WELCOME TO COMPASS ROSE

Compass Rose, sometimes called a windrose, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart or monument used to display the orientation of the cardianal directions - North, South, East and West - and their intermediate points.  (Wikipedia)

Braxton  mentioned last week that we once designed a line of furniture and accessories based on a story we concocted around a stylized version of ourselves which we called  Compass Rose.  In this story Braxton was a scientist/inventor and I was a photographer/botanist.  We/they lived during the turn of the century, probably in Britain, in gorgeous yet modest circumstances. 
 In truth, Braxton is an inventor of sorts and I am a photographer of nature, we live modestly and we both love travel and learning and being surrounded by beautiful things...not much of a stretch I know.
The original catalyst for this story was a piece of jewelry Braxton gave me for a significant anniversary......

This is a gold and crystal necklace made by Temple St. Clair.  The simplicity of design, clarity of the stone and the fact that it reminds us of a scientific instrument of the Victorian era, makes this the perfect symbol for the Compass Rose Collection.

This was the inspiration for the lighting for the CR collection.  We imagined this as a hanging lamp or on a shepards hook almost like a street lamp.  Can you see it?

Ever since Braxton gave me this necklace, I've worn it whenever we've  traveled.  I feel that it brings us good luck.

The following two pictures are of story boards I made for the collection, which btw was never fully realized before we went on to other projects.....just wanted to share the idea with you.

We'll be talking more about story boards later.

Sorry for the wrinkles, these have been in the corner of our studio for a couple of years now.

When not traveling the world, sketching ideas for inventions and photographing flowers our intrepid duo would have loved a home with a greenhouse addition...

filled with souvenirs from their travels. 



This is just an example of what their house could have looked like.....in reality the line we designed was more inspired by British campaign furniture...pictures to follow.

 

We both would have worn simple outdoorsy versions of Victorian fashion.  Think lots of khaki, almost safari inspired.

The following two pictures are of actual British campaign furniture.  If you don't know....this furniture was designed for travel, it could be easily disassembled (such as chairs or beds) or could be used as storage (for bar ware or toiletries...) then become usable pieces of furniture once you arrived at your destination.  Its really clever and beautiful and hugely inspiring for us.

We'll be exploring all these subjects (campaign furniture, story boards, Victorian fashion, invention, nature photography...) and more this week.





As always, if you would like to be a part of this conversation....don't be shy, let's talk! 
Have a beautiful day.
YANCEY