Sania Pell

snapshots of home on decor8

March 15, 2013  in interior styling, news

It has been a busy time here with work and family. Following a couple of shoots for Waitrose recently, I have been prepping for next week’s shoot for Karen Gilbert’s new perfume book with CICO Books (I styled Karen’s last book which you can see here) as well as planning other upcoming projects. I have also been working on updating my portfolio and this website and have started a photography evening course to improve my technical ability, which is really fun and the technical aspects are falling into place. We also have a big, exciting family holiday adventure coming up soon, so lots of organising involved with that too!

I thought I would share some pictures I took of my home for a post on Holly Becker’s Decor8 blog. Holly is interviewing some of the homeowners that feature in her new book Decorate Workshop in a series called ‘Snapshots of home’ and I was happy Holly asked me. If you’ve not seen it head over to read the full interview on Decor8 here. Holly’s new book is a great resource for tips and techniques to decorate you home. It is packed full of exciting visual reference to inspire anyone who needs a point in the right direction. It is also practical with guidance and advice to help the reader through every step of a decorating project. Holly explains all about her book here.

If you want to know more about these photos and where they are taken in my home, I talk about them in the Decor8 post.

We’ve started planning our own re-decorating project too. After seven years with small children our family home needs a refresh so I’ve been looking at paint colours, floor finishes, sofas, coffee tables, fabrics… the list goes on!

I hope Spring has sprung in your part of the world. We are still waiting for its arrival in a rather chilly, blustery England… though at least the sun has appeared after what seems like weeks of grey skies.

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behind the scenes – waitrose

March 4, 2013  in flowers, interior styling

As Mothering Sunday is next weekend here in the UK I thought I would share some behind the scenes photos of another Waitrose shoot I worked on earlier this year with photographer Karen Thomas. We shot the new floral ranges for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and some new Spring bouquets and plants. The brief was for a light, bright look for Spring to contrast against the autumn range we shot previously. During breaks in shooting I snapped a few images of the props and backdrops I had chosen and some of the sets I put together for this shoot and thought you might like a glimpse behind the scenes.

All of these photos were taken with my iPhone! I took them for reference really, but after the shoot I thought the quality was good enough to post them on my blog. What do you think?

Head over to the Waitrose website to see Karen’s photos from our shoot for Waitroses’s new floral ranges.

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my christmas styling for cox & cox

November 30, 2012  in interior styling

As we are edging closer to Christmas I thought I would share some of my favourite images and products from the Cox & Cox shoots that I worked on earlier this year. Commercial styling can feel a bit topsy-turvy as we shot these festive images  in the middle of summer last July, and last week I was on location shooting a Spring collection for next year! I thought the wirework chandelier above would make a great advent calendar so I wrapped up and hung 24 little treats with tags with the dates stamped on and also hung homemade biscuits that were baked using C&C’s cookie cutters.

Gift wrapping is one of those things that you can put your own creative stamp on and I wanted to show this with Cox & Cox’s great range of paper tags, ribbons and twines, wrapping paper sand little extras like the bark stars.

Take a look over on the Cox & Cox website’s Festive section for many more shots I styled, products to get creative with and some wonderful gifts for friends and family this Christmas.

You can also request a copy of the printed Christmas catalogue here.

Photographs by Emma Lee, courtesy of Cox & Cox.

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at home with jeweller grainne morton

November 18, 2012  in handmade goodness, interior styling

I had the pleasure of popping over to Scottish jewellery designer maker Grainne Morton’s house whilst in Edinburgh and thought you would love to see it too. Grainne and I were at art college together and although we studied different subjects, we have kept in contact over the years. I bought my first piece of commissioned artwork from her to commemorate graduating from my BA as Grainne completed her MA. It now hangs in my daughter’s bedroom and I still love it. Every now and again at certain times in my life I try and save up and treat myself to commemorate an important event or achievement, and this was the first time. Grainne combines miniature found objects, often vintage and antique collected items, into exquisite unique arrangements set in precious metals – from small items like rings and cufflinks to necklaces, bracelets, brooches and jewellery artworks.

Grainne and her husband’s home has a lovely feel, full of character and warmth and that evening was filled with flickering candles, kitsch, dark and moody, fun and flippant but sophisticated too. So many unexpected items and objects to give little surprises and pleasures when you saw them. Gorgeous vignettes everywhere you looked, like a giant version of her jewellery. Luckily I had my camera and Grainne was happy to let me take some photos to share as her other guests arrived.

It was the Saturday evening when we popped over to her family home, filled with friends for a little bonfire and Halloween party, the children bobbed for apples hanging from strings, there were hollowed out pumpkins, marshmallows toasted over a fire, hot sausages in rolls and a homemade Halloween piñata followed by fireworks – a perfect evening, thank you Grainne!

I also took a few photos in her studio where her window and desk look onto the garden. I loved to see all her materials so beautifully organised, so much to play with and surrounded by inspiration.

The next treat I bought from her was when I had just finished my first book and I saw Grainne at a show in London and bought a flower brooch from her. I love it and it is a beautiful reminder of an achievement I was proud of (you can see the brooch here). For a special birthday my husband bought a gift voucher for me to choose something from Grainne’s collection and while she was exhibiting at the Made London design and craft show I chose a beautiful necklace and ring. I love them and have had lots of complementary comments while wearing them already.

You can find out more and see her work on Grainne’s website and her blog. Grainne’s work is also available to buy online at Seek & Adore. So if you fancy treating yourself to something special or putting it on your gift list this Christmas I highly recommend Grainne’s jewellery.

If you’re lucky enough to live near Edinburgh you can pop along to Grainne’s open studio and sample sale on 1st and 2nd December where there will be 15% off her current collection and well as sale items, and for those in London you can see her work at the Primrose Hill Designer Sale on the 8th December. Find out more here.

I hope you love her house and her work as much as I do.

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my styling work for Waitrose

October 15, 2012  in flowers, interior styling

As a flower and plant lover, it was a joy to be asked by Waitrose earlier this year to work with talented photographer Karen Thomas and style the photographs for their Autumn flowers and plants range . My brief was to create the environment for the flowers and plants to sit in with an autumnal feel, rich and moody and deep in colour. Other shots were for arrangements that are available all year round, so needed to look brighter and less seasonal.

The floral arrangements and plants are the products, designed by the Waitrose team and available to order for delivery online and by phone. All of the plants come in their own containers and many of the flower arrangements are sold in clear vases, boxes, bags or jugs. I sourced vessels and vases for the arrangements that don’t come in a container to display them in the shots.

I took the little images above on my phone whilst we were shooting. They show a few behind-the-scenes shots of table set ups ready to be photographed, props ready to be styled, large quantities of the flowers placed along a wall of the location house and my spotty shoes next to a huge bucket of roses.

You can see all of the images we shot with the Waitrose team for the Autumn floral range as well as the plants which are now available to order on the Waitrose Direct website. Amazingly Waitrose’s history goes right back to 1904 when a small grocery shop – Waite, Rose & Taylor – opened in west London, not too far from where I now live! It became part of the John Lewis Retail Group in 1937 and is now one of the UK’s leading retailers.  More of Karen’s photographic work can be seen over on her portfolio website.

Main images by Karen Thomas, courtesy of Waitrose.

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a look behind the camera

September 30, 2012  in interior styling

A few people have asked me what it is like behind the scenes on a  shoot, so I thought I would share a glimpse behind the camera on the Cox & Cox project I worked on. I remembered I had taken a few quick snaps while we were photographing the wrap and stamp section at my house, which was used as a location for one of the shoot days.

I always start by working out and drawing individual shot ideas in advance, so that I can make and source all the props needed for the different shots and to save time on the day of the shoot. Then whilst shooting, it becomes a collaboration between photographer, stylist and art director with help from the assistants, especially when there are a lot of products and shots to be completed. In front of the camera everything is set out for the shot with alternative options nearby for flexibility and to ensure the final shot works. On the periphery, out of shot it can look like a muddle with camera equipment, computer screen, laptops, props, reflectors, backgrounds, shot lists and sketches – plus all of the products! It can look a little chaotic but is all rather organised. You can see how the website version of the shot above turned out here.

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