Early one morning in Amsterdam some months ago dumbo feather’s editor Kate Bezar and I chatted via Skype. At the time I was frantically working on my Amsterdam book, but Kate made me feel totally relaxed and so I rambled on, answering her questions and telling all.

I’ve been wanting to share this news with you ever since the issue went on sale. Travel and catching up with friends and family have kept me busy here in oz but I shall not delay this any longer  – if you don’t have a copy of the latest issue (no.22) of the ever-gorgeous mook (magazine/book) dumbo feather, then please, get your hands on one pronto.

To read the interview in print is like looking at myself with a magnifying glass. As all the interviews are transcribed directly from conversation, it is rather revealing and I must say, I feel very exposed. But that is the beauty of the publication – it is so uniquely intimate and it is such an honour to be a part of it.

I was also thrilled to find Holly Davis in the issue, who I had the pleasure of meeting a few years ago. Over a delicious lunch at her home in Palm Beach, we chatted about lots of things, most particularly food. Holly’s philosophy on the subject is wonderful, she is an incredible source of inspiration and to read more about her in this issue was pure delight.

Okay I won’t reveal a thing more! Except that if you have ever wanted full page printed images of my work, you will find them in this issue. And if you want a sneak peak, you can read a sample here. For those who live in Australia you can find the issue in selected newsagents and stores (click here to find your nearest stockist) and in America and Canada you can find copies at Barnes and Noble. If you live somewhere out of reach of these places  you can purchase a copy online right here (scroll down to issue 22, summer 2010).

Thank you Kate and the wonderful dumbo feather team.

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I am busy gathering stories and photos of my whereabouts to share with you. See you here again very soon!

Thank you for your fab comments about the window display! It means alot when I get such great feedback from you about my work.

As promised, here is a look at the behind the scenes of making the window display. It took me about 4 weeks from beginning to end, and for the last week and a half French Boy and I have been dodging this giant cardboard eiffel tower which was taking up alot of room here in le petit bateau. The boat is still in disarray – with cardboard piles here and there, paint jars, and brushes lying around, tape, glue and craft paper on the piano, table, daybed and floor…

So, here is how it started:

A couple of months or so ago, my publisher contacted me to let me know that WHSmith bookstore in Paris was interested in hosting an event of sorts for my book. I decided upon a window display as I love making things as you know, and I love to express myself through something creative. So, off to work I went, sketching, making notes, brainstorming ideas. I thought about Paris icons and decided the Eiffel Tower would be great inspiration for my window. Here is the sketch I made which became my chosen display…

I had been to the WHSmith store a number of times over the years (it was an institution when I was living there -the place to get my English fix as they have a fab collection of magazines, DVD’s, classics, and interior and photographic books) so I knew the windows rather well. I put together a moodboard of inspiration with the window in mind…

(Click here to read more…)

…so, as I mentioned last week, here are a few behind the scenes from my last shoot with maria magazine. I only had my mobile phone with me to take photos with at the time, and I was very sick with the flu you might recall, so I could only capture a few shots on this particular occassion, but I hope you appreciate them none the less.

Above you see some photos of the table while I was getting it ready. I was standing back, visualizing what colours I wanted to be prominent. I loved the colour of the rosé we were featuring (more about that in a moment), so I made that the prominent colour for the table setting with white and cream as the backdrop, and a splash of green for Spring! A sprinkle of rose petals here, and an antique knife and fork there.

Can you see the photographic equipment outside the window, ready for our outdoor shots? Below are some behind the scenes photos of the outdoor table where we shot the savoury tarts with smoked chicken, dill and goat cheese (recipe here)…

…as you can see Jeroen is ‘making Spring’ with his light set up! clever thing he is. meanwhile, I manage to find some Spring-like flowers in the garden store the day before, so I was busy picking flowers off and ’sticking’ them on not so flowery plants on the table. Just another one of my stylist’s tricks!

…we had a baby on set! who doesn’t love a baby on set? unfortunately I was too sick to go near baby Yannick, otherwise i would have smothered him in cuddles and kisses. So hair and makeup stylist Mascha, Yvette and her mum did a great job at making up for my lack of affection.

In the second photo Mascha is doing Fleur’s (incredible red) hair. Fleur (the mother of baby Yannick) is the star of our shoot – it is her wine we featured! She actually has an award-winning wine named after her, how awesome is that? Fleur’s family owns a beautiful winery called Domaine de L’Amaurigue in France. Yvette came up with the brilliant idea to shoot a Spring Ladies Lunch based around Fleur’s wine, a delicious rosé, perfect for Spring! Yes of course I tasted the wine, and it is indeed delicious.

The third photo is behind the camera, the fourth is the tarts in the oven, fifth and six are the table setting again. Below is a sneaky shot I took of Yvette in the kitchen while I was standing outside freezing my buns off! I rather like this artsy shot…

I hope you’ve like these behind the scenes photos! Click here to see the full magazine story. And here if you’d like to see more of my behind the scenes photos.

Oh i can’t believe it’s already Friday! Where did the week go?

Some of you have told me how much you enjoy getting a glimpse behind the scenes when I am on a shoot. You’ll be pleased to know that I was able to take some snaps during the winter buffet shoot that I posted about the other day, and here they are…

how divine is that wooden board I borrowed from Julie and Odette’s antique store! Can I be in love with a piece of wood? ’cause I am.

For this shoot we set up camp in Yvette’s gorgeous lounge room. The light from her windows is rather glorious, and she had a lovely buffet table that I wanted to use. You can see I have claimed most of the space for my props (oops). Below is photographer Jeroen capturing the pineapple turnover cake which is basked in beautiful natural light…

…oh yeah and that’s me ironing! With a smile on my face of course. I’m smoothing out a tablecloth for the next shot while Yvette is busy in the kitchen, cooking up a storm…

And do you remember for the last behind the scenes post, we had a little helper named Marie. So where is she for this shoot? we called out to her many times but she was no where to be seen. Finally, we found her…

She refused to help! Obviously snuggling up was more what she has in mind for the day. But she soon realised we were having fun without her out in the lounge room so she came to join us in the end.

can you see marie snuggled up on her bed by the window? perhaps she is dreaming about treehouses…

And here are some snaps of my props laying about the place. In the basket are some pineapples that I decided I needed as props so I walked down to the grocery store with my shopping basket and bought some…

choices choices, what will I decide to use in the end…

Toward the end of the day we packed up and went over to our other location which was the house of Yvette’s friend Karlein, and with daughter’s Luna and Madelief we baked up some evening treats…

It was a super long day but super fun as always!

I snapped this quick behind-the-scenes photograph while I was working on a shoot a few weeks ago in Amsterdam – this is the collection of props I had gathered for the shoot and I just love the colours and the light coming through onto the props table from the window behind. In a few weeks the magazine will be out and I can show you what props I chose and how it all turned out in the end. I had a ball on this shoot, working with my favourite people!

xx

PS I will be back to my home away from home next week. It’s been a hectic time back in Sydney, but I have lots to show + tell, including some funny stories, some not so funny stories, some interesting experiences and some beautiful places that I have been able to take French Boy to. We have recorded some soundscapes for you too! Please forgive me for not being able to reply to emails and comments lately – I will be back on track soon px

As promised, a few behind the scenes shots from the Maria magazine shoot! with many thanks to the lovely Sophie who was one of our dinner guests and is also a part of Yvette’s excellent restaurant team (Sophie is pictured in the previous post, offering wine to her fellow diners), and also with many thanks to photographer Jeroen who captured heaps of beautiful shots for both the story and behind the scenes. Above you can see Yvette and Roeland Fernhout preparing the meal and having an absolute ball doing so! They are very good friends and it was so much fun capturing their friendship on camera – always making each other laugh. Being an actor, Roeland made my job too easy as I didn’t need to art direct him or his guests at all. He knew just when to pick up the bread knife and pretend to cut the bread, when to pretend to offer his guests wine and pass empty plates around the table. He even bought all of us little gifts and put on some christmas music to get everyone in the mood! If only I could have him for all my lifestyle shoots…

(Click here to read more…)