Hello everyone!
I have not posted for a long time because I have been busy producing French Country Style, working on Romantic Country, doing numerous home shoots, creating the Prairie Couture™ and Prairie Style™ lines, AND working on getting my next BOOK underway.
I am so happy to announce that my upcoming book
PRAIRIE STYLE WEDDINGS
is being published by the prestigious
CHRONICLE BOOKS
(to be released spring 2014)
Mark Lohman and I (Mark shot my 2 previous books and he and I work on all my home shoots) just finished the first 2 shoots for the book (14 more to go...). These took place in central Florida: One on the spectacular horse ranch at LAURA DELLAPORTA in Ocala and the other in TAUSHA SALAT beautiful new barn room in St Cloud.
Thanks you Laura and Tausha for allowing us to shoot in your stunning locations and for all your help.
ABOUT THE BOOK
I should explain that the book is not about actual weddings (with one, maybe 2, exceptions).
The focus of PRAIRIE STYLE WEDDINGS is on beautiful settings, themes, details and EASY but FABULOUS DIY projects in gorgeous locations.
It unites the rustic and the romantic with a bit of glamour and whimsy (after all this is a book about weddings!) It is magical, charming, original and unique, and offers a wide range of design options for those who appreciate inventive up-cycling, vintage salvage design, flea markets finds, natural elements, local goods, and homespun gift giving.
Though(below) this is not the actual book cover (it will be chosen later on) we will be shooting part of the book in that very barn in southern California. It is one of the many locations, throughout the country, where the book is being shot.
This particulat barn is on a ranch in Goleta and was used for a wedding by TRICIA FOUNTAINE who also produced the feature for the French country wedding in the premiere issue of of FRENCH COUNTRY STYLE.
**I just used the photo as an example and do not know who the photographer is. So many apologies for not giving proper credit to the photographer.
Of course, I can't post any of the shots we have taken but I made a little collage of cropped shots just to give you a tiny glimpse. Do keep in mind that settings and themes will be running the Prairie gamut.
The next shoots are taking place in Michigan early June then in southern and northern California June and early July. Late July: Missouri and Illinois. Early August: upstate NY.
I have not planned the remaining shoots after that but there are a several others. The book is to be shot and written in full by mid-September. Should make for a very intense and interesting few months!!
Meanhwile we also shot several homes in Florida and will be shooting homes as well in all the states where we are shooting for the book.
Here are a few "samples"
As you will see the styles are varied---from soft and romantic to vibrant and vintage.
Other than that, I have being working on the Prairie Couture™ and Prairie Style™ lines of clothing and home accessories.
Coming up with the designs, having the sketches made, then the patterns, dummy garments and finally the dresses is quite an involved process (not to mention costly!) so I am taking this new venture slowly, not to mention that finding the time to concentrate on this project is also a challenge....
The first 2 dresses were photographed by Mark Lohman on Harper, the daughter of my friend Betsy. Harper is tall, slender and beautiful. The perfect model!!! Lucky me!!
On the first 2 shots she is wearing "Blue Meadow". I included a close up so you can see the fabrics: tiny blue and white checks (light cotton) and gossamer sleeves and details with faded blue roses on white background.
In case you wonder the cowboy boots are mine and they are from JUNK GYPSY COMPANY
The second dress is called "OLIVIA"
White cotton with the same white and blue gossamer as on the first dress for the front, sleeves and little pockets.
Harper is wearing my boots (again--I own a lot of boots...my weakness!), which I bought from my favorite catalog
PRAIRIE BASKETS (Prairie Style™)
The Prairie Baskets come in red/white, blue/white, white/gray, black/white, lavender/white and green/white. The removable liners are handmade of sturdy cotton, and are machine washable. They are pre-schrunk but I would not suggest to put them in the dryer. Just let dry naturally.
Great for shopping, holding mahazines or storing throws or whatever you want...
Ok my friends, that's it for now. I hope you will have enjoyed this long overdue post. I will keep updating you on the book and homes shoots as we go.
I have began using Instagram but have not yet connected the blog to it. But you can find me as "Fificoconut" on Instagram.
Hope to see you here, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Geez, I wonder what else they are going to come up with for us to join!!!!
Thanks for following me.
Have a lovely week!
