Styling for HomeGoods, Part One

 Hi Peeps! When last we left off I was just hired to be the stylist for HomeGoods on a fall ad campaign.  Its not even the first day of summer and my job required me to create fall looks with the inventory at various HomeGoods.  I could also use things from home, which were called "props" by my creative team at HG.  All the stuff I would buy is the "merch", short for merchandise.  

And then the flowers and food that bring a photo to life is called Lifestyle props.  So now that you understand the lingo, lets get started. Hah! My hubby saved this hay bale in a storage trailer when I asked him to toss it last fall when it sat outside my shop.  But being the frugal yankee that the man is, he saved it....now I am glad he did as it really was going to come in handy on the exterior of the home I had to style.  Behind the hay you can see the vintage iron urns I plucked off my own front porch, and behind that were bags and bags of merch.  

 I shopped at HomeGoods for the merch that I planned to use on the different shots I needed to style.  These would all have a decidedly fall feel to them, and it was my job to interpret the HomeGood's team's vision for the different shots.  Ok, I can do that. It would be like decorating for homeowners, and sometimes you might get varying opinions from the husband and wife, but usually you can find a happy medium that makes all feeling happy with the result.  That was my job!  

 I had lists and pics in my iphone and notes galore...and I hunted out fall colors and accessories which was perhaps the toughest challenge of all, since it isn't fall yet.  Well not really, it was hardest to keep all the various shots in my head and as I bought for various vignettes, I had to make sure not only did I buy enough items  but that I also had options so we could try different things. 

 Staying flexible and fluid and having options was really important in this role as a stylist.

 After the shopping, all the merchandise was brought to the location.  In short order the scene looked chaotic, but hey, I know what was in each pile, and what it was going to be used for. 

This elegant and lovely dining room was where I would be creating the dinner party for fall.

The merch was laid out and selections were made, presented in mini vignettes and given the thumbs up or down.  I was lucky that I had only a few things I needed to change out.  The only other thing that came up was that I understood the Autumn table to be a sophisticated mono chromatic scheme.  Well that was NOT the case! Hah!! Ok, there needs to be more COLOR!!! So that is when I planned for a colorful centerpiece and perhaps color in the napkins.  I could feel the nervousness in the room.  Tomorrow would be another day, and I had to get this table together so it could be everything my team wanted it to be, and as beautiful and elegant as I thought it would be.

Could I deliver?  Oh yes, I hoped so.

READ PART TWO HERE