CREATING TOGETHER

Eight years ago, we decided to fully commit to Living with Intention and purchase the property that would become The Vintage Round Top. At the time, our priorities were twofold. We wanted to give our family a weekend retreat to enjoy the slower pace and simpler pleasures of country living, and we wanted to embark on a project that would allow us to fully stretch our creative muscles.

As The Vintage Round Top grew, we found ourselves with more and more opportunities to explore our creativity. While we feel tremendously blessed to be able to do what we love, oftentimes the creative life can feel like a solitary one. We personally feel most inspired when we’re in conversation with the ideas of other creative folks, and that is why we strive to collaborate with artists, designers, stylists, and makers as much as possible.  

We have been so fortunate to have connected with creatives who share our visual vocabulary and modern-vintage design sensibility, yet can bring their own unique talents to the table. With many different minds contributing to a project, the result is often greater than the sum of its parts. The photos used in our recent Origin feature are a perfect example of this ethos, and we’d like to share the work of the fabulously talented partners who collaborated with us on the shoot.

Our good friend Becki Griffin of Curious Details is a prop stylist (decorator and photographer) with an exceptional eye. We love the effortless way in which she translates our creative vision into a richly detailed mise en place. In fact, we include Becki in as many projects as possible—as she truly is one of the most talented people we know. And, one of the funniest as well! Her attention to detail and ability to bring together elements that fit perfectly together is second to none. She and I will work tirelessly on our vision for each project, incessantly share inspiration, then pull up our sleeves and get to work on shoot day. I wouldn’t want to do it without her!

Achieving The Vintage Round Top’s signature balance of well-worn vintage patina and clean modern elements can be tricky. Fortunately, Ashley Smith of Pure Vintage Rentals shares our aesthetic—and our love of repurposing vintage objects. Like us, Ashley understands the emotional resonance of items with history and the visual appeal of pairing the richness of vintage furnishings and tableware with the simple elegance of modern pieces.

Handcrafted construction is one of our favorite features of vintage and antique pieces. We love the uniqueness of handmade objects, and we feel they carry a richness of emotion and connection that contemporary mass-produced products lack. Collaborating with artists and makers like illustrator Katie Linck of Upstairs Paper Studio feels so special to us. Doesn’t the hand-lettered card she made for us lend a wistful sense of nostalgia to these photos?

Our favorite shoot-day perks are the floral arrangements that stay behind--and the baked goodies that we get to eat! Melissa Steele of HeySugar Cookies whipped up this luscious "naked" layer cake and some rustic lemon-rosemary cookies for us (see how gorgeous they are below!) Yes, everything tasted as amazing as it looks! Melissa is also our Hospitality Manager and we’re so thrilled to have such a talented baker on our team!

Lastly (and far from least-ly!), we want to highlight the beautiful work of photographer Haylei Smith. We have had the chance to work with many brilliantly talented photographers, but we feel a special bond with Haylei since we connected with her early in her career. We are in awe of her ability to listen to the input of others and deliver images that make each collaborator’s creative work look its best. Haylei also has a unique talent for photographing interiors in a way that conveys a realistic sense of space.

 To learn more about the work of each of these talented creatives, visit them on Instagram and their personal sites. And stay tuned for our next blog post, in which we’ll share our creative process for styling the photoset for Origin.