spring cleaning! sorting through my massive archive, i came across these images i shot of uber talented & beautiful jewelry designer gabriela artigas almost one year ago. this was for my very first assignment for refinery 29. i was still figuring it all out and totally nervous. gabriela and her sister (and business partner) welcomed me into their cozy west hollywood home & studio with tea and sisterly love. their energy reminded me so much of the family i grew up across the street from in san diego, which made me feel right at home and nostalgic for simpler times. i fell in love instantly with gabriela’s designs, architectural, minimalist and so special, each with beautifully unique characteristics. thank you gabriela, for welcoming me into your home to take your portrait. <3

last night, i returned to claire cottrell’s impeccable book stand popup at the standard for the launch of maggie harrsen’s beautiful book solidago. so lovely to see all these inspiring ladies together again. sonically stunning & stylish duo escondido closed out the evening as part of kcrw’s desert night series with dj valida.

in recent years, i’ve found myself in the company of such inspiring women. women paving paths for new careers doing things they love. these ladies have a way of finding each other and collaborating in ways that elevate all involved, filling in the beautiful spaces with inspired passion and genuinely incredible results. i’m so grateful for the opportunity to photograph them, and even happier to call them friends.

carrying a lifelong love of the natural world, i’ve wandered los angeles, photographing the surprisingly diverse plant life that covers her beautiful streets, but lately i keep arriving in the pleasant position of photographing arrangements carefully selected and arranged by truly talented floral artists. in february i first met yasmine at her debut (now monthly) popup with valleybrink road at individual medley. yasmine has such an incredible way with her flowers. she moves delicately yet deliberately, and i imagine in constant, silent communication with her medium. each stem seems placed so perfectly, that she must have asked each one where it wished to go.

complimenting the fleeting floral landscape are the delicious treats of barrett, the gorgeous chef and author behind valleybrink road. her beautiful food blog and catering company are full of fresh, local & seasonally focused recipes, with an emphasis on honest & relatable home cooking. beyond delicious, everything she creates is so lovely to behold. barrett has officially inspired me to get back to food blogging. when i was little my mom supported us with mahalo, her vegetarian catering company, and observing barrett creating beautiful food for lovely people really brings me back to that time in my life.

making all this magic happen is true beauty monica of individual medley. she and her husband opened shop just one year ago in bubbling atwater, and they are already utilizing their space in such innovative ways. their support of independent artists and entrepreneurs is so inspiring and they are building a beautiful family of collaborators around their perfectly edited and designed space.

thank you ladies for all that you do. i am inspired by you. ♡

several months ago, i photographed beautiful ladies jordan & chelsea for a gallery girls style feature on refinery 29. their wonderful company, the tappan collective, makes a beautiful collection of art accessible to young buyers and supports a bevy of brilliant emerging artists such as amanda charchain, gia coppola, julian wellisz and lola rose thompson. in an exciting development, we will be collaborating with the collective for our third issue, and one of their incredibly talented artists is creating an original piece for the cover. ❤
i’m completely inspired by these ladies and the forward thinking work they do. so lovely to meet you both!

the tappan collective

 

 

 
in october, i photographed street style for refinery 29 at a current affair. this beautiful event was created by two vintage visionaries: joey of scout and richard of new/found. i am a true blue lover of vintage and ACA really brings together the best of la’s vendors.
on this lovely day, i visited hillary and linde of just say native, dani & blair of the smoking nuns & george & laurel, tracy of prism of threads, eva of histyley, eddie of metropolis of vice & sissy of sainte marie vintage. while wandering, i also met rodellee, the lovely lady behind adored vintage, the most beautifully designed online vintage shop i’ve ever seen. if you are in need of a truly romantic dress, she is your gal. rodellee & adored recently made a big move south to lb and she is preparing to open her first brick & mortar! congratulations! i am so inspired by your beautiful work, dedication and clarity of vision.
thank you beautiful people of ACA. <3

this summer, i photographed natalie mauro & cole morral for refinery 29. this talented and beautiful duo is the mastermind behind bones & feathers collective. they welcomed me so sweetly into their gorgeous tolucca lake home for these photos. (one of my favorite la neighborhoods.) lately i have met so many beautiful friend/business partnerships and observing these two working and playing together makes the allure crystal clear. more recently, i caught up with these lovely ladies again at their spring preview fete at the spare room. thank you both for a lovely afternoon! <3

this summer, as part of my refinery 29 buzzy boutiques story, i photographed dream collective, a lovely shop in silverlake, owned by the visionary jewelry designer, kathryn bentley. it’s only in the past few years that i’ve become enchanted with triangles & sacred geometry, so walking into kathryn’s space felt like i was boarding the mothership. rainbow light dances on the floor, bouncing through delicate stained glass windows, designed by her multi-talented boyfriend. he also is the creator behind the amazing glass pyramids pictured above. when i noticed a stack of it chooses you sitting on her shelf, i knew i’d encountered a similar soul. i think my favorite part of this job is meeting so many interesting creative people and hearing their stories…what they are passionate about and how they arrived on their current path…i remember that kathryn had just returned from a vacation in nyc with her love, and exclaimed that as best she tried, she could not stop working while she was away! meetings with buyers and sourcing materials felt totally natural to include and while i’m sure others might not, i really understand why. the feeling has grown in its intensity over the past year, and i’ve felt more & more inspired to get up early and throw myself into my projects. never before have i felt this beautiful drive to work. i really love what i am doing and for that i am so grateful. i do believe that if i choose to do something i love, it won’t feel like something that needs to get done. it will become something i want to spend my time on. i’m always really inspired to meet other creative people in this mode of being. i recognized the same love & passion for her work in kathryn. she does what she loves and it shows. while this does not always follow, she also happens to be really good at her chosen profession. to my uncontainable delight, kathryn sent me home with a beautiful blue cuff from her collection, which i wear often and always receive compliments on. thank you kathryn. <3 and thank you for welcoming me into your beautiful shop and sharing a little of your story with me.
 
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for the first issue of B U N C H, i had the pleasure of photographing Jessica Comingore. i’ve been a longtime fan of her work, and totally got caught in a nerdy awkward moment of adoration when we first met at a mutual friend’s birthday party this summer. this shoot was my favorite kind…wandering around silverlake alone with jess, taking photos along the way. i wish they were all like this. i get a little anxious when there are lots of people around when i’m shooting. it’s so much more intimate and easy to relax when it’s just us. jessica serves as online editor for the consistently beautiful kinfolk magazine, and along with her impressive design portfolio, her interior & travel photography is stunning and impeccably framed. there is so much i’d love to learn from her. also, peek these gorgeous photos she shot of claire cottrell for freunde von freunden in her beautiful mount washington home.
truly a pleasure getting to know jessica. she is such an inspiration and the perfect example of a modern, multi-faceted creative professional. i’m discovering more and more that i won’t be happy doing just one kind of creative work…she helps me believe that i don’t have to choose just one. <3

this summer, i photographed just one eye for the buzzy boutiques feature i worked on for refinery 29. this treasure trove presents the very top tier of apparel, art and furnishings for the most discerning of tastes. located in hollywood and housed in a gorgeous art deco, vault-like building that once belonged to the eccentric howard hughes, shopping at just one eye is the epitome of luxury. their beautiful offerings include the covetable designs of oliver peoples, proenza schouler, the row and rodarte among many others. i was especially taken with all the unusual lighting pieces that pepper the expansive interior. and the rhinos!! the colorful collection of rhinos, designed by victor douieb, make my heart sing! for those outside of la, they also have a gorgeous online shop to compliment the physical space. thank you to just one eye for welcoming me so warmly! i could have wandered around inside for hours.

i photographed the beautiful & eclectic jewelry designer sonia boyajian, for refinery 29 at the beginning of the summer. she lives in an enchanted home with a magical garden. and she keeps turtles. actually, i think they are tortoises. looking through these images, i’m struck by sonia’s je ne sais quois. she is one of the special few that when photographed, projects a warm sense of knowing. a peaceful, contemplative perspective of the universe and her space within it. the more people i photograph, the more curious i become about the different ways people behave when i take their picture. some are very anxious and their eyes dart around the room nervously. some smile really hard until you can see their gums. some just relax and reveal themselves to me. thank you sonia, for inviting me into your garden & home, and sharing your peaceful gaze with me.