HABITUALLY CHIC DESIGN®

Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

The Editor in Chic

My editor at powerHouse Books, Wes Del Val, is profiled by Garance Doré on her blog today. He'll be insufferable now. Just kidding. It's a great interview about what it's like to publish books in the digital age.

One of the first questions people ask me is "who is publishing your book." Some people get it right away when I say powerHouse and others have never heard of them. The bottom line is that it doesn't matter who publishes you if you put out a great book. But the reason I chose powerHouse over other publishers was their roster of amazing art and photography books. The blog is also very organic and small like powerHouse. Even though Brooklyn, where they are based, is outside my comfort zone I thought it was good to mix things up. There was something about going to the 40th floor of an office tower and having a committee meet to decide whether they would take me on that seemed against everything I was doing.

I had a two hour meeting with Wes who got every reference and knew every person I was talking about. He actually reads more magazines each month than I do which I didn't think was possible. We've had our disagreements here and there and I'm sure he didn't think I was going to get everything in on time but it all came together in the end. I'm really proud of the finished product Creativity at Work and can't wait until you can see it in person. Heck, I can't wait to see it in person! I don't think it will be real until I have the actual bound copy in my hands.

In the end, the book is definitely a present for all my blog readers because none of this would be possible with out you.

XOXO,

HC

Photo by Garance Doré

Time & Place

You'd think after all the times I've posted about interior designer Steven Gambrel that someone would have thought to send me a press release about his new book. Luckily, I saw Steven Gambrel: Time & Place in a magazine and took a good look at it in a bookstore last week. Not only is is chock full of beautiful images of his work but it's also a beautiful book. Now that I'm working on my own book, I check the details of other books very carefully. I love the matte finish on the dust jacket, the marbled end papers, and the blue linen on the book itself. This is one you will want to not only read but display front and center on your coffee table.

My Book: Creativity at Work

I am beyond excited to announce that my book Habitually Chic: Creativity at Work is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. The book will peek into the work spaces of creative people in fashion, design, art, and other industries. It will be a chic mix of uptown, downtown, young, old, established, and up and coming. The publication date is November 6, 2012 by powerHouse Books and it will be a full color coffee table book full of all new photos that I took myself.

Those featured include Jenna Lyons and Frank Muytjens of J.Crew; fashion designers Peter Som, Chris Benz, and Michael Bastian; jewelry designer James de Givenchy of TAFFIN; landscape designer Miranda Brooks; artist Jeremiah Goodman; John Truex and Richard Lambertson of Tiffany & Co.; antiques dealer Gerald Bland; interior designer Bunny Williams; potter and designer extraordinaire Jonathan Adler, and many more. I can't give away the entire list but there will be over 30 people featured and a few exciting surprises.

The cover above is the working cover and the image will probably change. I do know that it will be a pretty orange linen cover with an inset photo instead of a book with dust jacket. We have also laid out out all the photos but are just now adding the text. Once we have some final layouts, I will definitely be posting some sneak peeks and out takes. It's been a long labor of love but I've kept my readers in mind through out the entire process and I really think you are going to enjoy Habitually Chic: Creativity at Work.

XOXO,

N.B. A few people have asked about book signings and availability. I will definitely let you all know about signings closer to the release date in November. I plan to hit as many cities in the US as possible and also Toronto. Random House Books is the distributor so it should be available in most countries and online. Thanks!

Enduring Style

If Gary Cooper were alive today, he'd probably be photographed by all the street style bloggers outside the men's shows during fashion week. He might even have his own menswear blog. I jest on that last statement of course but it is true that he did really have "enduring style" as the title of the book about him suggests. Gary Cooper was a true movie star and he didn't wear what Gucci or Prada sent to him for free like celebrities today. He traveled to Savile Row and other expert tailors around the world for his wardrobe. Gary Cooper: Enduring Style by his daughter Maria Cooper Janis is full of gorgeous family photos that attest to his sartorial savvy. In addition to his travel and athletic adventures, all while looking like a perfect gentleman.

In the interest of full disclosure, Gary Cooper: Enduring Style is published by my publisher powerHouse Books. My book is the reason that my posts have been light the last two days but hopefully I'll be back on track tomorrow. Once Amazon.com is updated, I can't wait to post a link so you can pre-order it. In the meantime, I think you'll enjoy Gary Cooper: Enduring Style. Just be careful, it might make you want to buy some white trousers and take up yachting.

"Dressed up like a million-dollar trooper,

Tryin' hard to look like Gary Cooper,

Super duper!"

- Irving Berlin and Taco

All photos from Gary Cooper: Enduring Style

Cecil Beaton: The New York Years

Instead of spending Black Friday shopping, I decided to spend it enjoying some black and white photography. With a little color thrown in for good measure. In order to burn off some pumpkin pie calories, I also decided to walk the 30 blocks uptown to the Museum of the City of New York for the Cecil Beaton: The New York Years exhibition. Not only are the photos, drawings, costumes and other items amazing but the exhibit design is also top notch. I definitely think Mr. Beaton would be pleased again since it's not his first exhibition at the museum. In 1969, they presented a retrospective entitled 600 Faces by Beaton, 1928-1969. This time they focus on his home away from home in New York where he worked a lot for Vogue magazine and made friends with Greta Garbo, Truman Capote and Diana Vreeland to name a few. For those of you who can't make it to the exhibit before it closed on February 20, 2012, I suggest picking up the accompanying book Cecil Beaton: The New York Years published by Rizzoli. I really enjoyed the exhibit and definitely say it was much more fun than braving the crowds at the stores on Black Friday.

The rose wallpaper in the entry was designed by Cecil Beaton.

I loved the drawings on the walls that led to the exhibit.

Cecil Beaton, Self Portrait on the Brooklyn Bridge, 1929

Original copies of his many books are on display.

This drawing of Elsie de Wolfe appeared in Vogue, May 1, 1935.

Diana Vreeland at home in 1954 by Cecil Beaton.

Diana Vreeland, 1965

Models in Charles James gowns photographed at French & Co., New York, 1948.

Cecil Beaton's suite at the Plaza Hotel, New York, 1946.

Audrey Hepburn, 1960

Mick Jagger, 1970

Maria Callas, 1957

Model in gown by Adele Simpson, 1945.

Costumes designed by Cecil Beaton.

Costume sketch for the title role in Turandot, Metropolitan Opera, 1961.

The finished costume.

Audrey Hepburn in costume for film version of My Fair Lady, 1963.

Greta Garbo was one of Cecil Beaton's only hetrosexual relationships and took some of the best candid photos of the actress in his suite at the Plaza Hotel.