Just Jane: Gathering props and ideas

What is a prop? A funny question to some but for those who don't know about any kind of styling whether it be interior design, movies, theater or editorial... well, what is it? My definition would be: a prop is an object used in an environment to create a specific look or style.

For the Pottery Barn photo shoots, that I work on, the stylist is given an "inspiration" guideline. They then collect props to create the environments to reflect the inspiration and the season. The best part is that they get to go shopping! There are so many great resources all over the country. Besides home furnishing stores, there are also antique shops, salvage yards, floral design shops, flea markets and estate sales.

Another resource for stylists is shopping from their own collection. I've observed this while assisting my friends, Brian Andriola and Jeffrey Moss. Brian has a studio space in San Francisco that is dedicated to his museum of objects, and because we mostly work in the Bay Area, he can pull from his arsenal of amazing pieces. Jeffrey too has great collections, in his apartment in Chicago, but they usually start out as props before they become his "my own, my precious". Both men have a great eye for beautiful artifacts which are easily incorporated into the catalog shots.

My biggest lesson from both of them has been realizing that I have my own style and my own collections. I have been shopping, salvaging and pulling things off the street for years. Now, as I look around my house, I am seeing everything in a new way. So, a lot of what I will be using in my test shoot will be things I already own, mixed in with new pieces.

I have been shopping for props and ideas in San Francisco, Indianapolis, San Diego and on Ebay for the last couple of months. Understand though, that "shopping" isn't necessarily "buying". A lot of the time it's the gathering of information and inspiration.

I am sharing some of my shopping inspiration and props I have bought that I will be using in a few weeks for my test shoot with Michael Bennett so you can see my process thus far.