heather chontos

milk farm road- heather chontos's art studio.  
i stumbled upon an opening there a few weeks ago. 
literally.  the lights were on, doors open, there was a hive of activity so naturally i walked in. there were colorful, arranged intriguing things to look at EVERYWHERE. (not to mention fabulous wine & appetizers set out on her friend michelle michael's gorgeous, modern ceramics) 
large & small abstract paintings, painted books, glassware, spoons, beautiful pillows, draped and folded fabrics and still lives of "objets" filled the space
as i explored & talked to folks, it became apparent that heather and her 2 daughters were a fairly new and exciting addition to portland. she hails from nyc-london-barcelona-montana. i found a table with "press" and business cards and there was a full spread on her this july/aug. martha stewart. wow. and when you dig further - one can find lots of coverage of heather; a prolific artist, set-designer/stylist, illustrator and textile designer. 
keep your eyes open as heather has some exciting textile & houseware projects coming up soon with anthropologie, land of nod and K colette.  or just walk into her studio and you can see her working away on a latest art piece or textile design in her large lightfilled space.
as an artist-jeweler-art director-stylist myself, it was hard to select which photos to use to show you her inspiring, creative lair...i hope you enjoy and can visit as well.

basha's bijoux {jewelry}

as i gear up for holiday & jewelry trunk shows - i always get excited to look thru images of my work to use in promos and invitations.
luckily - i can still use gorgeous shots that photographer friends ( seen here are 2 from shoshanna white)  have made over the years and combine them with my own more recent " point & shoot" images.
we have always used available light & simple, mostly natural materials for backgrounds.
i think its time to get a little dramatic. use lights. contrast. dark surfaces. i'll keep you posted....