Some words about styles: Styling Job

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

Recently I had to pull together some images of my work for an architect looking for a stylist.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

I chose a few from images I had on hand. I have boxes of photos from my New York design days, but no time or will to scan them. Digital photography has changed the way we present a portfolio.

perch. shop display
Visual Vamp Stylist

What part do I have as a stylist in the finished product?

perch. shop display
Visual Vamp Stylist

Most times the room has been designed, and I am called in to give it life.

Art In Bloom
Visual Vamp Concept and Styling

Other times the concept is mine.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

Photo styling is one type of work I do. I also style a finished project for interior designers and architects for their final reveal to the client. I also do private residential styling, where a person calls me in to look at their rooms, and pull them together by using what they have and choosing new pieces as well. I am starting to get opportunities to do movie work, which is pretty awesome. And of course, I do store displays regularly.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist
This bedding had to go

I choose all the objects, rearrange furniture, and hang art. I also work with the budgets for rentals, purchases, loans, deliveries, etc.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

I meet with editors and designers to see what they have in mind, and then I liason with shop owners to borrow things. I pack it and arrange for delivery to a location.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

At the site I organize the merchandise, and work with the photographer on the number of shots needed and the order they need to be done in, and also the time frame we have do them in.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

Then I pack it all up and get it back to the places I borrowed it all from, and make sure the space we worked in is put back as it was, and left clean.

perch. shop display
Visual Vamp Stylist

In the case of a an architect or designer using me for finishing touches, I do a walk through with them at the beginning at the end of a job. If a client is keeping the things I pull, I invoice them and make sure the shops are promptly paid for both purchases and rentals.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

After everything as been returned or purchased, I follow-up with a thank you note to my vendors, and those who hired me.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

I also make sure the editors and the writers have all the details needed for proper photo caption credit, or editorial mention.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

I love stylist work, because it is the cherry on the sundae of a design project. It is hard work, but it is so fun to do so many diverse projects, and I am good at being able to see a room, a set, a display, or whole house, and know exactly what it needs and where to get it.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

I also have an excellent sense of composing things for the camera. Seeing a room through the lens is a different experience than seeing it in real life.

private residence
Visual Vamp Stylist

I am so happy for Emily Henderson, a stylist and a blogger, getting her own HGTV show "Secrets From A Stylist" starting this Sunday August 29. Let's give her some fierce blogger love and support and get the word out about her show, and help make it a huge success! Read her heartfelt post about winning HERE

In this day and age of cutting budgets more editors are called upon to style photo shoots themselves. I'm hoping the importance of going the extra mile to hire a stylist is enhanced by Emily making a large audience aware of what it takes to be a stylist. That and a better economy.

Magazine cover mock up
Visual Vamp Stylist HERE

As a home owner, hire a stylist to come and look at your space. You will be amazed at how they will be able to freshen it up.

And designers and architects do add a stylist to your team to bring life to your projects.

Stylists are a bridge to interior design, architecture, photography, and merchandising.

French Quarter Courtyard #1 - Before

So I get a Tweet a couple of months asking me if I was up for a styling job. I followed the Tweet to an email that led to phone calls that led to a most interesting job.

The premise was a progressive dinner party to take place in three French Quarter courtyards, a benefit for NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts), in particular for the Culinary School.

Target was the generous sponsor, with the one request to use the Smith & Hawken product they sent for the party and for a photo shoot to be used for their various PR needs.

And send it they did! Over $35,000. of beautiful merchandise that the Target product designer and I chose to fit the personality of each of the three courtyards.

It was a complex and interesting project from receiving and organizing all the product in a hot New Orleans warehouse, to arranging for the home owners' things to be taken away and stored, to dealing with copious amounts of trash that all the packing materials created, and all the regular issues involved in planning a party, with everything done in triplicate!

Target and their PR team in New York were spectacular, the vendors in New Orleans impeccable, the French Quarter hosts stellar, generous, and helpful, and NOCCA was involved in the best possible ways.

It was the beginning of our record breaking heat wave in New Orleans, but that did not stop people from attending the sultry party, with nearly $60,000 raised in one night of fun for NOOCA!

Let's start with courtyard #1.

Courtyard #1 - Before

Small and charming, with the old servant's quarters balcony at my disposal. The home owners are avid collectors, and one of their collections is of copper pots and pieces in their kitchens. Target offered me product from their Smith & Hawken line, and there were many beautiful copper pieces to choose from.

I used Smith & Hawken zinc lanterns in all three homes, starting with this one, where they lined the narrow alley way that is the entrance to the courtyard. I chose to use wax battery operated candles for the whole project.

Smith & Hawken zinc lanterns from Target

Courtyard #1 was used for cocktails and hors d'ouvres. Fifty people were invited, and 58 turned up! Obviously this courtyard is too small for that amount of people, so the house was open to guests as well.

Patio furniture and dinnerware, glasses, flatware, and napkins from Target

I used Smith & Hawken copper rain chains to festoon the balcony rail

Planters and pots and lanterns from Smith & Hawken for Target

A Smith & Hawken hammered copper hose bowl was used for ice on the bar

Colorful fans rest in a Smith & Hawken copper boot tray for guests to take and use - a jazz brass band of student musicians from NOCCA played for the Second Line to accompany guests to the next location - Note the color of the fans...

On to courtyard #2, where dinner was served. The front entrance of each home was decorated with Smith & Hawken accessories from Target.

Wreaths and urns from Target

Courtyard #2 is long, and at first glance very large by French Quarter standards. But where do I put 50 people for dinner? I wanted this to be a seated family style dinner.

Courtyard #2 - before

So of course! I had an acrylic pool cover installed. That's precious real estate!

Acrylic pool cover by Event Rental

I placed Smith & Hawken teak tables on top of the pool! Host chairs are also Smith & Hawken, but I could not use the teak dining chairs to accommodate 58 people, so I rented bamboo folding chairs. I wanted to use a chair with a low top line so the Target product on the table could be seen and featured. I was wearing two hats: Product Stylist and Event Decorator.

Art of the Feast party designed by Valorie Hart

I added oversize tissue paper spheres everywhere! I chose hot spicy colors. The lovely courtyard is muted and monochromatic, and I wanted to inject a feeling of festive Summer fun by using color.

Over size tissue spheres

A garden of tissue spheres

For the table: I chose to leave the tables bare, to show off the gorgeous teak wood finish. I added Thomas O'Brien dinnerware from Target, and tea towels from Dwell Studio for Target for napkins. I love mixing the sophisticated pattern and color Dwell uses. More Smith & Hawken zinc lanterns were used on the tables, and ceramic pots (also S & H) were used for bright bouquets made by Tommy's Flower Shop in the French Quarter (533 Rue St. Louis, 504 522-65630.

Dwell Studio dish towels were used as napkins

Bouquets on the table by Tommy's Flowers

In another part of the courtyard, I replaced the homeowners lounge furniture with a fabulous teak set from Target.

Courtyard #2 - Before

There is an incredible terra cotta stucco wall in the courtyard, that gave me my color cue. I requested rusty orange cushions and umbrella. I mixed in navy blue accessories. I think orange and navy look so sophisticated and fresh together.

Smith & Hawken outdoor living room styled by Valorie Hart

The product designer asked that I incorporate garden tools along with the planters, furniture, and another accessories. Sure thing! I knew there were all these existing metal trellises in the flower beds, so I hung the tools on each of them. I think it made for a very pretty product shot!

Smith & Hawken garden tools styled by Valorie Hart

You can get all these pretty things at Target

A ton of ginormous planters were sent for each courtyard. I didn't have the budget to buy mass amounts of plants for them. So when I could, I popped the home owner's existing plants into the planters. When that wasn't possible, I "made" plants by using a few cases of cut lemon leaves and leather leaf fern stuffed into to Oasis floral foam. These florist fillers are often maligned, but I loved them because they withstood the annihilating heat!!!!

Cut greens were "potted" into oversize Smith & Hawken planters

Let's look at the courtyard again the day I went for the first walk through...

Art of the Feast - Before

And here's the same view on the night of the party. An extra table had to be added at the last moment for extra guests coming. I always go from plan A to Z with a smile. I had to pull a couple of rental tables from other uses, and juggle the seating arrangement. I visually pulled it all together.

Art of the Feast - After

But wait!!!! There's still one more courtyard to go to for dessert!!!! The guests walked two doors down for more fun.

Courtyard #3 - Before

Courtyard #3 belongs to someone many of us bloggers know and love. She's my fellow "New New" as she calls us, someone from New York and New Orleans. Her home was used for dessert. Again this third courtyard is a tiny gem, so a bar was set up there, and some seating for anyone wanting some sultry romantic ambiance. So the dessert buffet done by Sucre was set up on the dining table. Do you recognize it?

Dessert at house #3

I used garden ornaments from Smith & Hawken on the table: peacocks for whimsy, and mini birdbaths to hold macaroons.

Sucre did the macaroon topiary!

Small pastel bouquets were placed around the sitting room...Tommy's did these too (and all the flowers for all three homes).

Here's a total hint of whose house we are in!

Target handed out swell SWAG bags, that were placed all along the stairway

Of course I styled up the coutyard in this house too. The house is very French, so I chose things from Target accordingly.

Just to remind you of courtyard #3 - Before

Strings of copper shaded lights were festooned overhead, like the ones you often see in courtyards, restaurants, and even over narrow streets in Europe. Ceramic garden stools (from Target) took the place of larger furniture (and they have lights in the bottom!). Zinc lanterns were place around the courtyard. As night fell, I wanted the courtyard to twinkle, to be magical.

I had to "borrow" the linen covered table that was supposed to be the bar for the overflow of dinner guests at courtyard #2. So I used the owner's kithcen table as the bar, with a huge Smith & Hawken copper hose bowl for iced bottles of Proseco, and copper boot trays for glasses.

Courtyard #2 - After

Lights strung overhead were magical

French style peacocks, copper pots, zinc lanterns - all from Smith & Hawken

Styled for a product shot, but still cute for the party

Whew! Just reading all this and looking at all the pictures must have worn you out!!!!

I loved every minute of this project, and I hope you enjoyed a little insight into my work world, and I hope you got some good ideas to use for your next party. Do check out Target and get some of these things. The summer sales are in full swing, and there is still alot of summer entertaining to do.

And speaking of summer entertaining, go on over to Eddie Ross and read about his backyard bash. Alberto and I went to it a year ago!!! How fast another summer has rolled along.