Reviewing pictures on Dan's laptop, 18 May 2010.
Photo: Todd Foster
My King and Zuzu watching Dan and Fifi.
Photos: 1 & 4 - Sandy Foster, 2 & 3 - Fifi O'Neill
Photo: Fifi O'Neill
Zuzu amid the foxgloves after I just missed capturing
the first hummingbird of the year on them!
What you don't see in magazines: the detrius.
As I decorated my studio last year, I always thought, “Hm, now what would Fifi do?”
I am a lucky girl. I got my wish.
When I was a fledging blogger, I shyly emailed the Editor of
Romantic Country magazine requesting permission to use one of her interior photos here. Days later Fifi contacted me at work. The answer was ‘yes,’ and she asked if she could shoot my studio for
Romantic Country and her upcoming book. I had to shut the door to my office so I could giggle and hop.
When she called to firm things up, I mentioned the only florist in the area was Price Chopper’s--did she mind wildflowers?
“Wildflowers are the best,” Fifi replied. Gotta love her.
The hard-working Editor/Stylist/Author Fifi held her day job heading
Romantic Country and went on several grueling shooting tours for weeks at a time. For example, for my house she flew to New York 17 May 2010 (on her 64th birthday) then drove 3 hours up to the Catskills to rest briefly at Dan Mayer’s weekend farm in nearby Andes. The following morning, lilacs were picked and they arrived at my property at 9 a.m. and shot until 4 p.m. on a day pestered by chilly rain. They got back in Dan’s car and headed for the next stop: Rhode Island, 5 hours away for tomorrow’s shoot.
Fifi’s a delightful human being. She has a gift for making everyone comfortable. She speaks just the way she writes on her wonderful blog, soft-spoken yet possessing a delight in making up witty word associations in her French accent. She breaks into a face-splitting grin whenever she encounters farm animals.
Fifi didn’t mind when our clumsy black Lab Momo practically licked her face off with doggie kisses. (We took pregnant Momo’s temperature every hour during the shoot because we thought it was her whelping day, but as it turned out her breeding failed and she simply was fat.)
If Fifi had a fear of heights and crossing streams, to her credit she didn’t show it. A self-described ‘high-heel’ sort of girl, I warned her how steep and rugged my place is, and she came prepared. She wasn’t, however, prepared for the size of my stream, which she called ‘a raging river’ in a
hysterically funny blog post, nor the fact she had to cross it on our log slide for the firewood we cut in early spring. She hesitated, then did it. Inspiration personified.
Photographer Dan Mayers is a great guy; laid-back and funny. Dan said to stand perfectly still while his wireless shutter release took pictures because movement would shake the floor and blur them. I tried to make everything as easy and efficient as possible – boxes to move props, a snack table with fruit and homemade cookies courtesy of my Italian-born neighbor, cleaning supplies. I made sure Fifi was alone for long periods of time to compose and create by steering my friendly pets and dear husband (who will talk your ear off) on to other things.
We delighted at the pictures on Dan’s laptop before he packed his gear up, I gave them little gifts, wished them well, waved them off, and slept until the next day I was so cold and tired!
In September I spoke with Dan Mayers about shooting me as I worked on my ‘second studio’ for my book. We chatted, and I learned he wasn’t shooting Fifi’s book after all because Ryland, Peters, and Small don’t allow the photographers in their books to sell their pictures again. My friend Bella over at
Bella’s Rose Cottage excitedly emailed me after her garden was featured in Italy’s
Casa Romantica, and she noticed my studio on the cover of a subsequent issue. It was the story Fifi and Dan shot, and it found a great home. So, I don’t show the final shots in case Mary Forsell (the anointed editor of
Romantic Country, Fifi left to chase new dreams) decides to run the story. A fun day. I'll remember it always.
* * *
Book Review: Romantic Prairie Style: Homes Inspired by Traditional Country Life
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
Emily Dickinson
Before the book is even opened, the dust jacket lifts and transports you to a sweet world where:
“Prairie Style is much more than a way of decorating—it’s a way of life…The influences—from traditional country life—are nostalgic, sweet, rustic and chic, often all at the same time. They are personal and universal—and as enduring as the prairie itself.”
We know this isn’t a Pottery Barn catalog of brand-new furniture and accessories for tract-home suburbanites primarily interested in surrounding oversized wall-mounted TVs with places to sit and play video games. It’s a book for those that cherish family heirlooms and prefer to shop in flea markets, yard sales, and antique stores:
“Value on the prairie relies less on an object’s age and provenance than on its usefulness…and other beloved trinkets that are typically of little financial value are treasured for their deep emotional meanings.”
Fifi’s exuberant Florida cottage of course is featured, leaving one rapt with her originality and fearless yet tasteful use of color. Titled “Prairie Chic”, and other sections feature homes (many of bloggers) showcasing other styles, giving the book excellent variety in its three main chapters, “Traditional Prairie”, “Romantic Prairie”, and “Vintage Prairie”.
My favorites? “Prairie Savvy” features antiques dealer
Joy Waltmire’s home with industrial accents and patio by a tin-roofed shed where their white picket fence is swallowed up by hollyhocks and clematis. “Refined Prairie” shows
Carol Spinski’s skill at mixing chippy paint architectural pieces with Louis XV and French industrial furniture. “Perfect Prairie” enchants with Nordic-French style at the upscale farm of antique dealers Caroline Verschoor and Jon Paul Saunier. “Inspired Prairie” is a delectable stay at
Maria Carr’s elegant yet childproof ‘French Ranch’. “Rustic Prairie” tugs at my homesteader’s heart with
Michelle McCauley’s cabin mixed with vintage-find flair.
What touched me the most is Mark Lohman’s landscapes of working farms and his skill at catching tender moments with children, pets, and farm animals. It’s clear he woke up early, walked around for the best shots, and stayed up late as the amazing dusk shots at
Anne Marie’s Na-Da Farm attest. Kudos to the book design team for using Mark’s black and white farm scenes between chapters. My only regrets are a fine book like this should have a linen cover (publishers are cutting costs), and I'd like to see the author’s cottage on the dust jacket cover.
Inspiring poetry and pose peppers the book, each section is packed with tips from the featured homeowners, and there's a well-stocked source index, so rush and buy a copy to find out how they can help
you!
“The time has come for a gentler world and a simpler life.”
– Fifi O’Neill from Romantic Prairie Style.
I'm on my annual spring 'workation' up at my farm next week,
and getting to the library to check email will be harder, I apologize in
advance for desultory replies to email and comments.
Enjoy the holiday!
Until next time, stay shabby!
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