It's been awhile...

I am quite embarrassed to see that it has been so long since I have posted. Even more so when this evening, I saw that one of my facebook friends, the fabulous Pamela Beattie (founder of Venetian Decor http://venetiandecor.ca/ a beautiful site!) had shared a link to SWELL. So, I felt it necessary to post at least a short update, explaining my absence. It is not because I am short of inspiration or ideas but the exact opposite!
Around the time of my last post, on a whim, I went a looked at a house I had been casually admiring on the internet. We are not homeowners, yet, and have been living in our cozy flat since moving back to Central Florida in 2008.
The house I had stumbled upon was a 1927 craftsmen bungalow on over 1/3 acre lot, on a tree lined street, just steps from an amazing little cafe...
My fiance joked that I should check out the inside because I would surely find that my imagination was building it up to be something it wasn't. Probably had horrible wallpaper or a horrendous layout or in major disrepair. That would be the end of it.
Long story short, I went and saw the house and the moment I stepped inside, I was in LOVE. It was everything I had ever dreamed about in a house...front porch, wood floors, original hardware on the doors, a brand new remodeled kitchen (sans appliances but that could be fixed with a very fun shopping trip!) and a yard that I could perfectly picture getting married in!! I wouldn't even have to paint one room! Seriously, this house was meant for me. But, we were in no way in the market for buying a house and the price was still what we considered a little steep for us. So, I tried to put this little dream house out of my mind...until the following week when the price dropped by over $30,000. I took this as a sign and we decided we should take the plunge.
We put in an offer and went and got ourselves approved for a mortgage! Did I mention the part about this being a short sale, as in pre-foreclosure? Yup, there was the hitch to this seemingly perfect plan.
Fast Forward 6 months, and here we sit in limbo. Despite the owner accepting our bid, the bank never saw our offer and the house was foreclosed on. We are desperately trying to get in contact with the bank holding the note, to see if we can go ahead and purchase our dream house. We drive by the house nearly every day and have dragged our heels planning our wedding, while we wait. It is very frustrating, especially when we have the financing in place and the house sits vacant. We aren't ready to give up on this house that would make the perfect home for our little family, even if it means everything seemingly being on hold for now.
However, in the past few months, I have fabulous finds that I am dying to share on here, including my grandmothers china cabinet, an amazing French Porter chair and my beautiful wedding dress.
Perhaps if I spend more time writing and posting my inspirations on here, I will spend less time pining over the house. So, I promise to be faithful to SWELL again.
Thank you to my friends and family who continue to support and encourage my ideas!

Warmly, Drena x

Fingers crossed this will be our home very soon...

What went into recreating the 1960's for the Mad Men Casting Call

"I entered this contest as a fan who loves Mad Men, not for my big Hollywood break. Just a chance to have the shows producers look at my photo and
maybe get to visit the set would be amazing!" ~Drena Bathemess


My entry photo to the AMC Mad Men Casting Call
http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/browse/detail/PKC7TV

As many of you already know, back in July, I entered the AMC Mad Men Casting Call Contest sponsored by Banana Republic. As I have stated before, my fiance and I are huge fans of the series, Mad Men, going as far as to planning a "Mad Men themed" wedding for next year! I am a stay at home mom, sometimes blogger/home decorator/photographer/collector of all things shabby & vintage.

The premise of the contest was to submit an original photo showcasing your best Mad Men inspired style. After your photo was submitted, contestants would rely on popular vote to get their photo into the top 20 (10 men, 10 women) where from there, your photo would be judged (60% style, 40% originality) by show creator Matthew Weiner. The Grand Prize: a walk-on role to the show Mad Men and $1000 Banana Republic Gift Card, not to mention bragging rights!

I spent a couple of weeks trying to come up with an original theme, costume and setting for my photograph that would best showcase the series ideals. Mad Men is set in the early 1960's and is one of the most authentic, detail oriented shows I have ever seen, so it took quite a bit of creative energy and work. I thought I would share the journey below.

Gathering my props for the "shopping" themed photo,
on the "set" aka. our dining room.

Staging the scene...
Notice my costume on the table (lower left corner)

After much careful consideration, I decided on a "shopping" theme. In 1964, in New York City (where the show is set), there was a boom in designer clothes being made available to the general public, including Chanel, Yves St Laurent and other European designers. I decided that if I had been in New York in the 1960's, I would have been shopping because the fashion of the time was so amazing. Ladies of all social and economic backgrounds were always so put together with hats & gloves. The Park Ave set were vying for the latest fashion trends and single gals were searching for independence. Mad Men is a show set around the advertising industry, and the retail market represents a huge portion of this. Magazines, television & movies told women what they should be wearing and where they should be shopping.

Getting ready to shoot. "Have I forgotten anything?"

We moved furniture around in our Central Florida apartment dining room, to recreate a 1960's Manhattan pad. The mirror and plaques hanging on the wall are flea market finds from my personal collection, as is the chandelier. I tried to stick with gold and pastel colors all of which were popular in that time.
All of the shopping bags and boxes were researched to make sure that they were authentic to 1960's New York City. I was careful not to include full names, so as not to infringe on copyrights, but there is no mistaking the iconic Tiffany blue bag, deep red Cartier or that Chanel black box. The Salvatore Ferragamo shoes in the picture are a recreation of the "Audrey" shoe that Ferragamo personally designed for Audrey Hepburn in the late 50's/early 60's. There are also some Liberty of London boxes (a nod to the British Invasion of the 1960's) and a bottle of Creed perfume can be seen peaking out of a bag.

My "character" starts to emerge...is she a Park Ave wife, mistress or
a modern, single women of the 1960's?

My outfit was based on a mix of Jackie Kennedy and the popular Chanel suit, collected from thrift stores and online vendors. I love the several step dressing & how put together women use to be. The hat was my grandmothers and had a touch of the modern vibe (love the shape & soft angora) that was beginning to emerge in 1964, as well as the gloves (a must!). All of the jewelery is vintage. (multi-strand pearl necklace, clip on pearl earrings, rhinestone brooch) Some was from my personal collection and some borrowed from a friend who sells vintage jewelery (KatcherrFancy, Wall of Jewels & Etsy). I did my own hair and make-up (BareEscentuals.com & Chanel) per 1960's standard. And yes, there is also the quintessential cigarette, which was lit and burning (I quit smoking a year ago, but it was a necessary evil) and a classic martini in a chilled glass.

It is all about the details, from the cigarette & cocktail,
to the fashion, boxes & bags from the era.

Photography is a hobby of mine, but I would be unable to shoot these pictures. So, my fiance's help was enlisted to take the pictures. Jon was very patient, shooting both posed and candid shots on our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90. We would pause and I would look at what we had and make necessary adjustments to light, make-up and angles. We were listening to Mad Men tag radio on Lastfm, to set the mood and had a great time together, creating something that we are very proud of. After we were done taking pictures, I loaded them on to the computer and began sorting through. We picked our favorites and I edited where needed, playing with the exposure & color to give the photo a vintage feel. I showed our favorites to some of my family before it was decided that we would use the picture above. I thought I would include the runner-up below. I can only wonder if the results would be different if we had used that one...

The runner-up photo that we nearly used. Although cute & sassy,
we were worried it looked like I was giving the finger.

There is less than two weeks left in the competition and it has been crazy to say the least. My photo has been featured on Banana Republics facebook page, several blogs and the local paper. I have created a voting event on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=141259545892458&ref=ts and bombarded friends and family with email and postings on facebook & twitter. Not to mention reaching out to fellow fans of Mad Men on fan websites & boards. After awhile, you start to feel a bit like a used car salesman, only this is self promotion! I have met wonderful people through the contest, other Mad Men fans and fellow contestants. There has been a cheating scandal, with several contestants using voting software to increase their votes (they have since been eliminated and the voting period was extended through September 17th) and the frustration of watching less inspired photo's (headshots or inaccurate period/details) blow by me in votes. I entered this contest as a fan who loves Mad Men, not for my big Hollywood break. Just a chance to have the shows producers look at my photo and maybe get to visit the set would be amazing! The bragging rights alone would be worth it!
In the end, all I can do is remain optimistic, continue soliciting votes and hope my friends and family are still speaking to me when the contest ends. Overall, this has been a great experience, especially having other fans of the show express admiration for my photo, calling it accurate and detailed. Mad Men Season 4 is on every Sunday night through mid-October on AMC. If you get a chance check out the show and stop by the contest website, votes greatly appreciated!

http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/browse/detail/PKC7TV

ps. My dear friend, Ron Fox, also entered the contest. He has a great photo worth checking out!http://madmencastingcall.amctv.com/browse/detail/PC457N

Thank you for your continued support!!