- An Interview with photographer & stylist Lola Jones -
As Easter brings the close of winter we asked Photographer & Stylist Lola Jones to help us style a beautiful sustainable table scape featuring our wooden eggs cups & children's breakfast sets to honour the return of Spring.
Lola Created a beautiful seasonal table setting focusing on muted colours, foraging finds & seasonal produce, a beautiful & sustainable table setting for an Eco Easter Sunday Brunch & the perfect Eco Easter inspiration!
We interviewed Lola to find out her inspiration, ideas & work process...
1. What was the inspiration behind your 'Sustainable Spring Tablescape' shoot?
The season of Spring was my main inspiration for this shoot. While working on my mood board I thought about what seasonal florals/colours are currently in bloom, so I could incorporate them and showcase that connection and bring a part of the outside indoors.
2. How did you connect the season of Spring with the theme sustainability for your table setting?
I kept things minimal and added only a few gentle seasonal touches while decorating the table and food and shopped locally when creating my menu.
3. What seasonal foraging finds & consumables did you use in the table shoot & how did you incorporate them into your final design?
I used a small vase of locally foraged forget-me-nots to decorate the table, four small sprigs of hawthorn blossom from a local footpath, where we often walk, to place on the top of napkins and a couple of small cow parsley flower heads to decorate the food. I also used tiny forget-me-not flowers and hawthorn blossom to garnish the cupcakes, which, I think, tied everything together nicely.
I incorporated mostly seasonal, local and homemade produce. Bread from the local bakery we often visit, cheese from the local cheesemongers and vegetables such as British asparagus from the local organic shop.
We are very lucky to live in a beautiful area on the edge of the Peak District and we love our local walks, so we never have to go far to do a little foraging. My girls love to get involved and I teach them to be mindful of nature, to notice the simple beauty around us. My husband is a fantastic cook and he does get involved occasionally too, for example when we plan to make our own elderflower cordial in late spring/early summer or picking wild garlic for homemade pesto. We are all especially fond of picking blackberries in August/September for homemade apple and blackberry crumble.
5. What are your hopes for your children by getting them connected in nature & the local wildlife & fauna?
From a very young age I encouraged my children to be outdoors as much as possible, explore and notice things around them. They love being out and about and it is wonderful to see them create various games with almost anything - twigs and fallen leaves, etc. They recognise and can name various flowers and trees. I teach them to appreciate and respect all creatures big and small. I hope that when they are older, they have warm memories of our time together and the lessons they have learned and hopefully will learn and explore more during their lives and can pass on the love for nature to their own children one day.
6. What does sustainably living mean to you & your family?
During the past few years we have made a few changes in the way we shop and consume things as a family. The furniture in our home that we are currently renovating is 90% vintage/previously owned. We buy very little toys (only at Christmas, birthdays and special occasions) and we try to avoid plastic too.
Whenever we buy clothes, we choose smaller companies with good ethics and look carefully at how clothes are made and materials used. When shopping for food, the same applies - seasonal and local where possible. We love our picnics and have them frequently during the warmer months. I recently invested in stainless steel and enamelware to minimise waste. We are by no means perfect, but we try to make little steps towards a more sustainable lifestyle. As a next step I would love to start growing a small selection of our own vegetables.
7. If you could offer any advice to other families trying to live a more slow, minimalist life what would it be?
Start small, where it feels right for you and your family. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the information available and feel the pressure to do it all. Make one or two simple changes, you do not have to drastically change your lifestyle overnight.
8. What’s your hope for future generations?
I hope that we look after this world. I hope is that more families acknowledge that we all need to play our part however big or small to live more sustainably and I hope that many more generations can enjoy this world and its beauty.
Lola & Blue Brontide would like to wish you all a beautiful 'Slow' Easter weekend, & a Happy Spring!
