Wednesday 26 January 2011

Inspiration and shabby chic


There’s such imagination, charm and photographic talent among the vendors and collectors of vintage and shabby chic that wandering around the internet sites that radiate from the stylish Provence deco blogs is pure escapism. Doors open upon doors. One of my favourites is 52 Flea. It’s written by Laura Kaufmann, who describes herself as ‘a life long collector of objects with history and soul’, and creates a distinctly French ambiance from her home in the north-eastern USA. She has such a sure eye for the quirky, and the possibilities of composition, that every picture tells a story.

I've taken the liberty of making a collage (above) of some of her photographs that are most poignantly relevant to the world I have tried to portray in The Lantern. When I first saw her picture of this rusty pump-tap, bookshelf, lantern, candlestick holder and bookend, it was uncanny - as if these odd items had been brought together expressly for the book: the found objects in the house from which the tale was woven.


Click here for Laura’s whole post, titled Outside Sweet Pea’s Home.

My narrator also has a runaway collecting habit, one with which I suspect she would empathise:

         We filled the main house with relics and prizes from the local brocantes, the second hand bric-a-brac markets. However badly rusted, flaking, dented it was, we were charmed by each item. Cast-offs, objects near the end of their life, their usefulness already given to other people in other settings, could play out their final years for us, until they crumbled finally into the dust which fell steadily from the ceilings and walls. 
                                                                      
                                                                                From The Lantern

 


Laura's blue-purple medicine bottles, (click here for her post) will also play their part in the story. And the way she notes the sun shining through the amethyst glass and takes us further into a world of delectable imagination with her anticipation that they will come into their own in spring ‘as part of a vignette with lilacs and violets’ is a perfect example of why I tell myself that such enjoyable meandering around the blogsphere could never be time rashly stolen from work.

For here is a rich source of detail and inspiration for any writer. Who could possibly be bored or stuck or lacking in spark when there are such treats so freely available? This is a blog trail through a sensory paradise, starting perhaps at French Essence written by Australian journalist Vicki Archer or Chic Provence by interior designer Kit Golson. Travel on through their blog rolls to go on into other landscapes full of curiosities. Give yourself plenty of time, and prepare to lose yourself in glorious fabrics, the rustic, rusty and fantastical, dream houses and dreamier settings. And don’t forget your notebook.

Click here to visit 52 Flea.
Click here to visit French Essence
Click here to visit Chic Provence

All photographs are copyright Laura@52Flea

11 comments:

K said...

This is a great post! I love the photos and how they relate to your writing.

BookGeek said...

Thanks for the links, too. I love this style and hope I can start collecting found objects and making them part of a new house. And a story!

la fourchette said...

I'm loving these snippets from The Lantern. You've woven words and pictures in a lovely fashion in this post.

lisa :) said...

Oh wow! I love those blue medicine bottles! I have no idea what I would ever use them for, but I know if I saw them in an antique store or garage sale I would definitely buy them just to have sitting somewhere looking pretty. And the photo collage is lovely too. I especially like the upper right photo of the old books tied with the ribbon - but then, it's probably no surprise that it's the books photo I'm most drawn too!

vicki archer said...

What lovely company to be included it.....thank you so much....and such beautiful images Deborah....xv

Ann Summerville said...

I stopped by your beautiful blog today.
Ann

Anonymous said...

I'll have a look at the sites you mention. I love those sorts of objets. I love the purple-blue glass bottles as well; a collection of them sits on a windowsill in my house and the sunshine filters through. Heartlifting if you're feeling down.

Suko said...

Hi, Deborah, I am here from the Hop. What a lovely blog you have! It is more than lovely, it is ooooh la la! I am a new follower. :)

Laura @ 52 FLEA said...

Thank you for loving my photos and I am so happy that they fit in with your book! Your blog is lovely and I look forward to reading much more in the future.
Take care, Laura

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

Stopped by here via the blog hop. I visited Provence last summer and I still can't get it out of my head. It is as if I have fallen in love!

I'm a new follower.

Leovi said...

People and objects are passed. I love novels that describe the various characters who have owned a beautiful object and its relationship with him. Greetings.

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