I first photographed James Beard nominated Phoebe Lawless when she was still baking out of her home and selling her gorgeous pies at the Carborro Farmer’s market. Since then she’s opened a sweet little place in Durham called Scratch. Her attention to seasonal ingredients and yummy homemade pastries makes this place very special!
Want to try some Spanish inspired tapas with a Southern twist? Mateo bar de Tapas in Durham is wonderfully delicious and has such a warm feel.
I loved everything we tried there and especially I remember the roasted spring onions. Owner Matthew Kelly told us how the onions are sold all over the streets in Spain. We had a small sampling of the many plates offered – Patatas Bravas, Gambas, Alemendras and of course some jamon. Seriously yummy.
Mateo’s also has an impressive offering of sherry. We didn’t get to try any since it was on the job but the beautiful painted menu on the mirrors looked amazing!
Can’t wait to go back again soon!
Aiken, South Carolina, is a special place full of horsey culture. I went down to visit my friend Erin at Newbridge Polo where her beautiful horse Fleur was training for the winter months. How I loved to see the polo ponies going out for their daily walks and watching Julie Clark of Clark Eventing training and showing with Fleur. We had the opportunity to do a few portraits of Erin with her gorgeous mare for her editor’s photo for Style at Home magazine – I just love the friendship they have. And of course, Simon had his little photo session too. After an afternoon of exploring the charming town of Aiken, it was time to go to the iconic southern hotel, the Willcox, for a cocktail & reminisce about our idyllic day.
Client: Bernhardt Furniture
Director of Brand Development: Heather Eidenmiller
Photographer: Stacey Van Berkel
Stylist: Susan Johnson Smith
Client: Bernhardt Furniture
Director of Brand Development: Heather Eidenmiller
Photographer: Stacey Van Berkel
Stylist: Susan Johnson Smith
Client: Bernhardt Furniture
Director of Brand Development: Heather Eidenmiller
Photographer: Stacey Van Berkel
Stylist: Susan Johnson Smith
We are so excited to have the May cover of Style at Home magazine! I always love doing shoots in the motherland and especially with the talented Style at Home crew.
How beautiful is this Toronto house? It is nestled back from the busy city in the popular Cabbagetown neighbourhood. We enjoyed all the pretty cottagey details and the fresh decor through out the house and garden area. Hope you enjoy some of our favorite images from the shoot.
FYI for friends in the US – Style at Home is available at the check out at most Wholefoods
If you love this house, check out the homeowner’s Instagram account Olives.Belle
PHOTOGRAPHY : Stacey Van Berkel
STYLING : Ann Marie Favot & Morgan Lindsay
INTERIOR DESIGNER : Margie Doyle-White
What a treat it was to meet and photograph Simran Sethi and her lovely mum for the Wall Street Journal recently! Simran’s new book Bread, Wine & Chocolate : The Slow Loss of the Foods We Love came out in November 2015 and I pre-ordered it so I could have her sign it at our shoot. If you have an interest in food (and don’t we all?), you’ll enjoy her book. She spent a few years traveling around the world to understand where our food comes from and the difficulties the world is facing as we lose diversity to increase production. She talks a great deal about taste and the enjoyment we derive from food and even includes some helpful resources at the back of of the book to help define our tastes. I have been reading her book very slowly, and as I told Simran, I am literally savouring the information and thoughts in the book.
For the photo shoot we met at Simran’s family home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to photograph her in the kitchen. As soon as we walked in the house, we were greeted with the pungent and delicious smell of something yummy cooking. And then the warm welcome of Simran and her mum just put us at ease. It was fun to do the portraits and we also photographed the sweet potato dish and spices, but best of all we had to eat the food! I adore Indian food and all the fusion foods that come from that cuisine.
More recently I was able to attend Simran’s book signing at Scuppernong Books here in Greensboro. It included discussion and a chocolate tasting focusing on North Carolina chocolate makers : Escasu & French Broad Chocolates We learned to cup a small piece of chocolate in our hands and breathe in the aromatic smells before tasting the chocolate. It is incredible when you take the time to really smell and taste food how wonderful and complex the enjoyment can be.
Client : Sunbrella
Photographer: Stacey Van Berkel
Styling: Susan Johnson Smith
Talent : Directions USA
Also, a wonderful video was put together by Peyton Lea! To see the video, click here.
There are some shoots that are harder than others – being gluten-free is especially difficult at such a lovely place like The Table in Asheboro, NC. Look how beautiful this bread is! I really just wanted to slather butter on it and maybe a bit of honey and cram some on my mouth. It took all my will power not to do it! So instead, I tried to just look at the beautiful textures of the bread and photograph it as still life. And besides, The Table, does offer a full menu with fabulous salads and other yummy dishes so us GF people have lots to pick from.
Dustie Gregson, the owner, is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet and has done a lovely job with all the details of the decor even down to the 1 of a kind chandelier made out of milk bottles. So if you are in Asheboro or visiting the potteries in Seagrove, I would make a little trip to this cute and delicious restaurant!
We are so proud to have our image on the cover of A Chef’s Life Season 3 DVD!
