Who’s That Lady…

Francine is drawn to objects that are shaped by human touch and show the passage of time; those with chinks, blemished glazes, tea stains, crazing, pulled threads, open weaves, alligatored paint, pitting mottling, rust. She loves the richness of walnut, marble’s clean clarity and the comfort of honey pine; a room that looks well lived in rather than meticulously planned out.

She seeks those unintuitive juxtapositions that make an image memorably unique—yet somehow familiar.  Mixing worm-holed cutting boards with finely slicked china, a mid-century-modern spoon with a crackled ironstone bowl—she blends her knowledge of props with our shared history of the meanings of things and how they mean to us.

While working within the parameters of a given aesthetic, she locates props that project her client’s brand.  She delights in finding the tiny details—the smudge on an imperfectly painted platter, the raised hallmark at the back of an antique spoon—that make the biggest difference in communicating  “the look” without blurring her client’s focus.

She is a hunter and gatherer.  Francine’s experience has given her an interior map of just where these elusive objects are and how to secure them.  From  boutique precious to prop house grandeur, she sorts through mountains and bins and stacks of stuff to find props that take a photo from the ordinary to the extraordinary while most aptly expressing the mood her client desires.  She is an interpreter of dreams.

Francine has had the great fortune to work with highly talented photographers who value collaboration; clients and creative directors who willingly articulate their vision through words and images; food stylists who can plonk as skillfully as they can plate. She is ever thankful for assistants who anticipate the needs of all the players on set and she’s mindful of everyone’s contribution to a successful photo shoot.

Born and bred in Brooklyn, Francine was a confirmed city girl until she heard the cardinals sing in the upper Hudson Valley. She currently lives on both sides of the Hudson River, in Manhattan and New Baltimore, New York with her builder/ designer, wood-woodworking, set-building, custom surface making, gardener husband.