“CARVED WOODEN CHAINS AND HAND-WOVEN BASKETS BLUR THE LINES BETWEEN ART, NATURE, AND DESIGN” - Hilary Robertson, stylist, author, Bloomist collaborator
“Interiors photoshoots involve a unique set of challenges”, says stylist Hilary Robertson. “A primary one is art. Stylists often can’t use copyrighted artwork in photoshoots, so we turn instead to natural elements”, she explains. “I call it, “art that isn’t art.”
“MIX DRIED FLOWERS AND BRANCHES WITH HAND-CRAFTED OBJECTS TO CREATE A NATURAL, MINIMAL LOOK. A SINGLE STEM OR SCULPTURAL LEAF IN A SIMPLE VESSEL CAN MAKE THE PICTURE.” - Hilary Robertson, stylist, author, Bloomist collaborator
“I like things that retain a shape. If they’re too small, they look like dust catchers,” explains Hilary. “When you’re working on an arrangement with smaller, more delicate things they’re always slightly brittle, which is why I lean toward larger blooms. A dried allium has a nice, sculptural shape. The leaves you get from the Caribbean are sculptural, and they’re more interesting to work with. Another dry favorite is bayberry. I absolutely adore it – a grey berry on a branch. I always have them at home and you don’t need more than 1 or 2.”
“KEAP” IS A NOD TO THE KEAP STREET, WILLIAMSBURG KITCHEN WHERE FOUNDERS HARRY DOULL AND STEPHEN TRACY MADE THEIR FIRST CANDLES.
“Our zero-waste approach to candle design mimics nature’s cyclical systems,” Tracy says. “Our labels are biodegradable and removable, making it easy to repurpose our candle tumblers.” The pair provide instructions for safely repurposing used candle vessels on Keap’s website, making it easy for buyers to give these glass containers a new life (as whiskey tumblers, perhaps).
But that’s just part of their mission.
STYLIST, AUTHOR, AND ROVING CREATIVE DIRECTOR HILARY ROBERTSON BRINGS HER IRREVERENT ENGLISH EYE AND GENIUS TO A NATURE-INSPIRED COLLECTION FOR BLOOMIST.
Hilary Robertson met Bloomist co-founder Alex Bates for coffee after a fortuitous Instagram post, and they’ve been waiting for a chance to collaborate since. “We immediately started finishing each other’s sentences”, explains Alex. “We were well matched from the start”.
WHEN THE CALL CAME FROM BLOOMIST TO ADAPT HER GEOMETRIC BRONZE AND BRASS MOBILES FOR AIR PLANTS AND SUCCULENTS, ARTIST CORIE HUMBLE WAS PREPARED.
“I have nine plants in the room I’m sitting in right now—I think it’s actually nine plants per room, in a one-bedroom apartment,” she says from her Circle + Light Studio in Austin, the day before she leaves to lead a leather-crafting workshop in Ethiopia. “I’m surrounded by them!”
