re done!