Kristin Slaby, Prop Stylist

This week we are featuring a professional prop stylist, Kristin Slaby, who works in New York. Here is how she describes her career:

"I have been working as a prop stylist for the past ten years or so. Mainly focusing on food because I enjoy being around food and can relate to food. I have learned over the years even though there are so many wonderful props with color, texture, patterns and shapes that what I need to be aware of is: it's not about the props. It is about the food or the product and this is what I focus on.

"The props cannot upstage the food or the product. They should compliment, and highlight, the food/product, at the same time creating an environment or a story/theme that the client has expressed. The food/product should 'pop' and resonate with the viewer with the help of the props. I hope this little bit of information is helpful to upcoming prop stylists. Please feel free to view my website for examples: http://www.kristinslaby.com/."

Earth Friendly Fabrics

Last fall I taught a class at Mesa College in San Diego on Photoshop for Fashion Design. I was filling in for Susan Lazear who was taking a sabbatical semester to travel the world and research ethnic fashions. It's pretty different teaching a software class after the more social and interactive classes and workshops in Photo Styling that I usually teach. But the students were wonderful and dedicated and worked hard to develop their skills in the challenging but exciting program of Adobe Photoshop.

The final project was my choice - they needed to create professional-quality presentation boards. I decided upon "earth-friendly fabrics."

The challenge was to provide information on a fabric (or fiber), research its production and dyes, etc., and develop it into a fashion design. The presentation boards include a photo montage about the fabric, Pantone colors, flats, and fashion drawings. I was thrilled with the results of their research and happy to see them exploring the issues of sustainable fashion fabrics.

Some of the materials used were: felted recycled yarn (seen here), bamboo, soy, organic cotton, recycled plastic bottles, and peace silk. You can view small samples of the class project at our Class Gallery.