a creative mint

Dahlia Time at Floret Flower Farm

Hello,

I wanted to share a few images I took over the weekend during my visit to Floret Flower Farm in the Skagit Valley in Washington. I had the opportunuty to stop by during dahlia harvest because of my generous friend Georgianna who is a kindred flower lover. She introduced me to Erin Benzakein, the founder of Floret which is both a flower farm and a floral design studio. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Erin as she has this contagious positive energy and entrepreneurial spirit. She and her husband are incredibly hard workers. I got to witness them for a few hours as they harvested the dahlias, filling their pick up truck again and again and again. As I walked around their farm I could see their tireless effort to grow new varieties, investigate other planting opportunites in their green houses and care for this oasis in the valley. Erin offers some fantastic looking workshops at her farm, you can check them out here. You can also follow along with Erin on her incredible instagram feed here.

A really special day, thank you Erin and Georgianna!

xoleslie

I'm Teaching an Ace Camp in Mexico

Hello,

I hope you have had a great summer or winter for my friends in the southern hemisphere! It has been a busy few months for me with my family. I am looking forward to getting back into a routine in the next few weeks with school starting again. Time to get back working in my studio more consistantly. I have some projects starting up in the coming months that I will share with you here or on my instagram feed.

In Novemenber I will be heading down to the Baja in Mexico to teach a styling and photography workshop with Ace Camps. I am a huge fan of Ace Camps and have taken a few through the past four years. I absolutely love learning in a concentrated focused way removed from my daily life! I always come home recharged creatively and with many new skills up my sleeve. It is an amazing way to travel, see new places and learn with a group of like minded creatives. 

In Mexico we will be immersed in the culture, eating local food in fabulous settings and traveling around this beautiful part of the earth documenting our experiences. Of course we need to work as well, like styling and shooting a Fiesta scene in a gorgeous hotel where we are staying in Cabo San Lucas. I'm thinking pinatas, papel picados, tropical fruits and of course there will be fresh flowers! We will also be staying in the unique town of Todos Santos where we will be styling and shooting some pretty awesome interiors as well as picnicing and photographing on a white sand beach. Creative work at its best!!! You can learn about the workshop over at Ace Camps where all of the details are shared.

I hope some of you can join me in the sun!   

xoleslie

iPhone Camera & Instagram

Hello,

I have been having a lot of fun with my iPhone 4 camera these days and I wanted to share a few of my photos with you. Since I take my iPhone everywhere, I find myself using the camera in it more and more. Especially when I travel because I do not like carrying around my heavy camera all the time. Plus, I like the casual look of the iPhone camera images. All the photos in this post were taken with my iPhone and then posted to Instagram, a super cool free App for sharing your photos. Do any of you use it? I am amazed at the photography people can capture with their iPhones. If you do not have one you can still check out all my photos on my Followgram page. Holly did a great post about Followgram on decor8 as well for you to learn more. 

Here are some links to some of the people or items in my photographs today:

My friend Debi Treloar

One of the most inspiring gals I have met in a long time, Emma Cassi

Gorgeous Pastiglie Leone Candy

One of my new coffee cups from Anthropologie

If you ever need a coffee and treat break in San Francisco try Tartine Bakery

In Los Angeles try Urth Caffe for a lunch or coffee break

I adored what I saw of Esther Coombs work in London

My blouse was from Club Monaco and it was hanging in the hotel I recently stayed in...

See you back here soon and thank you for stopping by,

xoleslie

Rachel Ashwell

Hello,

I got back last week from a wonderful trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles. This summer I moved out of Los Angeles so it was a treat to go back to my former home town! I met my good friend Holly Becker on her book tour for "Decorate" in San Francisco and then we traveled down to Los Angeles. Holly was doing book signings and mini lectures at Anthropologie stores in both cities. I had the pleasure and honor of being featured in Holly's very successful decorating book. Seeing her in action on her tour was icing on the cake. Thank you Holly for including me!!!  The book is an absolute must have for anyone interested in interior design. 

One of the highlights of my trip with Holly was a wonderful visit with Rachel Ashwell at her home in Los Angeles. As you can see by my photographs above I am quite captivated by her creative vision. I have always been a fan of Rachel's style so it was really special for me to meet her. She is an inspiring woman who I look forward to seeing again. It is always amazing to meet someone who has such clarity in their creative expression. Rachel Ashwell's style is her style. I know it the moment I see it. Always feminine, very comfortable, just enough vintage, soft textures, and well, incredibly beautiful. You can follow Rachel on her blog and of course she is fun to follow on twitter. 

See you back here soon,

xoleslie

Blossoms

Hello,

Some blossoms for you. I took these photos around my home in Los Angeles, on Vancouver Island and near the airport in Vancouver. I do think about Japan when I see flowering fruit trees and I am contemplating a trip back there this summer. In the meantime I am a busy bee in my studio. How are you this week? Any fruit blossoms where you are?

xoleslie