Shoes with a Purpose Posted by Unknown | Tuesday, September 25

Do you dream of shoes that line up nicely coordinated by color and style?  Is your closet a pile of shoes with no rhyme or reason just taking up space and hardly worn?  Good!  I am here to help! There is something about an organized closet that helps me feel... well organized.  I can find my clothes easier, get ready faster, and have more time to actually get ready vs spending 20 minutes "finding" something and 3 minutes brushing my, teeth, hair and throwing on some lipgloss.  

My darling friend Lindsay let's me style her often and will randomly send me pictures with the question "yay or nay?" I find this extremely fun, almost like a game and Lindsay finds it helpful.  So the pictures I received last night were the below with the captions"yay or nay?" "right or left?" 

Clearly the girl has a ton of flats and not many heels, so we kept all of the heels until she adds more to her collection. The goal was to not have 2 of the same type of shoe. Color, style, shape etc. When you minimize you will actually love what you have and wear it more often.  So after a smattering of texts and photos Lindsay has reduced her shoe collection way down... but in return only has what she LOVES and in the end provides better styling and less time finding. 

Happy Shoes 

ispacedesign.com

Passion With A Voice Posted by Unknown | Thursday, September 20

Do you have a voice?  In this culture we no longer have to march through town on our soap boxes and rally the community to speak our minds and create change. The brilliant world of "social media" has allowed us to speak freely, create a following, and be inspired by others in the process. With a plethora of bloggers who now have one place to store their passions, convictions, talents, expressions, rights, demands, losses, grievances, and inspirations we are left with an overload of choices and can almost become lost in the masses.  How do you gain the respect and attention from your peers without a megaphone on wheels? How can you possibly stand out in a world of such talent and creativity?  

My venture began as a mom trying to find my place in this new season of life. Less about me and more about my family.  All the while not loosing me but maybe working smarter or differently. As a stylist, I follow so many fantastic blogs with the best designs and clout and so I began to feel inadequate.  Do I need training for this, is their a science to being a successful blogger?  Do I need to be on the "inner" circle and somehow become friends with the Oh Joy's of the world (Huge Fan!).  Truth be told, I haven't figured all of this out yet... just taking steps forward, networking, collaborating, posting but feeling a bit like I'm missing the road map, ya know?  It's become clear I can only get so far on my own navigation and am in much need of some leaders who have already cracked the code! 

Altitude Summit

So where to go? How do we find these seasoned leaders... and how do we weed through the masses of internet spam with the next 10 step program or kit that costs a fortune! Well, luckily for me I have a good friend Trina author of LaLa Lovely, who is the "proof" in the pudding for skill, smarts, creativity + eduction = major legit! I have lived vicariously through Trina as she packed, traveled, got coffee, met really cool people, got dressed up, oh and learned some really invaluable tools that have helped grow her following.  In a brief interview this morning, Trina said "the biggest takeaway from attending Alt was the education and tools and overall knowhow of management + all of the amazing relationships and friendships I have made and kept." 

"For blogging inspiration and business advice check out the new Alt blog"

Picture credit
dpreview

The New Collar Posted by Unknown | Wednesday, September 19

I absolutely love the fact we are recreating the "choker" into jeweled peter pan collars. I was able to find a lovely vintage collar from a local antique mall which instantly inspired me to create something of my own.  I have many ideas of what I want to design this fall, especially for my littles!  For some reason anything that is mini is so much cuter!

This is the collar I designed for my daughter.  Her school uniform needed some sprucing up and so I added some lace, fabric, and beading from an old vintage necklace. I also designed the neck piece below as my version of the choker or head piece.

The New Collar by ahndeamay on Polyvore

Stockton Johnson Shoots Fall Beauty Looks for Elle Vietnam September... / Portrait Maud Welzen by Felix Lammers / Free People "Primal Scream" Collection / Erin Heatherton is All Smiles for Blanco's Fall/Winter 2012 Campaign / number 2 / number 4 / number 3 / number 1 / Fall Fashion / Arrow

Free People Inspired Posted by Unknown | Monday, September 17

It's that time of year for senior portraits and with that comes young beautiful girls with great fashion sense who want to portray themselves as who they are + unique.  Not the very same posed portrait shots with the black background or the head tilt lean against a tree.  Jeff Anderson Photography is quickly becoming the "new trend" in senior portrait photos. He was smart enough to see the value in wardrobe styling and overall "story" of the shoot. Hair, make-up, and stylized photography is a powerful combination, with some fantastic results.

This is a shot from a Free People inspired shoot.  Behind the scenes Jeff meets with the client to determine wants and expectations.  We then talk through style concept and begin a Style Board of pictures to give us a guide as we select wardrobe and overall look for hair and makeup. We have a pre-style session where I fit for wardrobe including Heirbloom accessories.  After wardrobe is determined we "rack" it and get ready for the shoot.

Hair and makeup is styled by Kristin Ronan

A New Makeover Posted by Unknown | Wednesday, September 12

I cannot tell you how giddy with excitement I am to reveal "Style Story!"  I started blogging about 2 years ago simply to have a place my girlfriends could look at photos and ideas around fashion.  Before the days of pinterest and polyvore we were sending text pictures to each other of any fab finds or ideas or "should I wear this, or that." Now with the help of social media the ability to put your thoughts in one spot for the world to see is just fantastic!  Over the last 2 years I have been in and out, posting not posting but all the while getting more opportunities to do what I love and creating amazing relationships that have no doubt led me to this point. I can now say I am a stylist with a website!!!!! Well almost! Geesh it is so much work, right! I was lucky enough to collaborate with some brilliants in the their industries and I wanted to give you a tidbit of what the site will look like.

The website will host my portfolio with books of my work as well as my designs for Heirbloom. A "resume" of sorts helping clients know all of the services I provide.  The blog "Style Story" will be a place to share the photo shoots I am partnering with, news and updates like Heirbloom retail ventures, new designs and monthly segments to inspire you to start using your story as the influence in your style choices.  Now remember I have 5 kids, 2 of which are twin girls 11 months old, so I won't be posting every day! Wheew!!!!

Thanks for all your support and encouragement!  And thanks so much to the following contributors

promise tangeman  - website template "Melanie May"
showitfast  - custom web design source
Lindsay Letters  - Love Lindsay, such a dear friend and beautifully executed my branding, lettering, graphic design and many other brilliant ideas she has
Jeff Anderson Photography  - Jeff and I partner on many shoots, his work and skill are fantastic

Keep checking in for the website reveal, which I hope to have finished next week!!! Forcing a deadline people!

A Love Story Posted by Unknown | Friday, August 24

When some really creative people, who do really creative things, collaborate together, typically you get some fantastic results, and to much anticipation... we have just that.

I met White Shutter Photography  this past year at the Brew House Wedding Event and instantly loved their work. Pretty, clean and certain to catch all the details. After crossing paths a few more times they reached out to Lindsay of Lindsay Letters with an idea to collaborate on a "Love Story" entitled Midwest Love.  A stylized shoot with a wedding/event planner + pretty lettering + wardrobe styling (this will be my new website set to launch soon)+ make-up + florist + models with a print shop and even someone to document the story on video.  I was super excited to use my new rack and bring a slew of clothes for wardrobe styling. I also did hair styling for this shoot ( which I love, especially when it's red hair).

Introducing: Midwest Love 

Birthday Love + Photo Styling+ Feathers Posted by Unknown | Tuesday, August 14

Geronimo

Happy Birthday Balloons are one of my favorites and today my beautiful daughter Ainsley Lorin May is turning 10!  Can it be true, my first born 10 years old and such a blessing to our family.  She is certainly fun and quirky, has a cool sense of style and has become a second mommy and helper with the twins.  I had one of my friends Ashleigh Arneson to do a little photo shoot with my kiddos to capture some of who I have been hanging with this summer! Here are just a few for now.