Although it’s been five years since I left the hallowed hallways of Berkeley, the fall always reminds me of the promise of new knowledge.  For the fall issue of UPPERCASE magazine (which you can still enjoy through a subscription), I was inspired by the quintessential symbol of  timeless wisdom: library card catalogs.  Of course, in the spirit of Poetic Home, my article is filled with ideas on how to repurpose these wonderful biblio-antiquities.

Here is a closer look at the current rendition of my most recent library card catalog cabinet find.  It’s a cabinet of vintage curiosities for now, but I’m in the process of repurposing it for the baby’s nursery.

Does the fall remind you of back-to-school nostalgia too? It may be time for me to take a trip to the library this afternoon….

“Ah!” our fairy godmother exclaimed.  “How could I forget the magic slippers?”

However, we would not see any of that glass slipper nonsense.  Our fairy godmother, who has been fashionable through the centuries, knew that only stilettos would suit a modern goddaughter.  And being an intelligent godmother, she fashioned from the House of Nature a pair of slippers – with cute ankle ties, nonetheless – that would not fall of any respectable lady’s feet.  Indeed, not walking barefoot was more important than leaving behind a “clue” about the transformed princess.  After all, with the population boom the fairy godmother has seen in the last century, it would be impossible for a modern prince to find his princess with just one shoe.  “That’s what Facebook is for,” she thought to herself.

And so our lovely fairy godmother waits in her fall fairytale, ready to come to the aid of any goddaughter looking for a modern “happily ever after!”

And on that note, I wish you a happy, happy Halloween friends!

With the pumpkins ready for an instant carriage transformation, our fairy godmother started gathering baubles and regalia to adorn a needy goddaughter.  While she had no diamonds, emeralds, or rubies, she knew that with love and a wave of her magic wand, the rhinestones, pearls, and brass would transform into glittering beauty.

“Oh!  I must be getting old and forgetful!” the fairy godmother cried.  At the last minute, she pulled out her trusty antique alarm clock and set the bells for midnight.  “An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of magic dust,” she proclaimed.

However, our fairy godmother knew she was missing something else in her planning.  What could it be?  Chime in to help her remember what she’s missing, and tune in tomorrow for the final chapter of this fall fairytale.

(P.S.  If you don’t have time to carve your pumpkins for Halloween, why not adorn them with a few of your choice costume jewelry pieces?   Your dark sapphire and onyx pieces would look spooktacular!)

Once upon a time, orange pumpkins were touched by a magical godmother, who transformed the gourds into pale, whimsical pumpkins with a natural vintage patina.  While the fairy godmother had already completed her duty for her famed goddaughter, Cindy, she still had plenty of magic to share.

Just in case another poverty-stricken goddaughter needed to be transformed into a princess for just one night (we are, after all, in a recession), the godmother readied her collection of pumpkins.  To expedite the transformation from pumpkin to carriage, she repurposed her Victorian-inspired orchid magnifier into a ready frame for a royal carriage.

But the fairy godmother’s work is not done!  After all, she is all about preemptive planning.  What’s next for this fall fairytale?  Tune in tomorrow, as this story is to be continued….

The adage “If you love something, set it free.  If it comes back, it was truly meant to be yours” is true — and I have definitive proof!

You may recall my 1930s ladies writing desk from My Favorite Vintage Things series.  Sadly, I had to sell the antique desk during the preparation for the move to Hawaii, as there was no economical way to ship this incredibly heavy wooden desk to the islands.

Imagine my surprise and utter elation, then, when I returned to San Diego — and my husband found the desk again!  Indeed, the lady to whom I had sold the desk was herself moving and had the desk listed for sale on Craigslist.  When we went to her home to pick up my desk, it was like all the stars cosmically aligned and all in the world was right (save the recession, disease, and global warming, that is).

Doesn’t my desk look happy to be back with me in my new home?  This MY desk — I had set it free, but it was truly meant to be mine!

For three reasons, I am delighted to welcome Colleen from FreshVintage today to share some of her favorite vintage things.  1) She has fantastic taste in vintage treasures.  2) I marvel over her scores of treasures that she finds for mind-blogging low prices.   3) Most importantly, she is the Conan O’Brian of the junking and antiqing world.  How can you not appreciate a vintage lover who shares her stool samples? (We’re talking about the antique furniture kind silly!)    Without further ado, here’s Colleen on the mic!

“This aqua painted shelf has that crackly alligator patina that is impossible to reproduce. At one point in its life, someone added another piece of wood to extend the top of the shelf. This makes it the perfect depth for a pair of fans that I found at a yard sale for a few dollars.”

“I purchased this folk art red schoolhouse at a yard sale five years ago. The woman who sold it to me said that a friend of the family had made it for her when she was a little girl in the 1930′s. It is difficult to tell from the photo, but it is rather large at 18 inches high. There was probably a school bell on the roof at one time, but it has since been lost.”

“My favorite part can be found when you open the doors. There are several rows of little benches and a rustic teacher’s desk hidden inside.”

“This painted orange tin was one of my first purchases when I began to collect vintage items for my home. I have an affinity for orange, so it was the color that first caught my eye. And I love the simplicity of the hand-painted daisies and grass.”

Thank you Colleen very much for sharing your wonderful favorite things! (If the schoolhouse goes missing, it wasn’t me!)

I’ve recently enjoyed the pleasure of receiving questions regarding my photo styling career, and I’m happy to share my experiences — and a few photos from my fashion styling portfolio!

Until recently, stylists were underrated and rarely credited outside of the industry.   Most people I meet think I’m a hair stylist when I tell them I am a “stylist.”  Thankfully, with additional exposure from celebrity stylists, as well as the blogsosphere, a photo stylist’s behind-the-scenes work has been more widely acknowledged.

With that said, Jess (who will be sharing her lovely favorite vintage things soon!) recently asked a few questions:

“How did you get into styling?”

My journey to becoming a photo stylist was quite serendipitous.  I actually started in the industry as a teen model, and when the photographers and art directors liked the clothes I brought to the shoot more than the stylists’ choices, I took that as a sign that I should work behind the camera.  I started building my portfolio, and since I was lucky enough to already have connections with photographers and art directories, the transition was quite natural for me.

“How do you find jobs for that?”

Finding styling jobs requires diligence in putting yourself “out there.”  For example, if you see a photographer whose work you like, or who you believe has a synergistic style with you, then you contact them to see if you can put dynamics in motion.  There is no central repository of jobs, and the industry is “traditional” in the sense that networking plays an important role.  Some stylists are repped by agencies, while others manage their own bookings.

“Do you do interior styling on a freelance basis?”

By trade, I am a fashion stylist.  Being in California, most of my work is commercial, with the occasional (b-list) celebrity styling gig.  I am transitioning into prop styling, and if the opportunity presented itself, I would enjoy styling shelter photo shoots.

I thought I would also share the answer I sent to Jackie, who recently asked, “What’s your styling job like?”

No two styling gigs are ever the same.  One day I find myself styling a risque bikini calender photo shoot, while the next day, I’m styling models to look like Fortune 500 types for an ad campaign.   The week afterwards I may be lugging trunks of clothes down to the desert for a spec shoot.   But to generalize, I work with the client to understand their goals and vision, and then I pull or purchase the appropriate clothes for all of the models, prep the wardrobe, and then dress the models.  During the photo shoot, I ensure that all of the clothes look great on the models — by any means necessary, even if it includes sewing the models directly into the outfit!

If you have more questions about the world of photo styling, please feel free to ask!

For the next week, I am excited to share with you different ideas I styled to make your home spooktacular!   This first installment was inspired by the literary elements in my home.

If you have a typewriter, use it as a way to hold up spooky signs (mine was created from a page out of an antique “psychosis diagnosis” book topped with cutout letters).   With chalkboard paint, I gave a few old books a face lift — making them perfect for penning ghoulish messages.  Then, I transformed a baroque gold planter with a coat of chalkboard paint, tracing its lines with chalk, to create a fresh look that can be used around the year.

Decorating around the holidays is a fun way to revitalize one’s home, but I rarely purchase seasonal decor items that will collect dust after the holiday.  Instead, if you look around your home, there are so many items waiting to be used in a different, frightful light!  Couple these with fresh flowers, plants, and of course, pumpkins, and you have repurposed tricks and treats!

Leah reminded me last week of the fantastic photography of Ormond Gigli, who was a prominent photographer especially in the 1950s and 60s — but more importantly, whose ability to direct photographs creates such timeless magic!  Of course, his most iconic photograph is “Girls in the Window,” which was serendipitously shot in a dismantled brownstone across from Ormond’s apartment.  The imagery is just breathtaking — and to imagine that all this was shot during the construction workers’ lunch hour!

I wonder if this image was the sub-conscious inspiration of a rock band’s photo shoot that I styled and art directed.  However, there’s quite a difference between grungy men and beautifully tailored women dressed to their finest, true?

Back to Ormond, all of his photographs capture movement, emotion, and artistry of the human body — and all without Photoshop.  Of course, photographing the beautiful Sophia Loren and other gorgeous women doesn’t hurt either!

I can’t help but feel that summer is quickly flitting away from us…so to celebrate and inspire all of us to get out and enjoy the sun and amazing weather are some quintessential summer photos I styled that was a collaboration between Kate Spade / Michael Kors / David’s.  This was shot by the very talented photographer Sia (who has stunning fine art photography exhibits as well).  Now it’s time for me to work on my tan and run so I can have beautiful legs like this foot/leg model!