Sania Pell

paint and paper

February 27, 2014  in interior styling

These images are from a collaboration with photographer Joanna Henderson, taken last Autumn. I worked with Jo on a few projects last year, firstly a perfume book by Karen Gilbert which I will post about another time, another title for Cico Books that will come out later this year and also the Liberty Christmas stocking images. We ended the year off  with this shoot – an experiment with paint and paper.

Objects were sourced from around my house: my Croatian grandmother’s trinkets, a glittered leaf purchased at Sibella Court’s shop The Society Inc in Sydney last year, a pile of vintage labels bought at Kempton Park antique fair. I painted canvases, wooden cubes and discs in a selection of coloured emulsions and Jo and I created the still life images up in my loft room. The paper adds great texture, crinkled up sheets or in piles like the labels.

Paints included Little Greene‘s Heat (rust orange), Roman Plaster (biscuit/taupe) and Pink Slip (dusky pink) and Farrow & Ball‘s Downpipe (dark grey), Pelt (dark aubergine) and Strong White (the wall colour).

With Spring approaching I am ready to embrace softer colours, pinks with taupe, aubergine with rust, cream with bronze and a little sparkle sprinkled on top for good measure.

Photos by Joanna Henderson

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craft work

February 18, 2014  in flowers, food styling, handmade goodness

I took these pictures last year. I had popped into Made London, an event held at One Marylebone where European designer makers exhibit, to see my friend Grainne Morton who had a stand there. After we caught up I browsed the show and bought a few new objects.  I still had my favourite hired photo shoot surface at home and couldn’t resist taking some photos before it was returned to the prop house the next day. My new purchases all had a monochrome, geometric and graphic quality that I contrasted with a handful of natural items picked from the garden.

This glass and ceramic mini vessel is by ceramcist Jill Shaddock who was part of the Crafts Council‘s exhibition stand, promoting their 2013 Hothouse designer makers.

This asymmetric, blackened wooden serving board is by Pacha Design. I also used it in my recent styling story for Elle Decoration.

This delicate metal ring is by jeweller Kirsty Pearson, another of the Crafts Council’s Hothouse designer makers in 2013.

Craft shows are a great way to buy unique, hand made items for your home or to wear and to support designer makers at the same time.

Made London is being held at the same venue this year on 24-26 October 2014.

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modern minimal – my styling in elle decoration

February 9, 2014  in interior styling

Even now, after more than 12 years of working for Elle Decoration magazine, I am always excited to see a story I worked on in print and my latest story is in the new March issue which dropped through my letterbox this week. This story – entitled Modern Minimal – was inspired by a trip to Zagreb’s Museum of Contemporary Art which I visited just after it had opened. I loved the newly-opened gallery space, the art hung there and the way it was displayed. Having been inspired by a gallery I wanted the style of this story and arrangement of furniture to look like a design. The furniture is boxy, graphic and monochrome, with hits of bold colour in amongst this. I styled the shoot just before Christmas and it was shot by the talented Uli Schade.

“Modern Minimal – For strong Spring style contrast clean lined monochrome pieces with blocks of bright colour and bold geometrics…”

The location we used had a great balcony which meant we could look at shots from directly overhead, like the table shot above.

The Modern Minimal shoot is in the March 2014 issue of  the UK’s Elle Decoration magazine which also features a catwalk to couch article and ideas to update your kitchens and bathrooms.

Have a peek inside the magazine in the video below:

For a full credit and contact list of the fab furniture, products, decorating materials and artworks I used in the shoot please look in the magazine. 

The magazine is available at all good newsagents now.

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black and blue

February 4, 2014  in flowers, interior styling

There is something about the intensity of a really electric blue in a paint or a flower that just sings when placed against a pure deep black. Recently photographer Beth Evans and I spent a day testing some ideas we wanted to explore for still life images, one of which was using this vivid but moody combination of blue on black.  Here are some of the results.

I used some of my paintings on canvas that I had done previously using oil, acrylic, spray paint and household paint as as backdrops. The flowers in such dramatic colours were purchased at Scarlet and Violet and Beth worked her magic creating a richness with her camera.

There is another food-related series we shot that I will share soon, so do pop back.

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