behind the scenes pics from our june e-catalog shoot here at the navy yard in philly! as i’ve told you, day one we shot with martha hunt in our web studio, with her boyfriend as hair stylist. it was such a fun day- he was doing the coolest stuff with her hair, and martha is always a blast to be around – we love her!
our senior photographer showed us this cool camera trick – tape a piece of cardboard over your camera lens with the tiniest little pinhole in the middle:
the result is this cool ghostly effect:
day two we worked with andreea diaconu and shot outdoors in the wilderness of the navy yard :) there is a lot of abandoned land down here that used to be used for military barracks and such, so we went to one of the fields and had a pretty entertaining time fending off deer ticks and tending to a few cuts and bruises… andreea was a trooper and looked beautiful as she danced amidst the grass.
group huddle around the computer to review shots :)
so much inspiration around the office today…the paint splatters are the floor of our dye room, i think it’s so cool. and one of my co-workers made that amazing bracelet in the last pic – would you guys be into a tutorial on how she made it?
have you guys seen our new vintage loves vignette, aphrodite? the collection contains some exquisite dresses by designers like oscar de la renta, mary mcfadden, koos van den akker and guy laroche, in delicate fabrics and shades of ivory, cream and taupe. i think a lot of these would make amaaaazing wedding dresses! we shot the vignette a couple of months back here at our home office and i snapped some behind the scenes photos for you.
emily hirsch was raised on a vineyard in the anderson valley where she grew up surrounded by the rich, earthy scents of northern california – mossy forests, redwood trees, fermenting grapes, warm earth and sea fog to name a few. she says, “i love how a smell can transport you to the time and place you first smelled it.”
now based in brooklyn, emily is a jewelry designer who started talon nyc. combining a love of vintage inspired jewelry and the aromas of her childhood, she designed the beautiful amulette necklaces that we are carrying at free people.
“fragrance has been worn in beautiful adornments since ancient times, to ward off evil, intoxicate lovers, enhance mood, and interact with the spirits.”
the amulettes are made entirely of recycled materials and hand cast in bronze, silver and glass. when filled with a scent and warmed by the body, they release subtle aromas that escape through the cork stopper, drifting up to the wearer throughout the day. the cork can be removed and used to dab the scent behind the ears, on the neck, or wherever is desired.
emily carefully blends essential oils to create the scents held inside the amulettes, and has made three custom scents. the signature is described as “an intoxicating aroma of tobacco leaf and newly opened orange blossom. it makes us think of sitting in our grandfathers’ old, worn in leather chair in a dimly lit, cozy room, surrounded by books, a scotch and a small branch pulled from the apple tree blooming outside.”
read on for an interview with emily and stay tuned for a guest post she wrote for the blog about a recent road trip she took with family band and warpaint!
Can you tell me a little bit about the process of making the scents that go inside the amulettes?
The biggest trick to making scents is experimenting with as many combinations as possible. When I made Avalon, I knew I wanted to use Jasmine, as it’s one of my favorite floral scents. So I started with just Jasmine, and then would add one more thing to it. Then the next day I would go back and smell each combination. You have to also smell the scent on your skin as it is usually pretty different.
I would pick my favorites and then decide what they needed next. If it was too sweet smelling, I would add earthier, muskier or grassier scents next to balance the sweetness. You also have to throw out preconceived notions about what will mix well together because it’s often the unexpected combinations that work best.
Once I have the final blends, I will start wearing the scent when I go out and see how it evolves throughout the night and how I feel wearing it.
How would you describe your personal style?
Sexy 70s! (Which happens to also be a nickname J.) I am very inspired by the 1970s, musically and stylistically. I buy a lot of vintage clothing and like to layer vintage and new pieces to create a look that isn’t over stylized in one era but has a definite 70s slant combined with a natural 60s vibe.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
When I’m not working I love spending time with friends, eating tasty food and drinking good wine! My husband, Scott, is a great cook, so most evenings he is cooking something we picked up at the farmer’s market and we are listening to records and having wine. We also have a cat named Arrow who I spend a lot of time spoiling.
What’s your favorite city or place?
I grew up in California, so the whole state is very nostalgic for me. But my favorite place is Ojai, where my mom lives. I try to get there at least once a year and love taking bike rides through the orange grooves with views of the Topa Topa mountains.
My favorite city is New York! We have lived in New York for about four years and I’ve never felt more creative than I do here.
What music are you listening to right now?
I am pretty much stuck in the 70s with some guilty pleasure 80s music thrown in for good measure. My staples include Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart (early stuff) and the Faces, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, David Bowie…
Favorite book?
As a kid it was the Secret Garden because I was always looking to find secret hiding places in the woods. As a college student, probably Love in the Time of Cholera because I lived in Costa Rica and fell in love with Latin culture and magical realism.
How did your road trip with the Family Band and Warpaint come about?
My husband has toured in various bands many times during our relationship, so when his band, Family Band, went on tour with Warpaint I asked if I could come to see what touring is all about. I went on the leg through the South because I have never been, and have this very romantic view of that part of the country. We went to Durham, Asheville, Nashville, Athens, New Orleans, Houston and Austin. I loved the humid rich tropical magic of the South.
What’s next for talon? Anything you can tell us about what you’re currently working on?
I launched Talon with just the amulette necklace, but for fall, I want to release a full line of jewelry. I’m obsessed with braids and twists, so I’m incorporating that pattern into a bunch of different pieces. I’m also going to have some castings and will be releasing the amulette in some vintage glass colors. I’m sure I will work on a new scent as well!
somethin’ filled up
my heart with nothin’,
someone told me not to cry.
but now that I’m older,
my heart’s colder,
and i can see that it’s a lie.
children wake up,
hold your mistake up,
before they turn the summer into dust.
if the children don’t grow up,
our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
we’re just a million little god’s causin’ rain storms turnin’ every good thing to rust.
i guess we’ll just have to adjust.
with my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
i can see where I am goin.’
Free People now has an Instagram account where we share our visual thoughts and daily activities in pictures.
We’re all addicted to this smart phone app and can’t stop capturing all the cute little things that happen in our office.
If you have a smart-phone, follow our visual journey — our username is “freepeople” — if not we will give you a weekly update of beautiful snap shots taken throughout the week;
from our home pets to our favorite restaurants, pretty mood boards and on location look book post card shots. We invite you into out postcard world!
what a field-day for the heat
a thousand people in the street
singing songs and carrying signs
mostly say, hooray for our side
it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
everybody look what’s going down
I don’t personally follow a gluten-free diet, but I have friends who do, so I like to mess around with recipes once in a while. This nut bread is one I’ve been wanting to try for a while. Normally, the thought of making bread kind of scares me a little. I feel like you need skills I’ve never tried out before, but with this bread it turned out the toughest part was gathering all of the obscure ingredients I needed to make it gluten-free. Once I finally got around to making it, it turned out to be nutty and delicious. It works great for toast in the morning with a little bit of jam =)
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups almond flour
¾ cup arrowroot powder
¼ cup flax seed meal
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1 teaspoonapple cider vinegar
¼ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
¼ cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
½ cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup sesame seeds
Instructions:
Chop up all nuts that need to be coarsely chopped, and mix all seeds/nuts in a small bowl.
Combine almond flour, arrowroot powder, flaxseed meal, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, beat eggs well. Then add agave nectar and apple cider vinegar.
Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet.
Stir in nut/seed mixture
Pour into a well-greased 7.5” x 3.5” bread pan
Bake for about 35 minutes. (You should be able to stick a toothpick/knife into the center and pull it out cleanly.)
I actually first heard about Nicole Vaughn when Jolyn, a reader, commented on one of my music posts about her. I went to her website to take a listen and I loved what I heard. A peaceful voice, relatable lyrics, and emotionally charged melodies are what make up her tracks. It just so happens that the singer/songwriter is also a huge Free People fan! She sent in an FPme photo that we recently posted on the blog (she’s the third one down). It’s hard to believe she’s not already a huge sensation. Nicole is one of the music scene’s best kept secrets that needs to be let out of the bag.
Nicole gladly answered a few questions for you all to get to know her better. She’s also made her song, “Stuck on You,” available for free download to you all! (Thank you, Nicole!) Read up on our interview with the inspirational woman and take a listen to her music!
Where were you when you wrote your first song?
I wrote my first official song on guitar at 13, I was sitting on the floor of my room with my guitar and a notebook of some poetry (not very good poetry), and sort of just started to put the pieces together.
What is your favorite song off of your most recent album, “Say It,” and why?
I think that my favorite song off of album would be “Everything We’ve Built” or the title track itself, “Say it”. These are the most personal and soul-bearing songs on the album and are extremely raw and honest in their story-telling and how I felt about the subject matter.
What is your picture of success?
Success to me would be to continue creating quality music and lyrics that I’m excited about and playing and collaborating with talented musicians that I admire. If I get some fans and make people smile, feel, connect, or dance along the way, I am happy. I’d also like to open for Wilco or Mason Jennings one day, but that might be pushing it ;)
What’s the last album you bought? What else is on your iPod right now?
I recently bought Paul Simons greatest hits, Dawes’ new album, and Barrett Johnson’s album “In Case I went Missing”. Some of my iPod go-to’s are: Mason Jennings, Neko Case, Cass McCombs, Alexander, Rolling Stones, Lissie, Muddy Waters, Bon Iver, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Arcade Fire, Patsy Cline, Wilco, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Randy Newman, Sharon Van Etten…just to name a few! I love it all.
What is your signature look?
I’m not even sure, I think I’d have to ask someone else, hah! I just wear what I like and I’m comfortable in. Fancy stuff when I’m on stage, but lately off stage I’ve been really casual. I just like jeans, plain T, some turquoise or native american jewelry, and some boots. I like simplicity more and more these days.
What sort of hobbies do you have besides your music?
I love reading a good book, surfing, camping, going to shows, road-trips, hiking, running, rock-climbing, spending time with my pups, anything adventurous and spontaneous. I like to keep life interesting and unpredictable.
What is your favorite book?
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I’m a big fan of Steinbeck.
One thing you cannot live without is?
Guitar. Or my wonderful mom. Or my dogs. I mean that’s a pretty tough question. haha
What does Free mean to you?
Free means having a free state of mind, not being confined by status quos or trends-free of influence, loving what you love just because YOU love it! Doing what you want, because it’s what YOU want to do.
i have one more video from our call of the wild e-catalog to share with you today! our stylist talks about one of the looks and how it was put together – i’m so glad they chose this one, it’s one of my favorites :)
click on the image below to go see the items in this look!
