A Textile Holiday Tribute: Manuel Canovas Paris

One of the best aspects of working in Architectural Interior Design for me was exposure to Textile Manufacturers and Designers in that industry.  It's also been great to keep up on some of those lines as I continue to explore textile in fashion now.  Thank you Cowtan and Tout for allowing me to study the details of this Manuel Canovas "Frida" textile.  The modern application of this ancient Mexican Motif is bold and beautiful.  I'm sure it will find many happy customers and creative incarnations. 

The mannequin frock is a little fashion assemblage I threw together this week.  Consider it a Christmas postcard from Detroit to the many hands and professionals that continue to make the textile industry Artfully Inspired.  Happy Holidays!

Beautiful Bollywood: Photo Shoot Highlights



Model's Gold Blingy Shoes

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These photos are from a recent photoshoot organized by the spectacular photographer Eric Peoples of Epic Images. The theme was the desire of the Model Jessica Steinheible and I was given creative liberty with wardrobe and photoshoot Styling.  The Artful Christy Curthoys wowed us with her Makeup and Hair Styling.  My assistant Stylist Caitlynn Demagio for this shoot is also building a name for herself interning with StyleLine Magazine.  I'm thrilled for her and pleased to share a very small sample of images from this wonderful shoot.

250 Martin Open House: August AD Dress On Display

Coldwell Banker AD Paper Dress by Matthew Richmond

Open house at 250 Martin

Library

View of Shane Park from balcony of 250 Martin open house: photo is Janna Bissett

I'm Standing on Balcony with Agent Hannah Hoppough
Photo is Janna Bissett

Fashion/Real Estate Photographer Janna Bissett

250 Martin Real Estate Agents: Gwen Schultz, Kevin Crisbrook, and I with Matt Richmond's Agent AD Paper Dress

Matt Richmond Coldwell Banker Wier Manuel AD Shoot Dress at 250 Martin Open House

Photo is Janna Bissett

If you are dreaming of a hip upscale urban residence in Michigan, 250 Martin in downtown Birmingham might be the place for you. This unique commercial/residential property offers big city luxury loft living with the comfort of an exclusive small town community feel.

My August advertisement Styling work with Coldwell Banker featured the work of local Artist/Designer Matthew Richmond and the paper dress he constructed for the shoot. This dress was on display at this invitation only exclusive open house party on the evening of August 10. Fashion/Real Estate Photographer Janna Bissett and I attended this open house party in support of the marketing campaign work we have enjoyed with CWBWM.

The entire building was open for tours and inquiries to the guest, but the reception was located in the Four Park West Penthouse residence, which is furnished and move in ready. The entire home is beautifully designed and decorated but my favorite room is the sleek modern library (photo above).

It was a picture perfect summer evening, the weather was glorious, and from the balcony we enjoyed live music performed at the newly renovated Shane Park stage just below.

A special thanks to the open house host Christopher Ayers, (Associate of Kevin Cristbrook), Kevin Cristbook, the real estate agent for 250 Martin, and the CWBWM marketing team for their premier service and collaboration.

Thank you Matt Richmond (Saving The Planet 1 Dress at a time) for the dress loan, we missed you!

* This amazing space is also available for special events by selection, please contact Kevin Cristbrook for more details.

Polyvore: A Social Media Partner for Creative Business And Thinkers

Polyvore is what I would call an open source social media platform for creative people. Those people could include an artsy teenage student, a seasoned professional graphic designer or a high profile fashion designer and everything in between.

The sets above are a very small variety of my work on that site and part of my creative portfolio. I find Polyvore very easy to use and it has become a great tool for exploring visual ideas that initially come to me in words and then grow into visual stories in my mind.

The important thing to understand about sites like Polyvore and others is that they are also used for developing important market research for a wide variety of professionals. The activity on them is "Open" and that means interested research and business partners can use it to study emerging trends and patterns that help them to develop marketing strategy. This is a form of 'Crowd sourcing" in a marketing sense. I'm not sure why this is not explained as such in the media write ups you will hit on the web. Perhaps Polyvore and other similar sites don't think users will care, or that the information will scare potential users away from exploring it's benefits, but I'm speculating on that.

In some ways traditional business and media formats have perfected the art of "HYPE" and can get the restless masses to move toward their ideas which makes the back story irrelevant. I DON'T SHARE THAT NOTION. In fact I believe that respecting the intelligence of your audience and teaching them about the big and small picture is imperative. We all live in a social context and have a need to understand the structures that influence it, to make good decisions. That is where the real value is and that is part of every personal and professional encounter I have. To do otherwise keeps our lives very small and focused on temporary things.

I use Polyvore to indulge my love of research, and my passion for visual serendipity. I enjoy following the work of so many creative users all over the globe who also use Polyvore, it has opened up a world of ideas that are truly inspiring.

"Tailor Made": Matthew Richmond Print Shoot

" Tailor Made" AD Shoot

Artist: Matthew Richmond and Model Hannah

Model/Agent: Hannah

All photos are work of Melisa Leeper

"Tailor Made, Style" Ad Campaign for Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel

Agents in shoot: Jim Littlepage, Marianne Prokop, Patti Gilman, Phillipp Armstrong, Christopher Ayers, Chris Dasaro, Karen Thomas, Penny Toth, Kendra McConnell Hurd

Location is: 752 Lakeside, Birmingham, Builder is Brandywine Construction, contact Agent Kevin Cristbrook for more details

Coldwell Banker Weir Mauel did it again, thanks to the creative team in marketing and the Nine featured agents. "Tailor Made" is the tag line for our next HOUR, and StyleLine Magazine Ad campaign. This is a sneak peek preview of the shoot for the August issues.

A special thanks to our feature Artist/Designer Matthew Richmond of "Saving The Planet 1 Dress at a time" for his custom CBWM, agent photo dress, Melissa Leeper and her assistant Beth McGinnis on photography, and my shoot associates Rose Suau, and Shelly Yarouch for all their hard work. I'm thrilled to be Styling these shoots and look forward to the next collaboration!

Career Styling: Advertisement Print Work and HOUR

Latest Issue of HOUR Magazine: In Stores Now,
Photo is HOUR Staff

Photos are work of Janna Bissett

Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel Real Estate Agents: Cindy Edelen, James Addison, Elena Bonner, Rosalee Hill, Alex Warren, Jessica Tremonti, Karen Greenwood, Dawn Mueller, Jennifer Zachary, Kevin Paton, Photo Shoot Location is Weir Manuel listing in Birmingham, MI - A Special Thanks to the Owner of this incredible home at 695 Baldwin Ct.

It was a pleasure to work with this group of professional Realtors and the Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel Marketing team for this recent HOUR advertisement shoot. The work is on stands now in this months June issue. These few pics were not selected for the final write up, but I think they capture the overall fun and Style of the shoot. Working with the agents personal wardrobe each agent was able to show off their version of "Dressy Professional Cocktail Party Attire".

A Huge Thank you to my support team (Miss Rose Suau, and Cara Lundgren of Dolly Rocker Vintage) for all their hard work and talent, to Janna Bissett for her amazing work and support, and the professional team at Weir Manuel for their vision and commitment to clients, employees and the Detroit Metropolitan Real Estate community at large. Cheers!